The Scent of the Roses

Aleen Leslie’s 1963 novel wasn’t marketed as a children’s book, but the story is about a grade-school-age girl and, since I first read it as a junior high student, it was a part of my young adult years. Though The Scent of the Roses is a mystery I’ve reread it for its wonderful depiction of life a little over a hundred years ago.

The story is recollections of adult Jane Carlyle, who tells readers that when she was ten-years-old she could not recall anything that took place before she entered the Weber’s Pittsburgh home on the evening of Saint Valentine’s Day in 1908. She didn’t remember her parents, or even the murder. Her life seemed to begin when 30-year-old store owner Sophie Weber brought the girl home from a buying trip and introduced Jane to her astonished mother and adult siblings.

That evening Jane was put to bed, but then got up to use the bathroom, became lost, and found her way to a location where she could overhear the grownups talking about her. She learned Sophie had gone to New York City to purchase Easter merchandise for the department store where most of the Weber’s worked. Sophie and Jane had stayed at the same hotel, became friends, and Sophie had rushed to the room when she heard the girl screaming after witnessing the murder. The shock caused Jane to loose her memory. No relative was able to care for Jane, so Sophie wanted to adopt her in order to have a child, even if she never married.

Later on Sophie told her that her mother had died, no one knew where her father was, and she’d lost her memory after becoming ill. Because she had no recollections of her parents Jane didn’t miss them, but devoted herself to learning about her wonderful new family. The most colorful family member was Mrs. Weber, a widow with two goals in life: getting her oldest daughter, Sophie, married, and catching a ride downtown each day to visit the Nickelodeons – theaters that showed short silent movies. Pictures that moved and told a story were a modern marvel in 1908.

Soon after Jane’s arrival two of Sophie’s married siblings temporarily moved back to the family home. Sister Ermanie had informed her husband that she refused to have her baby any place other than her mother’s home, so the couple arrived as uninvited guests. A little later brother Hugo’s wife got into a snit and returned to her wealthy parent’s home. In response Hugo closed up his house and took his four children to stay with his relatives.

Whenever visitors arrived Mrs. Weber called for her youngest daughter, Elise, to make some coffee and put the homemade soup on the table.

On occasion a policeman would come by to inquire if Jane had regained her memory, and one time a man claiming to be a newspaper reporter asked one of Hugo’s daughters if the little girl staying with the family remembered anything from her past. But most of the book is about amusing stories regarding the Webers. In an effort to find a husband for Sophie Mrs. Weber places a newspaper advertisement for a male boarder, and the man chosen to rent the one remaining spare bedroom was a most amiable gentleman. His one fault was that he made his living as a house burglar.

For a time Jane adored Sophie, but one day a classmate taunted her by saying her father killed her mother. In a well-meaning effort to protect her Sophie had failed to tell Jane that she had witnessed her own mother’s murder, and that her missing father was a suspect. Later on Jane discovered that Sophie was hiding information from the police, and she suspected her guardian of being connected to the horrible crime.

Despite Jane’s mistrust of Sophie the girl continued to love staying with the Webers. Each book chapter is named after a holiday, and the girl delighted in taking part in festive occasions. Since she had no memory of past holidays each one was a new experience for her.

But then one evening, during a major celebration, Jane became overtired and over excited and kept insisting that a guest knew about something the person claimed to have no knowledge of. She was recalling an event from her past, and that meant danger, for she might soon remember who had killed her mother.

The mystery was finally resolved, but even after knowing who-done-it I enjoy rereading The Scent of the Roses to experience another visit with the Weber family. (The book title comes from a Thomas Moore verse: You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will, But the scent of the roses will hang round it still.)

While telling the story the author slips in interesting tidbits about life in 1908. I can “see” Sophie’s stylish clothes and the beautiful home furnishings. I can “hear” the low sound of the flames in the fireplaces fueled by natural gas. I join Jane as she listens to the adults around the dining room table discussing either family matters, or the all-important business of running Weber’s Dry Goods store. And I still become excited by the life-or-death struggles during the final chapters.

If you enjoy historical fiction, with a touch of “cozy” murder mystery, I highly recommend The Scent of the Roses. The novel is no longer in print, but it was popular enough for used copies to be readily available from online booksellers at a reasonable price.

Advertisements

Miracle on 34th Street

This story started out as a screenplay, but soon after the movie was completed author Valentine Davis turned it into a short novel, first published in 1947 and still available today.

Kris Kringle was a plump, rosy-cheeked, white-bearded gentleman who lived at the Maplewood Home for the Aged. He was beloved by all of the staff and residents, but had one eccentricity – he believed he was Santa Claus. One day in late November Maplewood’s physician, Dr. Pierce, had the sad duty of informing Kris that the Board had decided that, since the Home was only for those in good physical and mental health, a man who thought he was a mythical person would need to leave.

Dr. Pierce told Kris he could go and live at Mount Hope Sanatorium, but Kris declared the sanatorium was a “nut house.” He assured the doctor that a zookeeper was a friend of his, and would give him a home.

Kris walked to the Central Park zoo, where the shy reindeer ate carrots out of his hand. Jim, the zookeeper, always marveled at how the reindeer trusted Kris. He said his friend was welcome to stay with him.

Kris heard music playing, started on another walk and came to where the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was about to start. The man hired to play Santa was drunk and Mrs. Walker, the lady in charge of the parade, asked Kris to be a last-minute replacement.

Doris Walker was a divorced lady teaching her six-year-old daughter, Susan, to not use her imagination. Susan had never read a fairy tale, and she didn’t believe in Santa Claus. The Walkers lived in an apartment building, and one of their neighbors was a young lawyer named Fred Gayley. He was romantically attracted to Doris, but she had been hurt by her divorce and had no intention of ever dating again.

Doris was the Personnel Director of Macy’s, and Mr. Shellhammer, who was Head of the Toy Department, wanted Kris as the store’s Santa. The new hire filled out an employment form giving his name as Kris Kringle, his address as Maplewood Home, and his age as “old as my tongue and a little bit older than my teeth.” Kris was taken to the locker room to change into his Santa Claus outfit, then given a list of toys Macy’s carried, and which toys he was to push parents to buy. After Mr. Shellhammer left Kris tore up the list.

When a child asked for a toy Macy’s didn’t sell Kris told the parent which store had what was wanted. One day Mr. Shellhammer overheard Kris tell someone to go to Gimbel’s for a toy. He was horrified, but as he tried to make it back to his office he kept being stopped by grateful parents who said they would become regular Macy’s customers because of their wonderful service of directing them to other stores for the right toys. What would Mr. Macy say when he found out?

One day Fred Gayley took Susan to visit Santa at Macy’s but she refused to ask Kris for anything, because he was just someone her mother had hired to pretend to be someone who didn’t exist. When Doris Walker saw Susan on Santa’s lap she took Fred into her office and scolded him, saying he could not be friends with Susan if he ever again went against her ideas about raising her daughter.

Susan had stayed near Kris, and when he was able to speak Dutch to a child newly arrived from a Holland orphanage she began to wonder if Santa Claus might be real. Her mother asked Kris to tell Susan the truth, but when he insisted he really was Santa she looked at his employment card and became frightened that the store had hired a potentially dangerous person.

She fired Kris, but then got a call from Mr. Macy congratulating her on hiring such a wonderful Santa. The good will gimmick of sending people to other stores was helping his store. Doris rushed off to rehire Kris but he refused to return until he learned she would lose her job if he didn’t continue on as Santa.

Doris worried about delusional Kris so she called Albert Sawyer, Macy’s expert on psychology. Mr. Sawyer believed Kris might turn violent, and thought he should stay with Doris so she could watch over him, but she refused that suggestion. When neighbor Fred heard of the problem he asked Kris to stay with him. Now Doris was worried that Fred was double-crossing her, and trying to interfere with how she raised Susan.

One day Kris asked Susan if she had a Christmas wish. She said she wanted to live in house with a backyard that had trees and a swing, and she gave him a magazine picture of the house she wanted. Kris said he’d do his best, but admitted that not all dreams could come true.

Doris invited Fred and Kris to dinner, but she had to leave right after the meal, for she’d agreed to attend a lecture that night. After she left Kris happened to see a postcard announcing Mr. Albert Sawyer giving a lecture entitled Exploding the Myth of Santa Claus. He picked up his hat and cane and set out for the lecture.

Since he had no invitation Kris wasn’t allowed into the auditorium, but he began exploring the building and ended up behind the stage where Mr. Sawyer was talking. The stage was decorated with a set for a children’s Christmas play, and while Mr. Sawyer was talking about Santa being a myth Kris came out of an artificial fireplace, and then refused to leave the stage. Mr. Sawyer angrily confronted Kris, who raised his cane to defend himself.

The next day Mr. Sawyer told Mr. Shellhammer an exaggerated story about Kris Kringle attacking him with a cane. Doris attempted to defend Kris, but reluctantly agreed the man should be given a thorough mental health test. Mr. Shellhammer told Kris he was taking him to see the Mayor at City Hall, but when they got into a car Shellhammer told the driver to go to Bellevue. Kris asked if Doris knew about this, and was told she had arranged everything. When Kris heard that he considered himself a beaten man. If the lady he’d considered a friend would send him to a mental hospital he didn’t want to live amongst “sane” people.

Over the years Kris had become an expert at passing sanity tests, but when the doctors at Bellevue questioned him he gave foolish answers. He kept asking himself “how could she have done it?” It wasn’t until Fred, his lawyer friend, came and told him that many people needed him in their lives that Kris decided to return to the outside world.

Unfortunately Fred couldn’t get Kris released, for bad answers to the mental health questions indicated the man was unbalanced, and perhaps dangerous. Commitment papers had been sent to a judge, but Fred was able to get a sanity hearing scheduled.

Kris Kringle’s hearing had made all of the New York City newspapers, and the courtroom was packed when the judge asked Kris if he believed he was Santa Claus. He declared that he did. That wasn’t the answer Fred wanted his client to give, but he informed the court he intended to prove that Kris Kringle really was Santa Claus.

But how could such a seemingly impossible claim be proven in a court of law? And even if Kris could be released on Christmas Eve – in time for him to fulfill important duties – how could he give young Susan Walker a house for her Christmas present? It was the type of house a happily married Mr. and Mrs. Fred Gayley could afford to buy, but was it possible for sensible, practical Doris Walker to fall in love with a lawyer who was foolish enough to risk his career by trying to prove a nice old man was Santa Claus?

The story has a happy ending, and if you were fortunate enough to grow up in a home where having an imagination was not discouraged, you might find yourself wondering – could Kris really be Santa Claus?

If you’ve seen the movie the novelization has a few extra details that are fun to read about. For example – after Kris Kringle disappears on Christmas Eve the Central Park zookeeper discovers that the zoo’s reindeer are also missing. What a strange coincidence …

At only 120 pages Miracle on 34th Street doesn’t take much longer to read than the time needed to watch the movie version. I highly recommend you find a new or used copy of the novel and spend a few hours deciding if you can believe in Christmas miracles.

Marguerite Henry and the Chincoteague Ponies

When Marguerite was a young girl she had two great loves – reading and learning about animals, especially horses. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 13, 1902, she was stricken with rheumatic fever at the age of six, which confined her to her bedroom until she was twelve. One Christmas her parents gave her a writing desk, and that gift opened up the world of writing stories. Marguerite sold her first story when she was eleven, and continued to write throughout her life. Her last book was published when she was 94!

In 1923 she married married Sidney Henry and went to live near Wayne, Illinois. The Henrys never had children, but they had many pets, and some served as the inspiration for Marguerite’s novels.

In 1946 Marguerite Henry attended Pony Penning on Chincoteague Island, Virginia in search of an idea for a book. Each year the Volunteer Fire Department would round up wild ponies on nearby Assateague Island, have them swim across the channel to Chincoteague, parade them through town and into corrals, and then sell some of the colts at auction. Pony Penning not only raised money for the Fire Department to purchase equipment, but helped control the size of the wild pony population.

While on Chincoteague Island Marguerite met the Beebe family. Clarence (Grandpa) Beebe and his wife, Ida (Grandma), ran a pony ranch with the help of grandchildren Paul and Maureen. Ever since she’d been a sickly girl Marguerite had longed to own a horse, so she purchased a colt named Misty, and had her shipped to her Illinois home.

Stories she’d heard at Pony Penning became the basis for the children’s novel Misty of Chincoteague, first published in 1947. The novel became a perennial bestseller, and was nominated for a Newbery medal. In the book Misty is born on Assateague Island, and she and her mother are purchased by Paul and Maureen at the annual auction. In real life Misty was born on the Beebe’s pony ranch.

In 1949 Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague was published. This novel tells of two men who want to buy Misty so they can make a movie about her, and then take her to schools and libraries around the country so that children who’ve never seen a real pony could get to meet one. At first Paul and Maureen refuse to sell Misty, but do so after they learn money is needed to send an uncle to college. Soon after the sale the Beebe grandchildren find an orphaned new-born colt who will die if not cared for.

In real life no one made a movie about Misty until 1961, but during the famous pony’s time in Illinois she was taken to different locations so children could meet her. Marguerite would write in the mornings, and then take a “carrot break” with Misty and her stable mates – a Morgan horse named Friday (who’d helped inspire the book Justin Morgan Had a Horse) and a burro named Brighty (Brighty of the Grand Canyon). But Misty was the one children wrote fan letters about, and wanted to see.

Marguerite would answer every letter send to her, and allowed groups of children to come to her home and meet Misty. Many who couldn’t come to the Henry home got to see her when the pony was taken to schools, libraries and horse shows.

In 1957 Marguerite Henry returned Misty to the Beebe pony ranch to be bred, but she didn’t stay there long. That same year 21-year-old Paul Beebe was killed in an automobile accident, and two months later Clarence (Grandpa) Beebe died. Ida (Grandma) Beebe would die in 1960, but a few years before that she gave the pony to her son Ralph. For 16 years he and his family took care of Misty and her descendants at Beebe Ranch, and they allowed visitors to come and see the ponies.

In 1962 what became known as the Ash Wednesday storm hit the Virginia coastline, flooding Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. Many wild ponies drowned, and none were sold at that year’s Pony Penning. Fundraising began to buy back some of the ponies sold in previous years, in order to replenish the Volunteer Fire Department’s Assateague herd.

Marguerite Henry decided to write another novel set at Grandpa Beebe’s pony ranch, though there were no longer any ponies living there. In 1963 Stormy, Misty’s Foal was published. The novel was written as though the events took place shortly after the adventures told in 1949’s Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague, though Sea Star is not mentioned. Paul and Maureen are depicted as being about the same age as they were in the earlier books. Misty has been returned to them, and is now famous after appearing in a movie made about her life. She is overdue in foaling her first colt when the Ash Wednesday storm hits. The Beebes are ordered to evacuate their home, and Misty is moved into the kitchen after her stable is flooded.

In real life Misty did shelter in a kitchen during the storm, but that happened at Ralph Beebe’s home. She was about ready to give birth, but Stormy would be her third colt, and not her first.

In the novel Misty’s movie is re-released to raise funds to replenish the Fire Department’s wild pony herd. Ironically the actual movie entitled Misty had been released two years before Stormy, Misty’s Foal was published, and so that made mention of the fictional movie more believable.

Shortly after Ralph Beebe’s death in 1973 his family stopped raising ponies. For the next few decades Misty’s descendants lived on a secession of other Chincoteague Island pony ranches. Misty died in 1972 and her most famous offspring, Stormy, died in 1993. Both were preserved by a taxidermist, and can be viewed at the Museum of Chincoteague.

Marguerite Henry remained interested in Misty’s equine family, and in 1992 Misty’s Twilight was published. This novel told of one of Misty’s descendants who became a successful show horse.

In the late 1980s a young lady named Rebecca Guisti wrote to the author about Beebe Ranch being sold off in portions by Ralph Beebe’s widow. In 1990 Marguerite and Rebecca started The Misty of Chincoteague Foundation, which was able to obtain a small portion of the Beebe Ranch for the purpose of keeping it as open space on the island that was rapidly being transformed by housing developments. On July 29, 1997 a statue of Misty was unveiled on the property.

Marguerite Henry died on November 26, 1997. After her death the foundation she helped to start was mismanaged. The Misty statue was moved to Main Street in the town of Chincoteague, and the property it once stood on was sold for development.

Interest in Misty and her descendants remains high. Other writers have published books about Misty’s family, plastic models have been produced, there are websites about the Chincoteague and Assateague ponies, and the annual Pony Penning is now an event that attracts tourists from around the world.

My interest is confined to enjoying Marguerte Henry’s first three books about the ponies: Misty of Chincoteague; Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague; and Stormy, Misty’s Foal. If you’d like to read these novels they are readily available.

Ruth Fielding & the Great War

During 1917 and 1918 the U.S. took part in what was then known as the Great War, but is now known as World War I. To honor the centennial of that terrible conflict I read three juvenile series novels set during the time period: Ruth Fielding In the Red Cross; Ruth Fielding At the War Front; and Ruth Fielding – Homeward Bound.

Back in 1913 the adventures of our heroine began when she was a 12-year-old orphan sent to live with her grumpy uncle, and they ended in 1934 when she was a wife, mother, motion picture writer / actress / company owner, as well as a mystery solver. The only books in the series I’ve read are the ones that take place during the Great War, and I’ll give a combined synopsis of the three plots.

When the United States goes to war friends Ruth Fielding, Jennie Stone, plus twins Helen and Tom Cameron drop out of college to help defeat the Hun a/k/a the German army. Tom enlists in the Army, the young ladies take on volunteer work, and all eventually end up in France.

At first Ruth helps at the local Red Cross chapter, where she meets Mrs. Mantle, a disagreeable lady who causes problems by saying the organization has dishonest people working for them. Ruth goes off to work at Red Cross headquarters, and so does Mrs Mantle, who is hired as the bookkeeper. Ruth suspects Mrs. Mantel and two others are stealing money, but a mysterious fire destroys all financial records, so good luck accusing anyone of wrongdoing.

Ruth goes to France to work in the Red Cross supply department, and guess who her new supervisor is? None other than trouble-making Mrs. Mantel. Ruth begins work at a French evacuation hospital, where she meets an ambulance driver named Charlie Bragg, and keeps seeing glimpses of what is thought to be a werwolf – who seems to live in the home of Countess Marchand.

For a time a badly wounded soldier is thought to be Ruth’s friend Tom Cameron, but soon after Mrs. Mantel, her two cohorts, and one of the Countess’s servants are arrested Ruth receives a visit from an-only-slightly-wounded Tom. And so ends the first book.

The adventures continue when Charlie Bragg brings dire news. A field hospital had been bombed and the Red Cross lady in charge of supplies was killed. Someone needs to train a new worker, so Ruth volunteers to go and work within a few miles of the front line.

If that isn’t enough trouble for a young lady to deal with, Ruth learns that Tom Cameron is missing from the army, and many believe him to be a traitor. Plus that werwolf is still at large, and the animal may be carrying information to the German army.

Fortunately Ruth learns the so-called werwolf is actually Countess Marchand’s dog, who is carrying information to French spies, including the Countess’s son, Major Henri Marchand.

Ruth returns to her work at the evacuation hospital, and just as her friends Helen Cameron and Jennie Stone show up for a visit, Ruth must leave with Henri Marchand on a secret mission through No Man’s Land to save Tom Cameron. But not before Ruth has time to quickly train Helen and Jennie as temporary medical supply workers. Secret missions can’t interfere with vital Red Cross work.

If you happen to meet the right spies its not difficult to obtain numerous disguises and journey through trench tunnels to save an old friend, who has been working as an American spy. Everyone returns safely to the hospital, and they all have a nice visit with Helen and Jennie. Quite a chummy way to end the second book.

The final book begins with Jennie Stone announcing she is engaged to Henri Marchand. The evacuation hospital is bombed and Ruth Fielding receives injuries that end her Red Cross career, so she is being sent home. She’s visited by Tom Cameron, who tells her he will be taken up in an airplane by his ace-pilot friend Stillenger.

Just as Ruth is boarding a British ship she is given a letter informing her that Stillenger and an unknown army officer may have been shot down. Yikes, what a way to begin a dangerous war-time sea voyage home.

While onboard ship Ruth meets a nasty lady by the name of Irma Lentz, who does not seem to be very patriotic. What’s more Ruth overhears the lady speaking German so she tells the first officer about her, and he believes the nasty lady may be dangerous. Alas, the first officer tells the captain, who tells Irma Lentz about Ruth’s accusations. Not a good way to begin an investigation.

An explosion takes place, crewmen tell the captain the ship is about to sink, and everyone is ordered to head for the lifeboats. Ruth is tripped and knocked unconscious. She awakens to discover the lifeboats have all left and the only ones remaining on the ship are herself, the first officer, who’d been drugged, and the radio man, who’d been locked in a room. A boat load of German-loving crew members return, capture Ruth and her friends, and take over the British ship.

What can three people do against so many enemies? It would be helpful if feared-dead Tom Cameron could somehow appear on the scene and save the day, but that would be a ridiculous plot twist, so you won’t learn about that from me. I’ll just say the heroes triumph, Ruth Fielding arrives back home, and Tom Cameron – who has earned an army furlough – gets to spend some time taking his pretty neighbor for rides in his automobile.

I was hoping the books would portray a more-or-less accurate account of what a Red Cross worker might have done to help the war effort, but I got only glimpses of that as Ruth is in charge of medical supplies and volunteers in the wards writing letters for wounded soldiers. Most of the plot twists are spy-veruses-spy, with plenty of plugs for earlier books, which tell more of everyone’s back-story.

On the positive side, the adventure parts are fast-paced and rather fun to read, so it was easy to not concern myself too much over how unlikely the events were. Plus, I learned the French don’t add a second “e” to the word werwolf, and villians can be easily spotted because they tend to be so disagreeable. Though I didn’t learn as much as I wanted to about Red Cross workers I did get some some insight into early 1900s juvenile series novels.

If you’d like to read the three Ruth Fielding novels set during World War I they can be downloaded free of charge at:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36395
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20834
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36748

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

When I was a little girl I didn’t know this book had existed long before the Judy Garland movie came into being. Later on I learned that L Frank Baum wrote fourteen Land of Oz books, but only recently did I read the first of the series. (Spoiler alert: if you haven’t seen the movie or read this novel I tell the ending, plus major plot twists.)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, first published in 1900, has sold over three million copies, but I wonder if it has many fans in Kansas, for the author portrayed it as such a dismal place it seemed odd that Dorothy was so interested in returning there. Baum and his family lived in the Dakota Territory during the drought years of 1888 through 1891, and he apparently based his main character’s home on what he’d experienced in another part of the country when there wasn’t enough rain.

Dorothy was a girl who lived with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em on the gray Kansas prairie. The plowed fields were sun-baked and gray, the grass was dry and gray, and the one-room farm house was weather-beaten and gray. Even Dorothy’s relatives were gaunt and gray.

Uncle Henry worked from early morning until nighttime and didn’t know what joy was. Whenever Aunt Em heard Dorothy laugh it would startle her, for she’d stopped being cheerful soon after marrying and coming to live on the prairie. Dorothy had a playful little dog named Toto, and he kept the girl from becoming as gray and unhappy as everyone else.

One day Uncle Henry called out that a cyclone was coming, and while he ran to look after the stock Aunt Em ordered Dorothy into the storm cellar. But Toto became frightened and hid under a bed, and Dorothy went to rescue her dog before following her aunt to safety. Before she could get to the cellar’s trap door high winds whirled the house around and slowly began to lift it into the air.

The house rose higher and higher and began to sway back and forth. This went on for hours and Dorothy grew weary, so she went to her bed, fell asleep, and didn’t wake up until the cyclone set the house down in the middle of a beautiful green meadow.

Dorothy stood in the open doorway and saw a group of short, oddly-dressed people coming towards her. A woman – who turned out to be the Witch of the North – bowed, welcomed her to the land of the Munchkins, and thanked her for killing the Wicked Witch of the East by having her house land on top of her. And, sure enough, two feet shod in silver shoes could be seen sticking out from beneath the corner of the building.

She was told that Oz had had four witches. Two were good and two were wicked, and since Dorothy had just killed one of the bad ones there was now only one wicked witch remaining. Dorothy said she needed to return to Kansas, and was advised to travel along a yellow brick road to the City of Emeralds and then go to see the Great Wizard. The Witch of the North could not travel with her, but kissed her on the forehead, which left a mark that would give her protection. Since the deceased witch had turned to dust Dorothy was given her silver shoes, and was told they were charmed, though no one knew what the charm was.

Dorothy’s regular shoes were nearly worn out so she put on the silver ones, and then she and Toto began walking to the City of Emeralds. Along the way she met up with three companions who also decided to travel to see the Wizard and ask for his help.

First she met up with a Scarecrow who wanted brains, but whenever Dorothy and her friends found themselves in danger most of the practical suggestions came from Scarecrow, so he seemed to be doing pretty well with a head filled with straw.

The second companion was a Tin Woodman who wanted a heart. He’d had one back when he was a flesh-and-blood human, before the Wicked Witch of the East worked an enchantment on him. (The Witch had been paid two sheep and a cow to prevent the Woodman from marrying the Munchkin he loved.)

The third companion was a Cowardly Lion who wanted courage, though he tended to be brave during times of danger, even after admitting he was frightened.

After many adventures Dorothy and her companions arrived at the City of Emeralds, and after a night’s rest Dorothy received a private audience with the Great Oz, a/k/a the Wizard, who appeared to her as a giant head. When she requested to be sent back to Kansas she was told she must first go to the land of the Winkies and kill the Wicked Witch of the West. Since the girl had never willingly killed anyone she began to weep, and felt there was no hope of her returning to her family.

The Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and Cowardly Lion all received private audiences with the Wizard, who appeared to each of them in a different form. All asked for what they wanted, and all received the same answer – until the Wicked Witch of the West was killed no requests would be granted. And so the group set off on a witch hunt.

The Wicked Witch saw the group coming and tried to kill them with wolves, followed by crows, then bees, and lastly enslaved Winkies, but Dorothy’s friends were able to defeat all attackers. As a last resort the Wicked Witch decided to send out the dreaded Winged Monkeys. Anyone who owned a charmed Golden Cap could give the Winged Monkeys three commands which they had to obey, and the Witch had already used up two of her commands. This was a witch who really hated unexpected visitors.

Fortunately Winged Monkeys know you don’t mess with a girl who has the protective mark of the good Witch of the North on her forehead, so after many days of imprisonment Dorothy was able to accidently kill the last of Oz’s Wicked Witches. As she and her companions got ready to return to see the Great Wizard Dorothy found the Golden Cap in the cupboard, thought it was pretty, and decided to wear it. The cap turned out to be a good fashion accessory to take with her.

With help from the Winged Monkeys the companions safely arrived back at the City of Emeralds, but – alas – the Great Wizard turned out to be the Great Humbug, with no special powers to grant requests. How would Dorothy ever get back to Kansas? One of the locals suggested she go and see Glinda, the good Witch of the South. Should any little girl have to deal with four witches in one short book? If a cyclone carries her to Oz, then the answer is yes.

There were more adventures, more help from the Winged Monkeys, and one more encounter with a witch. A very kind and good witch who explained there is nothing like a pair of charmed silver shoes to get you and your dog back home again.

The book has a happy ending, with Dorothy’s normally-glum Aunt Em actually expressing emotion when her beloved niece returns to live in the brand new farmhouse built after the cyclone. And Dorothy exclaims that she was glad to be home again.

Since I’d seen the 1939 MGM musical I kept comparing L. Frank Baum’s original story to the Hollywood version and found the book to be of average interest. When the Wizard of Oz turned out to have no special powers I knew Dorothy would eventually get back to Kansas, and so found her last round of adventures a bit annoying. But all in all I found the book to be a quick read, for the adventures kept my interest enough to want to know what happened next.

If you’d like to read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz it can be downloaded free of charge at:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55

The Secret Garden

Mary Lennox was born in India to a beautiful lady who loved attending parties, and who ignored her only child. When Mary “was a sickly, fretful, ugly little baby she was kept out of the way, and when she became a sickly, fretful, toddling thing she was kept out of the way also.” She grew up bullying and insulting her native servants, who had to make sure she didn’t make a fuss and disturb her mother or father.

When Mary was nine years old a cholera outbreak killed her parents and some of the servants, and the survivors ran off without giving a thought to the surly child left behind. After being alone for a couple of days two army officers found her, and arrangements were made for her to be sent to an uncle in England.

Archibald Craven was the owner of Misselthwaite Manor, an estate by the edge of the moor. His home had about a hundred rooms, but most were closed off, with no one ever entering them. Mary’s uncle was a sad, rather disagreeable man who spent most of his time traveling. He had no interest in the orphan left in his care, beyond seeing that she be given food, clothing, and a bedroom and sitting room to stay in.

Mary wasn’t upset that her uncle refused to see her before he left on his latest trip, for no relative had ever paid attention to her, and no one had ever show her affection. What did upset her was learning that English servants wouldn’t let her have her own way. A stern housekeeper named Mrs. Medlock informed Mary that she had to stay within her rooms unless she chose to go outside and walk along the garden paths. She’d arrived during chilly early spring so the sickly girl, raised in a sweltering climate, did not want to go outside.

A girl named Martha was assigned to be the housemaid who brought Mary her meals and cleaned her rooms. She was not a servile servant – she didn’t bow or call her “protector of the poor” as the Indian servants had, but Mary liked listening to Martha’s Yorkshire accent, and became interested in stories about the girl’s family, especially her brother Dickon, who could tame wild animals and make any plant grow and thrive.

She told about Mary’s Uncle Archibald Craven, a hunchback who’d married a kind and beautiful lady who’d spent much of her time in a walled flower garden. About ten years earlier Mrs. Craven was killed in an accident, and Mr. Craven locked the garden door, buried the key, and ordered that no one was to ever again enter his wife’s favorite garden. Mary now had a reason to take walks outside, for she was determined to find the secret, hidden garden.

Friendly, good-hearted Martha enjoyed talking to Mary, and for a time answered all of her questions. But one rainy day Mary heard what sounded like a child crying, and when she asked Martha about it she was told it was just the wind blowing.

On another rainy day Mary decided to walk down one of the long corridors and explore the content of some of the one hundred unused rooms. She ended up walking down many hallways and up a stairway, and once again heard a child crying. She tried to locate the source of the sound, but came upon Mrs. Medlock, who grabbed hold of her arm, and said that if she ever again went where she was told not go she’d be locked inside of her rooms. Mary was not used to being told she couldn’t do something, and was determined to learn the secrets of Misselthwaite Manor.

She began walking amongst the many walled vegetable and flower gardens, and discovered ivy-covered walls that seemed to have no door. Because a dog had dug a hole she found an old key, and a few days later located a door hidden under the ivy, and was able to go inside the secret garden. It was still early spring, and she didn’t know if the bare rose bushes were dead or alive, or if any flowering plants had survived years of neglect, but she longed to bring the garden back to life.

Mary was given spending money each week, so after saying she’d like to grow a garden she and Martha wrote a letter to Dickon, asking him to purchase gardening tools and some easy-to-grow flower seeds. When Dickon came to deliver the items Mary showed him the secret garden she had “stolen.” He assured her that the rose bushes were still alive, and promised to come and help her tend the garden when he wasn’t needed at home.

After that Mary spent much of her time in the secret garden, though she let others believe she was only walking about or skipping rope. Never before had she been outside working, and she’d never had a friend to talk with until her time with Dickon. The sickly disagreeable girl was becoming healthy, and she was beginning to learn how to be kind to others.

Soon after finding the garden Mary was awakened in the night by the sound of crying, and she took her bedside candle and set out to find who was so unhappy. By following the sound she came to a room, went inside and saw a frail boy crying. His name was Colin, and he was the son of Archibald Craven, which made him Mary’s cousin.

Colin and Mary were both astonished to learn another child lived in the manor house. When asked if he had to stay shut up in his room Colin said that he hated going outside or having anyone look at him because he was a cripple who would soon die. Mary inquired if she should leave and Colin said he would like to talk with her.

The boy said his father hated him because his mother died when he was born and Mary blurted out a comment about that was why the garden had been locked. Colin began asking about the locked garden, so Mary said she had heard of it. When Colin became excited and declared he would order the servants to take him there Mary was afraid she would loose her special haven, and said it would be best to keep it a wonderful secret, and that she would go out each day looking for it.

Mary enjoyed visits with Colin, but he was not as important to her as her time working in the garden with Dickon. She skipped a planned time to be with Colin, and the boy threw a tantrum that frightened the servants. But the two cousins were both spoiled tyrants, and instead of giving in to Colin’s demands she engaged him in a shouting match, which turned out to be good for him in the long run, but first brought on a health crisis.

Late at night Mary was awakened by hysterical screaming loud enough to be heard throughout the vast house, and after a time Mary was sent for when the adults – including the trained nurse – could do nothing to stop Colin’s lengthy fit. Mary went into the room with her own angry tantrum, and when the startled boy confided his secret health fears to her, a truce of trust was formed.

After the adults left the room, Mary said she was sure she would soon find the secret garden, and Colin declared he wanted to go outside with Mary and Dickon and see the garden his mother had loved.

Soon Misselthwaite Manor had a new secret. Colin was sure that time in the garden would heal him, but he didn’t want anyone to know he was getting stronger. His dream was to wait until his father returned home, when he would walk up to him and show Mr. Craven he had a strong healthy son he needn’t be ashamed of.

If you’ve never read The Secret Garden you may know the story, for there have been several movies based on the novel. I’ve seen a couple of the films, but they left out parts, or added things I hated. Hallmark Hall of Fame did a lavish production, but set the story as a flashback, and viewers learn Dickon was killed during the first World War. No, no, no! The novel was first published in 1911, and I want no “made up” deaths that take place after the events of the story.

I’ve read the novel several times, and though there are a few “magical” and / or coincidental elements (how convenient that a stray dog happened to dig up the buried key) I find everything believable when I’m caught up in the wonder of the story about two bad-tempered neglected children, a splendid wonder-gardener boy, and the health-giving benefits of hard work to bring beauty to an imprisoned flower garden.
I highly recommend The Secret Garden, which can be downloaded free of charge at: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17396

The Paddington Books

In 1958 a book was published that told of Mr. and Mrs. Brown going to London’s Paddington station to meet their daughter, who was coming home from school. At a crowded railway platform they noticed a small bear wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sitting on a battered suitcase. Around the bear’s neck hung a label that read: PLEASE LOOK AFTER THIS BEAR. THANK YOU.

They questioned the well-mannered bear and learned he was from Darkest Peru. He had been raised by his Aunt Lucy, but when she had to go to the home for retired bears she told him to emigrate to England, which he did by stowing away in a ship’s lifeboat. (It was never explained how he ended up at a combination railway and London Underground terminal.)

Mrs. Brown convinced her reluctant husband they needed to let the poor bear stay with them. The young bear informed her that no can understand his Peruvian name, so she gave him the name Paddington, after the station where he’d been found.

The family soon learned Paddington was a good-natured and polite bear who wanted to do be helpful, but Darkest Peru is much different than London, and he kept getting into situations he’d never experienced before. When Mrs. Brown went off to meet her daughter’s train her husband bought hungry Paddington a cup of tea and a bun. Alas, Mr. Brown wasn’t familiar with the ways of bears, so he chose a large cream and jam bun, which Paddington ate by standing on the tabletop and getting sticky filling all over his whiskers and fur.

When the bear arrived at his new home he was told he needed a bath, but modern plumbing is confusing when you were used to bathing by sitting in a puddle. He filled the bathtub nearly to overflowing, and after getting into the tub was afraid he’d drown, so he used his hat to bail out some of the water. Oh dear, that made a bit of a mess …

Paddington was taken to a large department store and discovered all kinds of ways to accidently get into trouble. Fortunately most people understood he wasn’t trying to misbehave. (The few who thought themselves too important to bother about the bear’s problems received a certain hard stare – learned from Aunt Lucy – that made the most hoity-toity person squirm.)

He preferred the small shops in his own neighborhood, and turned out to be a shrewd shopper when he was sent out to run errands for the Brown family. His favorite shopkeeper was Mr. Gruber, who had a second-hand store, and would sometimes acquire valuable antiques. Paddington became good friends with Mr. Gruber, and got into the habit of sharing “elevenses” with him – a cup of cocoa and a bun at eleven in the morning.

Mr. Gruber taught his friend about antiques, but Paddington didn’t always listen well enough to the story he was being told. Once Mr. Gruber said that in the past a poor artist might reuse an old canvas by painting a picture over top of another one, and sometimes the hidden painting had been painted by an artist who became famous.

At the Brown’s house a painting was being stored in a canvas bag, and Paddington meant no harm when he decided to remove some of the paint in search of a hidden picture. Then he tried to cover up the damage with random strokes of bright paint, not knowing that Mr. Brown had painted the picture, and it was an entry into a local art show. It’s a good thing some judges like modern art …

Author Michael Bond’s A Bear Called Paddington sold well, and so he wrote other Paddington novels. Over time the chapter books were joined by Paddington toys, a British television series, and short picture books based on television episodes. Two recent movies have been popular.

The last new Paddington book was published in 2017, shortly before Michael Bond’s death. Not many book series have the same author producing new stories for 59 years!

If you’d like to read any of Paddington Brown’s adventures the books are still in print. And since over 30 million Paddington books have been sold it shouldn’t be hard to purchase used volumes.

I own a few of the novels, and when everyday life seems a bit overwhelming I take a short vacation by seeing what the small bear from Darkest Peru is up to at 32 Windsor Gardens, near the Portobello Road market. There are always some good-deeds-gone-awry there, but everything turns out well in the end.

Adrift In New York

When reading Horatio Alger’s Adrift In New York, or Tom and Florence Braving the World I can imagine the story being performed on stage by a Victorian-era touring company, with the actor playing the villain twirling the end of his mustache as he speaks his caddish thoughts out loud.
Here is the reader’s introduction to Curtis Waring: “He was a tall, dark-complexioned man, of perhaps thirty-five, with shifty, black eyes and thin lips, shaded by a dark mustache. It was not a face to trust.” There was nothing subtle about Alger’s character descriptions.
In the first chapter wealthy-but-ailing John Linden speaks to his niece, Florence, about the loss of his son, who was “abducted at the age of four by a revengeful servant whom I had discharged from my employment.” If the son was still alive he would be eighteen years old.
When Curtis Waring (Florence’s cousin and John Linden’s nephew) comes into the room Linden tells his relatives that he has two wills locked in a desk. One will leaves his estate to his son, and the other leaves everything to Florence and Curtis if they marry each other. Curtis is agreeable to the marriage for “so far as he was capable of loving anyone, he loved his fair young cousin.” However Florence informs the cad that she’d rather live in poverty “then become the wife of one I loathe.”
In the next chapter we learn that Tim Bolton, the former revengeful servant, had been paid by Curtis to abduct Uncle John’s son and take him out of the country, but Bolton and the boy have now returned from Australia and are running a saloon in the Bowery. Curtis hires Bolton to break into the house and steal the wills from the locked desk.
Soon after that Florence’s Uncle John informs her she has twenty-four hours to agree to marry Curtis, or else he’d send her away penniless. She then sits at a table writing her uncle a good-bye letter until sobbing herself to sleep. While she slept a young man wearing tattered clothes comes through the window and opens the locked desk. When Florence wakes up and asks the youth what he was doing, he apologizes and says he came to steal something because the man who claimed to be his father told him to, but he didn’t want to be a thief.
Florence tells the young man, whose name is Tom Dodger, that he should give up bad company and live an honest life, and informs him she will soon be homeless. Tom promises to obtain honest work, find a respectable rented room for her to stay in, and look after her as though she were his sister. Florence is sure the young house-breaker is trustworthy, and agrees to let Tom take care of her.
Tom and Florence both rent separate rooms at the run-down lodging house run by Mrs. O’Keefe, a widow who has an apple stand. Florence is able to find work as a part-time governess, teaching a wealthy girl each morning. Tom begins selling newspapers by the North River piers, and sometimes finding addition work carrying luggage for passengers getting off the boats. During the evenings Florence gives lessons to Tom, who’d only had a few years of schooling.
All goes well for a few weeks, but then villainous Curtis Waring kidnaps and drugs Tom, and has him driven to a ship which will take four to six months to travel to San Francisco. Tom’s passage has been paid for, and a satchel of clothes provided. (A few chapters later readers are informed that railroads allow travelers to cross the country in no time at all, so I’m not sure if there would be much call for ships to take on passengers during a half-a-year voyage to California. Perhaps ship staterooms were mostly occupied by rightful heirs who had to be kept out of the way for long periods of time.)
The good news is that once Tom arrives in San Francisco he obtains a well-paying job. The bad news is that Florence sends him a letter stating she had lost her teaching job and is reduced to sewing all day long for just a few cents a day.
One evening after work Tom meets a poor woman with a little boy, who are about to be evicted from their rented room. He buys the forlorn mother and child a restaurant meal, and learns the woman is Mrs. Curtis Waring. Well now, if that stubborn John Linden could learn that there is an excellent reason why he mustn’t insist that Florence marry her cousin Curtis, surely he would take Florence back into his home, so she doesn’t have to be working herself to death. But it would take many month’s salary to purchase three cross-country railroad tickets for himself and Curtis Waring’s abandoned family.
Poor Tom seems to be faced with an insurmountable problem. Fortunately his story was written by an author who never hesitated to hurry the plot along with outlandish coincidences…
Adrift in New York was first published in 1900, one year after Horatio Alger’s death, so it is possible that the book was partially written by Edward Stratemeyer, who had been chosen to complete Alger’s unfinished manuscripts. (See my October 2017 post for more on Stratemeyer.) No matter who wrote the novel there is much to keep it off my list of all-time favorite books. I suspect the author placed speed-of-writing over literary excellence, and the plot does not pass the most basic “it is reasonable to assume this might happen” test.
However the book has one important factor in it’s favor – it is an enjoyable read. I may roll my eyes and snicker over plot developments, but I keep reading because I want to know what happens next. Even during a reread, when I know what will happen, I keep reading just because I’m having a good time revisiting Florence and Tom’s troubles.
If you’d like to spend a few hours reading Adrift in New York, it can be downloaded free of charge at:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18581

Charlotte’s Web

I believe I was a junior high student when I first read Charlotte’s Web and, though I remembered the basic gist of the story, I couldn’t recall if I liked it or not. When I recently came upon a battered paperback copy of E. B. White’s famous novel I was at first reluctant to reread it, for I knew there were sad parts. But I reminded myself that I’ve survived reading many sad stories, so I decided to see if my grown up self liked the book.

One morning eight-year-old Fern learns that her father, Mr. Arable, planned to kill the runt of a litter of pigs. She pleaded with him to spare the pig’s life, so he agreed to allow her to care for the animal. When Fern’s older brother learns his sister was given a pig he asked if he could have one as well, but his father tells him that only early risers get presents. “Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice. As a result, she now has a pig.”

Fern loved her pig, and named him Wilbur. She’d warm milk for Wilbur, tie on his bib, and hold the bottle for him. When he grew a little older Wilbur would follow Fern all around the farm. But when the pig was five weeks old Mr. Arable said that Wilbur had to be sold, so arrangements were made to sell him to Fern’s Uncle Homer Zuckerman.

Wilbur’s new home was in the lower part of Mr. Zuckerman’s barn, and Fern came almost everyday to visit him. She sat so quietly on an old milking stool next to Wilbur’s pen that the geese and sheep learned to trust her, and in time Fern understood the conversations the animals had with each other. Sometimes Fern told her parents what the animals had to say, and that worried her mother, who informed her that animals could not talk. However her father suggested that their adult ears might not hear what their daughter could hear.

Wilbur enjoyed Fern’s visits, but she wasn’t there during most of the day and he grew lonely. He wanted a friend who could always be nearby.

One day a spider by the name of Charlotte A. Cavatica said she would be his friend, and that made Wilbur happy – until he learned Charlotte trapped, killed and ate flies, which seemed quite blood-thristy to the young pig. But Charlotte explained that while Wilbur had his food brought to him spiders had to work for their food. Plus, if it wasn’t for spiders eatings flies and bugs the insects would multiply and take over the earth. That made sense to Wilbur, and he began to focus on the good qualities of his new friend.

Summer came, and Wilbur was enjoying his life until one of the sheep informed him he was being fattened up to be killed and eaten. Wilbur began to scream and cry, but Charlotte told him that she would not let him be harmed.

One evening Charlotte tore a large section out of the middle of her web and began to weave something new. The next morning, when the farm hand came to feed Wilbur, he saw a message had been woven into the spider web: SOME PIG.

The farm hand rushed off to get Mr. Zuckerman, who drove to his minister’s house to tell him about the miracle on his farm. Even before the minister was able to preach a sermon on the meaning of the miracle folks from all parts of the county were coming to see Wilbur and the remarkable spider web.

Charlotte held meetings with the other barnyard animals (including an unpleasant rat named Templeton) to discuss new messages she could weave, and in time her web proclaimed that Wilbur was TERRIFIC, and then RADIANT.

Mr. Zuckerman decided to take Wilbur to the county fair so that more people could see his wonderful pig, and Wilbur found out he would not be killed. However, Wilbur’s troubles weren’t over, for spiders don’t live as long as pigs who aren’t turned into ham and bacon, and little girls grow up and find new interests.

Would Wilbur be left with no friends to keep him company? And if he does find new friends, could they ever mean as much to him as his beloved Charlotte?

When I first read Charlotte’s Web I may have considered it to be a book about talking farm animals, but now I see it as a story about friendship. Since my first reading of the novel I’ve lost friends through death, and through the gradual realization that we no longer share the same interests. Plus I’ve met up with folks who were as silly or annoying as many of the sheep and geese that shared Wilbur’s barn – folks that meant well and who can be classified as friends. And, alas, I’ve lived or worked around people as self-serving as Templeton the rat, and even they can be of use if you meet their terms.

I enjoyed my time reading about Wilbur and his world, especially since I’ve had the honor of meeting many fine people who share my love of creating stories. I can relate to Wilbur’s bittersweet acceptance that he will never love any of his new friends as much as he loved Charlotte. At the end of the book the reader learns: “It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.” I can attest to the importance of those virtues!

If you would like to read Charlotte’s Web you should be able to find it at a public library, or from many booksellers.

Bobby In Movieland

Recently I learned of a Jesuit priest named Francis J. Finn who’d written Horatio Alger style adventure books from the 1890s through the 1920s. His most famous stories were novels about Tom Playfair, who attended St. Maure’s School. I wasn’t able to find any of that series, so I’ll be reviewing Fr. Finn’s Bobby In Movieland, published by Benziger Brothers in 1921.

Eight-year-old Bobby Vernon and his widowed mother were making their first visit to California. Bobby and his new friend, Peggy Sansone – they’d met on the Pullman railroad car – wanted to go wading in the ocean by Long Beach, and Mrs. Vernon gave her permission if they promised to return to the railroad station in half-an-hour, for they were traveling to see a relative who might help Mrs. Vernon pay a debt.

Alas, Bobby ventured further out into the water than he should have, and then – double alas – a high “roller” wave rushed over him and pushed him under water and then out to sea. Peggy rushed back to her mother, just as the train was about to leave the station. The girl was too upset to notice the small earthquake tremor that terrified those who were new to the Los Angeles area. The train was moving when Mrs. Vernon learned that her son probably drowned, and the porter told her it would be best to go on to the next station, and see if there was a telegram waiting for her.

Fortunately the book’s hero did not die in the first chapter. A former lifeguard rescued Bobby, then left to get the boy some brandy. (Gasp – and this during Prohibition!) Bobby put on his shoes, and just as memories of his near drowning came back to him he felt the earthquake tremor. Panic stricken, he began running out onto a highway.

Bobby was nearly hit by an auto driven by John Compton, a “promising comedian” recently hired by a moving-picture company to star in silent movies. Compton stopped his auto, and ran back to see if the boy was hurt. He soon learned the boy’s entire history, including Bobby’s mother’s maiden name. In later chapters I learned that Compton had once courted Bobby’s mother, but she had broken up with him because he was a non-believer.

Compton promised to take care of Bobby until he could be reunited with his mother. He promptly sent off a telegram to the train station
the widowed Mrs. Vernon was headed towards but – alas once more – so many frightened visitors rushed to send off wires that the telegraph company was overwhelmed with work, and John Compton’s message didn’t arrive in time to be delivered.

Compton had to return to his studio, and he took Bobby along. The boy followed the rules about staying out of the way of those working on the movie, but he was a born mimic, and amused himself by taking on the movements and facial expressions of the actors. And when the director gave instructions to an uninspired youth on how to act out a scene Bobby followed directions better than the paid actor, and put on an fine show out of camera range.

Soon everyone on the set knew that Bobby was a gifted actor, and he was given a part in the film. Bobby loved working in movies, staying with his “uncle” John Compton, and learning that Peggy Sansone – the girl he’d gone wading with – was an actress at the same studio he worked at.

Bobby was living near a Catholic church and loved to go inside to pray. Compton went in with him, though he didn’t know just what was required within church walls. Bobby gave him little catechism lessons, and soon the temporary uncle became interested in the faith of his young ward.

The boy was almost always cheerful, but when night came he missed his mother. Each evening Compton checked on Bobby after the boy had been sent to bed, saw tears on his face, and knew Bobby had cried himself to sleep.

What had happened to Mrs. Vernon? She got off at her destination, but found no telegram waiting for her. She made inquiries about the relative she’d come to see, and learned the man had recently died in poverty.

The train had left, so she prayed for guidance. Five minutes later a man with two children came up to her, and said his wife would die if he didn’t find a nurse to give her around-the-clock care. Mrs. Vernon declared that she’d attended nursing school, and was hired on the spot to go out to a ranch and care for the gravely ill wife and mother.

Caring for the woman helped Mrs. Vernon forget her own troubles, and she grew to love the family’s two children. But if she’s off living on an isolated ranch, will she learn anything about the wonderful new child movie star? Will the private investigators hired by John Compton be able to find her? And if she is reunited with her son, what will she think of his guardian, who’s now becoming interested in the Catholic church? You know, the man who once courted her, but who’s lack of faith doomed their romance.

I’ll let you know that the novel has a happy ending. Though I wouldn’t rank Fr. Finn as a first class writer, I found the book an enjoyable read. Bobby is a good boy, but he’s not perfect, so doesn’t come off as annoyingly pious. Other likable characters “reform” their mildly naughty habits in ways that come across as plausible.

Catechism lessons are given, but they only take up a couple of sentences at a time. However, the book was written for an audience of Catholic children, and has a religious slant that some may not appreciate.

If you’d like to know more about Bobby, Mrs. Vernon, John Compton, and how silent moving-pictures may have been made in 1921 Bobby In Movieland can be downloaded, free of charge at:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56319