What do you think?
Rate this book
The Primrose Ring
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
- GenresFiction
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1915
4 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Sawyer
105 books30 followersRuth Sawyer was an American storyteller and a writer of fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. She may be best known as the author of Roller Skates, which won the 1937 Newbery Medal.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
vintage-longings
January 22, 2019
January 11, 2015
An unashamed and quite delightful tale of 'Fancy and faeries', as the author terms it in her short foreword, where a magical bunch of primroses bought on May Eve brings the Little People into the life of the staff and children of a hospital, to benevolent effect.
The buyer of the flowers is Margaret Maclean, nurse to the nine 'incurable' children of Ward C at Saint Margarets. She was once herself an 'incurable', before the old Senior Surgeon saved her against the odds.
But the new Senior Surgeon and compassionless Trustees have some drastic plans for both 'Miss Peggie' and the inhabitants of Ward C - only they picked the wrong night to bring their plans into being.
Despite the obvious pathos inherent in the characters and their situation, 'The Primrose Ring' keeps its good sense and doesn't succumb to sentiment or offer any false hopes with the way the story plays out.
The children's night journey through the magical primrose ring to the Land of Tir-na-n'Og is particularly pleasing.
A superior fairy story in the Celtic strain, for both children and adults.
"Ye weave a bonny primrose ring;
Ye hear the River callin';
Ye ken the Land whaur faeries sing—
Whaur starlicht beams are fallin'.
'Tis there the pipers play things true;
'Tis there ye'll gae—my dearie—
The bonny Land 'at waits for you,
Whaur ye'll be nae mair weary."
The buyer of the flowers is Margaret Maclean, nurse to the nine 'incurable' children of Ward C at Saint Margarets. She was once herself an 'incurable', before the old Senior Surgeon saved her against the odds.
But the new Senior Surgeon and compassionless Trustees have some drastic plans for both 'Miss Peggie' and the inhabitants of Ward C - only they picked the wrong night to bring their plans into being.
Despite the obvious pathos inherent in the characters and their situation, 'The Primrose Ring' keeps its good sense and doesn't succumb to sentiment or offer any false hopes with the way the story plays out.
The children's night journey through the magical primrose ring to the Land of Tir-na-n'Og is particularly pleasing.
A superior fairy story in the Celtic strain, for both children and adults.
"Ye weave a bonny primrose ring;
Ye hear the River callin';
Ye ken the Land whaur faeries sing—
Whaur starlicht beams are fallin'.
'Tis there the pipers play things true;
'Tis there ye'll gae—my dearie—
The bonny Land 'at waits for you,
Whaur ye'll be nae mair weary."
January 26, 2019
I LOVED this little story! This is just the sort of old-fashioned tale that makes me happy. How can you do better than magic, and flowers, and miracles, and romance, all in one short story?
February 26, 2023
✨ genre • novel, romance, children’s literature, fairy tale
✨synopsis • margaret maclean works as a nurse at a children’s hospital. the trustees decide to close down the ward for “incurable” children, without considering the well-being of the children in question. margaret and the house surgeon must fight for the well-being of the children.
✨ my thoughts • ruth sawyer’s writing can feel very old-fashioned, with a distinct line between good and evil. this can be refreshing and simple as long as you’re not looking for a nuanced take on human nature. i started enjoying the book more halfway through, when the fairy elements enter the story, and things become more hopeful.
✨synopsis • margaret maclean works as a nurse at a children’s hospital. the trustees decide to close down the ward for “incurable” children, without considering the well-being of the children in question. margaret and the house surgeon must fight for the well-being of the children.
✨ my thoughts • ruth sawyer’s writing can feel very old-fashioned, with a distinct line between good and evil. this can be refreshing and simple as long as you’re not looking for a nuanced take on human nature. i started enjoying the book more halfway through, when the fairy elements enter the story, and things become more hopeful.
December 27, 2023
✔️Published in 1915.
🎥Movie version is a lost 1917 silent film.
What a curiously peculiar short story of a children’s charity hospital for incurable children and the fairies who help to decide what is to become of it.
This story takes place on May Eve, which is the one day that fairies walk the Earth (in case you did not know). Coincidently, that one particular day is the one where the hospital trustees came to visit this children’s charity hospital to decide its fate.
I like the premise of this story. I did, however, have a rough go of reading the very heavy Irish accents that the fairies have. It takes some getting used to in order to read it well. For example:
The Kindle version does not have the illustrations.
This story was made into a silent film in 1917, starring Mae Murray, Tom Moore, Mayme Kelso, and a very young Loretta Young (who played one of the fairies). Unfortunately, my research shows that this is a lost film. Oh, darn!
🟣Kindle version.
🎥Movie version is a lost 1917 silent film.
What a curiously peculiar short story of a children’s charity hospital for incurable children and the fairies who help to decide what is to become of it.
This story takes place on May Eve, which is the one day that fairies walk the Earth (in case you did not know). Coincidently, that one particular day is the one where the hospital trustees came to visit this children’s charity hospital to decide its fate.
I like the premise of this story. I did, however, have a rough go of reading the very heavy Irish accents that the fairies have. It takes some getting used to in order to read it well. For example:
"Phat wull a do the noo?" he asked.
The Kindle version does not have the illustrations.
This story was made into a silent film in 1917, starring Mae Murray, Tom Moore, Mayme Kelso, and a very young Loretta Young (who played one of the fairies). Unfortunately, my research shows that this is a lost film. Oh, darn!
🟣Kindle version.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews