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The Young Visitors - Or Mr. Salteena's Plan
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Hardcover
First published May 22, 1919
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About the author
Daisy Ashford
19 books14 followersDaisy Ashford, full name Margaret Mary Julia Ashford (later Devlin) was an English writer who is most famous for writing The Young Visiters, a novella concerning the upper class society of late 19th century England, when she was just nine years old. The novella was published in 1919, preserving her juvenile spelling and punctuation. She wrote the title as "Viseters" in her manuscript, but it was published as "Visiters"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 261 reviews
December 23, 2016
This is really pretty hilarious, but I don't think, contrary to some shelving I see, that it would be very interesting for children. It is BY a child, but clearly modeled on adult conversation and novels. That these were not entirely understood by the author is a gap from which much of the entertainment arises. We have characters who were "sinister" or born "on the wrong side of the blanket" and little Daisy knew that meant a fellow was "not quite a gentleman". She apparently missed entirely the fact that nice girls don't go stay alone with unmarried men (one, and then another; poor Ethel really gets handed off like an unwanted pet).
The social interactions and dialogue are mostly quite implausible, especially for rigidly stratified and uptight English people. "My life will be sour grapes and ashes without you!" exclaims a rejected suitor. His love object promises to "think of you in a warm manner" to which he responds, "Half a loaf is better than none." He is very sad at the wedding but cheers up when he sees all the fancy desserts.
Despite the serious weaknesses of plot and structure and spelling, Ashford does have a sense of prose style, and also some strong characterization. She is particularly good at understand the feelings of awkwardness and uncertainty that characters might experience in certain situations. I can see why some readers doubted this was really by a nine-year-old.
Quite enjoyable. And apparently there is a film adaptation with Jim Broadbent; I'll have to check that out.
The social interactions and dialogue are mostly quite implausible, especially for rigidly stratified and uptight English people. "My life will be sour grapes and ashes without you!" exclaims a rejected suitor. His love object promises to "think of you in a warm manner" to which he responds, "Half a loaf is better than none." He is very sad at the wedding but cheers up when he sees all the fancy desserts.
Despite the serious weaknesses of plot and structure and spelling, Ashford does have a sense of prose style, and also some strong characterization. She is particularly good at understand the feelings of awkwardness and uncertainty that characters might experience in certain situations. I can see why some readers doubted this was really by a nine-year-old.
Quite enjoyable. And apparently there is a film adaptation with Jim Broadbent; I'll have to check that out.
March 31, 2012
"I shall put some red ruge on my face said Ethel because I am very pale owing to the drains in this house."
January 2, 2015
3.5 stars
This book was written by a 9-year-old so of course it's not the most brilliantly-written thing in the world––but Daisy Ashford's prose and attention to detail is certainly impressive considering her age. It's kind of unclear whether the story was meant to be satirical or whether Ashford intended readers to take it seriously, but either way it's cute and funny and I found it very entertaining.
I'll probably edit this review later and add in some quotes that I found particularly funny. :)
This book was written by a 9-year-old so of course it's not the most brilliantly-written thing in the world––but Daisy Ashford's prose and attention to detail is certainly impressive considering her age. It's kind of unclear whether the story was meant to be satirical or whether Ashford intended readers to take it seriously, but either way it's cute and funny and I found it very entertaining.
I'll probably edit this review later and add in some quotes that I found particularly funny. :)
July 8, 2019
I discovered this book reading The Church Times, which reprinted a review from 100 years ago when it first appeared. It may be the funniest book ever written, at least the funniest book by a nine year old author. The spelling and syntax match the sentiments: as inverted commas are omitted for quotes, it could be a work of postmodern fiction like Sally Rooney only much more enjoyable.
Sample: Here Mr Salteena thourght he had better go to bed as he had had a long jornney. Bernard always had a few prayers in the hall and some whiskey afterwards as he was rather pious but Mr Salteena was not very adicted to prayers so he marched up to bed. Ethel stayed as she thourght it would be a good thing. The butler came in as he was a very holy man and Bernard piously said the Our Father and a very good hymm called I will keep my anger down and a Decad of the Rosary.
Sample: Here Mr Salteena thourght he had better go to bed as he had had a long jornney. Bernard always had a few prayers in the hall and some whiskey afterwards as he was rather pious but Mr Salteena was not very adicted to prayers so he marched up to bed. Ethel stayed as she thourght it would be a good thing. The butler came in as he was a very holy man and Bernard piously said the Our Father and a very good hymm called I will keep my anger down and a Decad of the Rosary.
September 8, 2020
The “owner of the copyright” guarantees that “The Young Visiters” is the unaided effort in fiction of an authoress of nine years. “Effort,” however, is an absurd word to use, as you may see by studying the triumphant countenance of the child herself, which is here reproduced as frontispiece to her sublime work. This is no portrait of a writer who had to burn the oil at midnight (indeed there is documentary evidence that she was hauled off to bed every evening at six): it has an air of careless power; there is a complacency about it that by the severe might perhaps be called smugness. It needed no effort for that face to knock off a masterpiece. It probably represents precisely how she looked when she finished a chapter. - J.M. Barrie
In 1919, when Ashford’s novella was first published, it was a bit of an oddity, it still is. It’s a wonderful – or annoying depending on your sense of humour – story riddled with Ashford’s misspellings and malapropisms, all adding to its comic charm.
Ashford’s central character is Mr Salteena, who
”…was an elderly man of 42 and was fond of asking peaple to stay with him. He had quite a young girl staying with him of 17 named Ethel Monticue. Mr Salteena had dark short hair and mustache and wiskers which were very black and twisty. He was middle-sized and he had very pale blue eyes. He had a pale brown suit but on Sundays he had a black one and he had a topper every day as he thorght it more becoming. Ethel Monticue had fair hair done on top and blue eyes. She had a blue velvit frock which had grown rarther short in the sleeves.”
Mr Salteena receives a “quear shaped parcel” inviting him to visit the majestic Rickamere Hall, so off he goes taking Ethel with him. The rest of the plot hinges on Mr Salteena’s attempts to rise above his station as a mere butcher’s son and join the ranks of the great and noble, maybe winning the hand of Ethel along the way.
Not sure how best to describe Ashford’s hilarious book, although it’s close to what I imagine an episode of Downton Abbey might’ve been like if spliced with sections of The Diary of a Nobody, though that doesn’t really sum it up. But fellow fans of a particular vein of British, period humour that runs through The Importance of Being Earnest and the work of Jerome K. Jerome will be the most likely to understand its appeal.
In 1919, when Ashford’s novella was first published, it was a bit of an oddity, it still is. It’s a wonderful – or annoying depending on your sense of humour – story riddled with Ashford’s misspellings and malapropisms, all adding to its comic charm.
Ashford’s central character is Mr Salteena, who
”…was an elderly man of 42 and was fond of asking peaple to stay with him. He had quite a young girl staying with him of 17 named Ethel Monticue. Mr Salteena had dark short hair and mustache and wiskers which were very black and twisty. He was middle-sized and he had very pale blue eyes. He had a pale brown suit but on Sundays he had a black one and he had a topper every day as he thorght it more becoming. Ethel Monticue had fair hair done on top and blue eyes. She had a blue velvit frock which had grown rarther short in the sleeves.”
Mr Salteena receives a “quear shaped parcel” inviting him to visit the majestic Rickamere Hall, so off he goes taking Ethel with him. The rest of the plot hinges on Mr Salteena’s attempts to rise above his station as a mere butcher’s son and join the ranks of the great and noble, maybe winning the hand of Ethel along the way.
Not sure how best to describe Ashford’s hilarious book, although it’s close to what I imagine an episode of Downton Abbey might’ve been like if spliced with sections of The Diary of a Nobody, though that doesn’t really sum it up. But fellow fans of a particular vein of British, period humour that runs through The Importance of Being Earnest and the work of Jerome K. Jerome will be the most likely to understand its appeal.
December 26, 2019
A gorgeous, funny, charming, tiny book written by Daisy Ashford in 1890 when she was nine.
February 20, 2026
A Charming Phantasy
A review of the Revelation Press eBook (August 29, 2023) of the Chatto & Windus hardcover original (1919) of a manuscript written in 1890 when the author was 9-years-old.
I had never previously heard of The Young Visiters until I recently came across this passage in Josephine Tey's Miss Pym Disposes (1946). The writer Lucy Pym is selecting a night-time reading book from the library at the Girl's Academy where she is guest lecturing.
With further research, I discovered that the book had been written when the author Daisy Ashford was only 9-years-old, although only published when discovered almost 30-years later. Author J.M. Barrie (writer of Peter Pan (1906) a.o.) wrote the original introduction and affirmed its authenticity and also stated that the original spelling had been retained (except for the title which had been "The Young Viseters") and breaking the one paragraph length chapters into more readable segments.
The opening page of the 1890 manuscript. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Although the first sentence does come across as shocking in the present day of "grooming" alerts, the book quickly settles in as a child's fantasy which combines her imagined adult world with partly understood words and phrases which she has read or overheard in her growing up.
Both Mr. Salteena and his guest Ethel Monticue look to rise in the world and visit Salteena's friend Bernard Clark. Salteena yearns to become a gentleman and goes to visit the lords who live in the "compartements" of the Crystal Palace in hopes of gaining a mentor. Ethel meanwhile continues her journey in the company of Clark. It all ends happily for everyone of course.
It was all very naive and charming, but yes, it did make me smile 😊.
The cover of my eBook used an anachronistic image of several mediaeval waifs for its cover. The original cover design portraying the various characters as shadow puppet silhouettes seemed more appropriate.
Front and back covers of the 1919 original hardcover edition. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Trivia and Links
The Young Visiters was adapted twice for feature length films.
The first adaptation was the theatrical film The Young Visiters (1984) directed by David Hill and starring Tracey Ullman as Ethel Monticue. I could not find a trailer or a complete copy of the film.
The second adaptation was for BBC Television as The Young Visiters (2003) directed by David Yates and starring Jim Broadbent as Mr. Salteena. You can see that entire film on YouTube here.
Presumably both adaptations are reasonably faithful to the book but include added portrayals of Daisy Ashford herself and both actresses playing Ethel Monticue are a more age appropriate 25-years-old at the time of filming.
The Young Visiters is in the Public Domain and can be read online at various sources such as Wikisource, Standard EBooks, and Project Gutenberg.
A review of the Revelation Press eBook (August 29, 2023) of the Chatto & Windus hardcover original (1919) of a manuscript written in 1890 when the author was 9-years-old.
I had never previously heard of The Young Visiters until I recently came across this passage in Josephine Tey's Miss Pym Disposes (1946). The writer Lucy Pym is selecting a night-time reading book from the library at the Girl's Academy where she is guest lecturing.
Lucy took The Young Visiters. It was a long time since she had read it last, but she found that she was smiling at the very sight of it. A sort of reflex action; quite involuntary. And when she looked up she found that Lux was smiling too.
"Well, that is one thing I shall never do," Lucy said regretfully.
"What?"
"Write a book that makes all the world smile."
With further research, I discovered that the book had been written when the author Daisy Ashford was only 9-years-old, although only published when discovered almost 30-years later. Author J.M. Barrie (writer of Peter Pan (1906) a.o.) wrote the original introduction and affirmed its authenticity and also stated that the original spelling had been retained (except for the title which had been "The Young Viseters") and breaking the one paragraph length chapters into more readable segments.
The opening page of the 1890 manuscript. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Mr Salteena was an elderly man of 42 and was fond of asking peaple to stay with him. He had quite a young girl staying with him of 17 named Ethel Monticue.
Although the first sentence does come across as shocking in the present day of "grooming" alerts, the book quickly settles in as a child's fantasy which combines her imagined adult world with partly understood words and phrases which she has read or overheard in her growing up.
Both Mr. Salteena and his guest Ethel Monticue look to rise in the world and visit Salteena's friend Bernard Clark. Salteena yearns to become a gentleman and goes to visit the lords who live in the "compartements" of the Crystal Palace in hopes of gaining a mentor. Ethel meanwhile continues her journey in the company of Clark. It all ends happily for everyone of course.
It was all very naive and charming, but yes, it did make me smile 😊.
The cover of my eBook used an anachronistic image of several mediaeval waifs for its cover. The original cover design portraying the various characters as shadow puppet silhouettes seemed more appropriate.
Front and back covers of the 1919 original hardcover edition. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Trivia and Links
The Young Visiters was adapted twice for feature length films.
The first adaptation was the theatrical film The Young Visiters (1984) directed by David Hill and starring Tracey Ullman as Ethel Monticue. I could not find a trailer or a complete copy of the film.
The second adaptation was for BBC Television as The Young Visiters (2003) directed by David Yates and starring Jim Broadbent as Mr. Salteena. You can see that entire film on YouTube here.
Presumably both adaptations are reasonably faithful to the book but include added portrayals of Daisy Ashford herself and both actresses playing Ethel Monticue are a more age appropriate 25-years-old at the time of filming.
The Young Visiters is in the Public Domain and can be read online at various sources such as Wikisource, Standard EBooks, and Project Gutenberg.
December 29, 2017
There is no way to get around the novelty factor of this book: a huge part of the pleasure is the fact that this 'society novel' about romance and manners was written by the 9 year old Miss Daisy Ashford. Clearly a very precocious girl, whose parents let her have the (often) inappropriate run of their library, Miss Ashford displays a wonderful sense of the upper echelons of Edwardian society and the courtship dance. Two of her main characters - Alfred Salteena (who wants to be a gentleman, but is not top drawer) and Ethel (pretty, only 17, and conspicuously unchaperoned) - are trying to get on in society, and one senses that their creator knows quite a bit more about the matter than they do.
"Will he bring our luggage asked Ethel nervously.
I expect so said Mr Salteena lighting a very long cigar.
Do we tip him asked Ethel quietly.
Well no I dont think so not yet we had better just thank him perlitely." (sic)
Of course much of the humour comes from the gap between what the author does know, what she thinks she know, and what she really doesn't grasp at all. But actually, she has a marvellous grasp of characterisation - and even of plotting, as the introduction by J.M. Barrie humourously points out - and the story does zip along. The spelling errors and lack of punctuation are no bar to enjoyment and sometimes contribute to it. Some of my favourites were Miss Ashford's fondness for the words 'sumshious', 'parshial' and 'varse'.
The illustrator of my edition (1984), Posy Simmonds, says that Miss Ashford's partiality for a nice spot of 'ruuge' became part of her own family legend.
"I shall put some red ruuge on my face said Ethel because I am very pale owing to the drains in this house."
Yes, this is a period piece - but it is very charming.
"Will he bring our luggage asked Ethel nervously.
I expect so said Mr Salteena lighting a very long cigar.
Do we tip him asked Ethel quietly.
Well no I dont think so not yet we had better just thank him perlitely." (sic)
Of course much of the humour comes from the gap between what the author does know, what she thinks she know, and what she really doesn't grasp at all. But actually, she has a marvellous grasp of characterisation - and even of plotting, as the introduction by J.M. Barrie humourously points out - and the story does zip along. The spelling errors and lack of punctuation are no bar to enjoyment and sometimes contribute to it. Some of my favourites were Miss Ashford's fondness for the words 'sumshious', 'parshial' and 'varse'.
The illustrator of my edition (1984), Posy Simmonds, says that Miss Ashford's partiality for a nice spot of 'ruuge' became part of her own family legend.
"I shall put some red ruuge on my face said Ethel because I am very pale owing to the drains in this house."
Yes, this is a period piece - but it is very charming.
November 22, 2015
Oh, what a queer little delight I just read. To all of you whining writers, this book was written by a nine-year-old and stood the test of time. You know why? It's pure story, from start to finish. Read it to study it and have a good laugh and a grin on your face when you're finished. (It will take you about an hour.)
May 22, 2018
What a charming little read...by a nine year old...for adults.
The story, in addition to charming, is also funny at times...along with the spelling. I mean she was nine years old.
This is not a book for children even though it was written by one. It is a romance / society book.
I'm very glad I took the time to read these 77 pages.
The story, in addition to charming, is also funny at times...along with the spelling. I mean she was nine years old.
This is not a book for children even though it was written by one. It is a romance / society book.
I'm very glad I took the time to read these 77 pages.
April 9, 2019
I certainly didn't expect The Young Visiters by Daisy Ashford on the list of 1001 Children's Books You Must Read.
When I was looking for the book, I wondered about the word "visiters" in the title. I knew the book was an older title. Was that how "visitors" was spelled in the past?
No, it's just one of many, many misspellings in the book. And why? Because The Young Visiters author was only nine years old when she wrote the book.
It's perfectly charming. Here's a little sample:
"Ethel he murmured in a trembly voice. Oh what is it said Ethel hastily sitting up. Words fail me ejaculated Bernard horsly my passion for you is intense he added fervently. It has grown day and night since I first beheld you. Oh said Ethel in supprise I am not prepared for this and she lent back against the trunk of the tree. Bernard placed one arm tightly round her. When will you marry me Ethel he uttered you must be my wife it has come to that I love you so intensly that if you say no I shall perforce dash my body to the brink of yon muddy river he panted wildly. Oh dont do that implored Ethel breathing rarther hard. Then say you love me he cried. Oh Bernard she sighed fervently I certinly love you madly you are to me like a Heathen god she cried looking at his manly form and handsome flashing face I will indeed marry you."
When I was looking for the book, I wondered about the word "visiters" in the title. I knew the book was an older title. Was that how "visitors" was spelled in the past?
No, it's just one of many, many misspellings in the book. And why? Because The Young Visiters author was only nine years old when she wrote the book.
It's perfectly charming. Here's a little sample:
"Ethel he murmured in a trembly voice. Oh what is it said Ethel hastily sitting up. Words fail me ejaculated Bernard horsly my passion for you is intense he added fervently. It has grown day and night since I first beheld you. Oh said Ethel in supprise I am not prepared for this and she lent back against the trunk of the tree. Bernard placed one arm tightly round her. When will you marry me Ethel he uttered you must be my wife it has come to that I love you so intensly that if you say no I shall perforce dash my body to the brink of yon muddy river he panted wildly. Oh dont do that implored Ethel breathing rarther hard. Then say you love me he cried. Oh Bernard she sighed fervently I certinly love you madly you are to me like a Heathen god she cried looking at his manly form and handsome flashing face I will indeed marry you."
May 1, 2023
Sheer unbridled delight.
October 6, 2014
'The Young Visitors' is an impossibly charming story written by a nine year old about Mr. Salteena, who love Ethel and wants to learn how to become a gentleman. A friend they go to visit, Mr. Bernard Clark, can help Mr. Salteena to get in with an earl, but he also takes a shine to the pretty Ethel.
What a delight the whole thing is! At nigh on a hundred pages the young author has virtually composed an equivalent of 'Anna Karenina' (though the chapters do get noticeably shorter near the end!), full of the kind of innocent yet unerring observations that only a child is capable of.
Young Ashford's cavalier attitude to punctuation may have given Joyce and Becket some ideas, whilst the first conversation between Mr. Salteena and the Groom of the Chambers at 'Crystale Palace' would not look out of place in Kafka.
As you expect, spelling mistakes in virtually every line, with all of them adding to the charm - 'jellus' for jealous, 'viacle' for vehicle, 'sumpshous' for sumptuous etc
Go on, give it a quick read, you won't be disappointed. There is also a sweet picture of the genius herself and a wonderful introduction by JM Barrie, who confidently declares: 'It needed no effort for that face to knock off a masterpiece. '
I have to give you a few samples of the sublime stuff within:
'You will look very silly said Mr Salteena with a dry laugh.
Well so will you said Ethel in a snappy tone and she ran out of the room with a very superier run throwing out her legs behind and her arms swinging in rithum.
Well said the owner of the house she has a most idiotick run.'
'She was not so pretty as Ethel as she had rarther a bulgy figure and brown eyes but she had lovely raven tresses a pointed nose and a rose like complexion of a dainty hue. She had very nice feet and plenty of money. Her name was called Lady Helena Herring and her age was 25 and she mated well with the earl.'
'So you might responded Ethel giving him a speaking look.'
Maybe Tolstoy was right after all, maybe only children really understand how to tell a story!
What a delight the whole thing is! At nigh on a hundred pages the young author has virtually composed an equivalent of 'Anna Karenina' (though the chapters do get noticeably shorter near the end!), full of the kind of innocent yet unerring observations that only a child is capable of.
Young Ashford's cavalier attitude to punctuation may have given Joyce and Becket some ideas, whilst the first conversation between Mr. Salteena and the Groom of the Chambers at 'Crystale Palace' would not look out of place in Kafka.
As you expect, spelling mistakes in virtually every line, with all of them adding to the charm - 'jellus' for jealous, 'viacle' for vehicle, 'sumpshous' for sumptuous etc
Go on, give it a quick read, you won't be disappointed. There is also a sweet picture of the genius herself and a wonderful introduction by JM Barrie, who confidently declares: 'It needed no effort for that face to knock off a masterpiece. '
I have to give you a few samples of the sublime stuff within:
'You will look very silly said Mr Salteena with a dry laugh.
Well so will you said Ethel in a snappy tone and she ran out of the room with a very superier run throwing out her legs behind and her arms swinging in rithum.
Well said the owner of the house she has a most idiotick run.'
'She was not so pretty as Ethel as she had rarther a bulgy figure and brown eyes but she had lovely raven tresses a pointed nose and a rose like complexion of a dainty hue. She had very nice feet and plenty of money. Her name was called Lady Helena Herring and her age was 25 and she mated well with the earl.'
'So you might responded Ethel giving him a speaking look.'
Maybe Tolstoy was right after all, maybe only children really understand how to tell a story!
July 25, 2018
Imagine you are 9 yrs. old you write a short story, then put it in a drawer for decades, and then take it out and it gets published. If you think this is a good idea then you would be wrong. Maybe you would assume it would have an editor?
Nope!
This story was so full of spelling and grammar mistakes that it was hard to read, multiple errors on every page. Everyone makes mistakes, but seriously before you publish it clean it up. If my son had written this when he was nine it would be cute to show friends and family but not to share with the world. The only thing that stopped me from giving it a one star was one funny sentence, but the spelling was atrocious.
I mean com on peaple its not majic or misttickal.
Nope!
This story was so full of spelling and grammar mistakes that it was hard to read, multiple errors on every page. Everyone makes mistakes, but seriously before you publish it clean it up. If my son had written this when he was nine it would be cute to show friends and family but not to share with the world. The only thing that stopped me from giving it a one star was one funny sentence, but the spelling was atrocious.
I mean com on peaple its not majic or misttickal.
September 12, 2013
I've read all of Jane Austen's juvenilia and enjoyed them very much. The Young Visitors also is a peace of juvenilia. Daisy Ashford wrote it when she was nine and re-discovered it several years later. It was then published almost exactly as it had been written.
It should better have stayed hidden in the drawer. It is fairly obvious why Ms Austen became a famous writer and we didn't hear anything from Ms Ashford again.
It should better have stayed hidden in the drawer. It is fairly obvious why Ms Austen became a famous writer and we didn't hear anything from Ms Ashford again.
February 2, 2022
This book, written by a nine year old in 1890, and published many years later in 1919, is probably the best thing I've read this year so far. It was published with all the spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes intact and I can definitely say it's all the better for it. Any novel that begins: "Mr Salteena was an elderly man of 42 and was fond of asking peaple to stay with him." is a sure winner in my estimation.
I read it in 45 minutes, cackled like a madwoman throughout, then stormed in on my busy husband and forced him to listen to extracts:
"Oh Bernard she sighed fervently I certinly love you madly you are to me like a Heathen god she cried looking at his manly form and handsome flashing face I will indeed marry you."
"I shall put some red ruge on my face said Ethel because I am very pale owing to the drains in this house."
It's hilarious, a great satire (whether intended or not) and the story actually makes sense. (Quite honestly I'm not sure if I could write a novel now, even a short one, and have it make ANY sense) and everything is tied up in a neat bow at the end. A tremendous accomplishment for a nine year old.
5 stars, rounded up to, like, a MILLION.
I read it in 45 minutes, cackled like a madwoman throughout, then stormed in on my busy husband and forced him to listen to extracts:
"Oh Bernard she sighed fervently I certinly love you madly you are to me like a Heathen god she cried looking at his manly form and handsome flashing face I will indeed marry you."
"I shall put some red ruge on my face said Ethel because I am very pale owing to the drains in this house."
It's hilarious, a great satire (whether intended or not) and the story actually makes sense. (Quite honestly I'm not sure if I could write a novel now, even a short one, and have it make ANY sense) and everything is tied up in a neat bow at the end. A tremendous accomplishment for a nine year old.
5 stars, rounded up to, like, a MILLION.
May 10, 2015
I've just re-read this. The Posy Simmonds illustrated edition with a different version of the text and explanatory notes. I just love it. I love it more than I did the first time I read it. Maybe because I now have children aged 10 and 11 and have a better idea of how astonishing a feat it was for a nine year old to write it. It's not just Daisy's ability to craft a story and describe a party scene, dialogue, a love scene, and so on; it's her acute observations of the culture and class structure of her time. While some of the observations indicate her natural naivety, others seem astonishingly far from naive! And the fact that she can enter into the feelings and thoughts of different characters, many of them adult men, is similarly remarkable.
Posy Simmonds' illustrations are an absolute delight.
Posy Simmonds' illustrations are an absolute delight.
November 16, 2016
Not knowing what to expect from a book written by a nine year old English girl in 1890, I found myself chuckling and then searching the internet to learn more about the book and the author. Daisy Ashford's take on society and romance makes for a fun read. I am impressed that she actually finished the book.
I didn't know where to shelve this. It's value to me is as an example of a book by a young author, which is a contestable decision. I may change my mind.
I didn't know where to shelve this. It's value to me is as an example of a book by a young author, which is a contestable decision. I may change my mind.
July 16, 2014
I laughed so hard I snorted. There may also have been cackling.
June 14, 2024
Just a joy. But I am salty that a Victorian child is a better writer than me, a college graduate
December 30, 2017
A nine-year-old with published book is the stuff of legend. But Daisy Ashford did it in the 1890s. The Young Visiters is very funny and very mature and well done for such a young child. She was clearly advanced for her age and had read many books herself. Everyone should read it at least once.
April 28, 2020
I wish I wrote that when I was 9.... Dang...
December 29, 2025
Hilarious!
May 31, 2015
I was first given this book to read by my grandmother as a child, under the knowledge that it was written by a little girl. Unfortunately the knowledge of the book fell somewhere into the back of my mind, and when my grandparent passed away I realised I had forgotten the title. With no one to ask the book was lost to me somewhere within the household clutter that results from many lives well lived. I recently decided to try and find the name of the book and was surprised to find how simple the task was, such are the wonders of the internet. I treated myself to a lovely little second had edition and it seemed natural that this would make it into my Christmas list.
The Young Visiters was written by Daisy Ashford at the remarkable age of nine, and was discovered many years later in a notebook hidden amongst her mother’s possessions. The book was published in a completely unedited state, save for having the single block of text which makes up each chapter divided into paragraphs for readability. Needless to say, the book is truly extraordinary, as J M Barrie writes in his preface to the work: ‘It seems to me to be a remarkable work for a child, remarkable even in its length and completeness, for when children turn author they usually stop in the middle, like the kitten when it jumps.’
There is so much I could say about The Young Visiters; such is my love for this charmingly childish tale. Since rediscovering the work I have recommended it to so many, and have bought it as a Christmas gift for others. It makes a beautiful addition to any collection, and reading it is an experience I can guarantee you will enjoy.
I remember enjoying the book when I first read it, but reading it as an adult has afforded me a whole new appreciation of Ashford’s writing. When I was first given the book by my grandmother she interrogated me almost immediately, asking me if I had noticed anything funny about the book. I remember referring to the sentence ‘Then he sat down and eat the egg which Ethel had so kindly laid for him.’ I will confess does still afford a little chuckle from me, but I noticed so much more about the little girl’s writing this time round, the main thing being her fantastic perception of people and society. J M Barrie writes in his preface that had the author paid a visit to your house ‘I am sure that when you left your bedroom this child stole in, examined everything and summed you up.’ She has a certain way with words, expressing a character with all of the subtlety of a child: ‘My own room is next the bath room said Bernard it is decerated dark red as I have somber tastes.’ Can you think of any better way to sum up ones personality?
There is something so refreshing in reading something written by one so young, who has such a great understanding of life. The heroine in the story Ethel is forever powdering her face with ‘ruge’ for fear that she appears too pale and sickly, an ongoing theme in novels of the time, as stated most eloquently by Ethel : ‘I am very pale owing to the drains in this house’. It is an ongoing these in early 20th century literature that women are almost like china dolls, and liable to break at any moment, which one can pick up quite easily from reading a Jane Austen novel. God forbid a girl gets caught in the rain she is likely to have to stay in bed for the whole summer. Perhaps my favourite snippet from the book in this respect is when Ethel is so overcome with happiness that she faints. The gentleman she is with, Bernard, is very concerned that she is gravely ill, but the matter is soon resolved: ‘Oh no I am very strong said Ethel I fainted from joy she added to explain matters.’
I could delve further into the story, but really, I don’t feel there is any need. I don’t feel anyone is better equipped to tell the tale than the ‘smug’ – as J M Barrie refers to her – little nine-year-old who wrote it. I would highly recommend this book to just about anyone who enjoys reading. Buy it, read it, and pass it on, you won’t regret it.
Originally posted on Jade the Obscure
The Young Visiters was written by Daisy Ashford at the remarkable age of nine, and was discovered many years later in a notebook hidden amongst her mother’s possessions. The book was published in a completely unedited state, save for having the single block of text which makes up each chapter divided into paragraphs for readability. Needless to say, the book is truly extraordinary, as J M Barrie writes in his preface to the work: ‘It seems to me to be a remarkable work for a child, remarkable even in its length and completeness, for when children turn author they usually stop in the middle, like the kitten when it jumps.’
There is so much I could say about The Young Visiters; such is my love for this charmingly childish tale. Since rediscovering the work I have recommended it to so many, and have bought it as a Christmas gift for others. It makes a beautiful addition to any collection, and reading it is an experience I can guarantee you will enjoy.
I remember enjoying the book when I first read it, but reading it as an adult has afforded me a whole new appreciation of Ashford’s writing. When I was first given the book by my grandmother she interrogated me almost immediately, asking me if I had noticed anything funny about the book. I remember referring to the sentence ‘Then he sat down and eat the egg which Ethel had so kindly laid for him.’ I will confess does still afford a little chuckle from me, but I noticed so much more about the little girl’s writing this time round, the main thing being her fantastic perception of people and society. J M Barrie writes in his preface that had the author paid a visit to your house ‘I am sure that when you left your bedroom this child stole in, examined everything and summed you up.’ She has a certain way with words, expressing a character with all of the subtlety of a child: ‘My own room is next the bath room said Bernard it is decerated dark red as I have somber tastes.’ Can you think of any better way to sum up ones personality?
There is something so refreshing in reading something written by one so young, who has such a great understanding of life. The heroine in the story Ethel is forever powdering her face with ‘ruge’ for fear that she appears too pale and sickly, an ongoing theme in novels of the time, as stated most eloquently by Ethel : ‘I am very pale owing to the drains in this house’. It is an ongoing these in early 20th century literature that women are almost like china dolls, and liable to break at any moment, which one can pick up quite easily from reading a Jane Austen novel. God forbid a girl gets caught in the rain she is likely to have to stay in bed for the whole summer. Perhaps my favourite snippet from the book in this respect is when Ethel is so overcome with happiness that she faints. The gentleman she is with, Bernard, is very concerned that she is gravely ill, but the matter is soon resolved: ‘Oh no I am very strong said Ethel I fainted from joy she added to explain matters.’
I could delve further into the story, but really, I don’t feel there is any need. I don’t feel anyone is better equipped to tell the tale than the ‘smug’ – as J M Barrie refers to her – little nine-year-old who wrote it. I would highly recommend this book to just about anyone who enjoys reading. Buy it, read it, and pass it on, you won’t regret it.
Originally posted on Jade the Obscure
January 22, 2023
Daisy Ashford’s The Young Visiters is charmingly, innocently and naively hilarious. Written with great seriousness of intent when she was nine, Daisy Ashford found the manuscript while clearing out her dead parents’ house and sent it to cheer up a friend who was sick in bed with flu. Passed around by friends, it ended up being published just as it was, spelling errors and all.
What makes it so wonderful, is that it was clearly a very ‘straight’ attempt at an adult story by a child who clearly doesn’t fully understand adults, their stories or their world. She’s heard things, she’s read things and she’s put them together with what she does understand about the world to create something wonderfully otherworldly, unworldly and delightful.
The book tells the story of Alfred Salteena, an ‘elderly man of 42’ who has Ethel Montecue, ‘quite a young girl of 17’ staying with him. One day he receives an extravagant hat ‘wrapped in tishu paper’ and an invitation to stay from an old friend, Bernard Clark. They spend a few days together, marvelling at Bernard’s rich lifestyle, with its tea in bed and ‘hose thing for washing your head’. Alfred realises he isn’t the gentleman he wishes to be and so goes to Crystal Palace (a real, liveable location in this book with ‘compartments’ to live in) and learns to be a Gentleman. Meanwhile Bernard and Ethel fall in love, leading to their marriage at which Alfred cries loudly.
There are multiple wonderful lines and set pieces in this book, I particularly loved the proposale by the river, where Bernard Clark, fed up being nervous with is question, “took the bull by the horns and kissed her.” Ethel is not her freshest at this point, having had a quick wash in the morning because she “had my bath last night.” This a book where sophisticated adult parties often involve ice cream and jellies, or people ‘lapping’ whisky.
My favourite section was this one about ancestors;
“I see you have a lot of ancesters said Mr. Salteena in a jelous tone, who are they.
Well said Bernard they are all quite correct. This is my aunt Caroline she was rarther exentrick and quite old.
So I see said Mr. Salteena and he passed on to a lady with a very tight waist and quearly shaped. That is Mary Ann Fudge my grandmother I think said Bernard she was very well known in her day.
Why asked Ethel who was rarther curious by nature.
Well I dont quite know said Bernard but she was and he moved away to the next picture. It was of a man with a fat smiley face and a red ribbon round him and a lot of medals. My great uncle Ambrose Fudge said Bernard carelessly.
He looks a thourough ancester said Ethel kindly.
Well he was said Bernard in a proud tone he was really the Sinister son of Queen Victoria.
Not really cried Ethel in excited tones but what does that mean.
Well I dont quite know said Bernard Clark it puzzles me very much but ancesters do turn quear at times.”
Having read the book (no huge feat, it’s not very long) I watched a BBC adaptation of it. While the earlier parts are as lovely as the book and it maintains it’s loveliness when it remembers to live in a child’s-eye view of the world, when the actors and direction start to add sexual elements, it becomes something creepy. For the young author, there is nothing ‘off’ about a forty year old man having a seventeen year-old woman round his house. While an adult could read Ethel Montecue as a manipulative social climber and Alfred Salteena as a snob-aspirant, those things are more in the adult reader than the child writer.
What makes it so wonderful, is that it was clearly a very ‘straight’ attempt at an adult story by a child who clearly doesn’t fully understand adults, their stories or their world. She’s heard things, she’s read things and she’s put them together with what she does understand about the world to create something wonderfully otherworldly, unworldly and delightful.
The book tells the story of Alfred Salteena, an ‘elderly man of 42’ who has Ethel Montecue, ‘quite a young girl of 17’ staying with him. One day he receives an extravagant hat ‘wrapped in tishu paper’ and an invitation to stay from an old friend, Bernard Clark. They spend a few days together, marvelling at Bernard’s rich lifestyle, with its tea in bed and ‘hose thing for washing your head’. Alfred realises he isn’t the gentleman he wishes to be and so goes to Crystal Palace (a real, liveable location in this book with ‘compartments’ to live in) and learns to be a Gentleman. Meanwhile Bernard and Ethel fall in love, leading to their marriage at which Alfred cries loudly.
There are multiple wonderful lines and set pieces in this book, I particularly loved the proposale by the river, where Bernard Clark, fed up being nervous with is question, “took the bull by the horns and kissed her.” Ethel is not her freshest at this point, having had a quick wash in the morning because she “had my bath last night.” This a book where sophisticated adult parties often involve ice cream and jellies, or people ‘lapping’ whisky.
My favourite section was this one about ancestors;
“I see you have a lot of ancesters said Mr. Salteena in a jelous tone, who are they.
Well said Bernard they are all quite correct. This is my aunt Caroline she was rarther exentrick and quite old.
So I see said Mr. Salteena and he passed on to a lady with a very tight waist and quearly shaped. That is Mary Ann Fudge my grandmother I think said Bernard she was very well known in her day.
Why asked Ethel who was rarther curious by nature.
Well I dont quite know said Bernard but she was and he moved away to the next picture. It was of a man with a fat smiley face and a red ribbon round him and a lot of medals. My great uncle Ambrose Fudge said Bernard carelessly.
He looks a thourough ancester said Ethel kindly.
Well he was said Bernard in a proud tone he was really the Sinister son of Queen Victoria.
Not really cried Ethel in excited tones but what does that mean.
Well I dont quite know said Bernard Clark it puzzles me very much but ancesters do turn quear at times.”
Having read the book (no huge feat, it’s not very long) I watched a BBC adaptation of it. While the earlier parts are as lovely as the book and it maintains it’s loveliness when it remembers to live in a child’s-eye view of the world, when the actors and direction start to add sexual elements, it becomes something creepy. For the young author, there is nothing ‘off’ about a forty year old man having a seventeen year-old woman round his house. While an adult could read Ethel Montecue as a manipulative social climber and Alfred Salteena as a snob-aspirant, those things are more in the adult reader than the child writer.
December 22, 2008
This is a completely charming and funny story written by an English girl named Daisy Ashford in 1890, when she was only nine years old. The story goes that every morning after breakfast and before her bath, Daisy would sit down and write one chapter of her story, finishing the whole thing in 12 days. The story, which Daisy wrote in an exercise book, fell into the hands of a publisher and was published in 1919 with all her spelling mistakes intact (which explains the misspelled title of the book). You can read a free copy of the story (which is very short) at Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21415/....
The story concerns Mr. Salteena, a bumbling and stupid (though likable) man who falls in love with a 17-year-old girl, Ethel, who is staying with him at his house. When the two of them go to visit an acquaintance of Mr. Salteena's, Lord Clark, Mr. Salteena becomes exceedingly class-conscious and decides, at the suggestion of the lord, to attend a training school for common people who want to become noble so that he might be worthy of asking Ethel to marry him. In Mr. Salteena's absence, however, Ethel and Lord Clark fall in love and decide to go to London to party it up. Various adventures continue from there.
The most amazing thing about this book was the observant eye and delightful language of its nine-year-old author. She apparently read a lot of adult novels about 19th century British "high life," and took inspiration from conversations she had overheard between her mother's friends, but the story is all hers. It's very funny and pokes holes in all kinds of adult vanity and silliness, but it also has the sweet innocence of a young girl's imagination. In 2003, the BBC produced a made-for-TV movie of the story and got some top-notch actors to perform in it. The production is brilliantly done and, when told through the filter of sarcastic adult screenwriters, even funnier than the original story.
The story concerns Mr. Salteena, a bumbling and stupid (though likable) man who falls in love with a 17-year-old girl, Ethel, who is staying with him at his house. When the two of them go to visit an acquaintance of Mr. Salteena's, Lord Clark, Mr. Salteena becomes exceedingly class-conscious and decides, at the suggestion of the lord, to attend a training school for common people who want to become noble so that he might be worthy of asking Ethel to marry him. In Mr. Salteena's absence, however, Ethel and Lord Clark fall in love and decide to go to London to party it up. Various adventures continue from there.
The most amazing thing about this book was the observant eye and delightful language of its nine-year-old author. She apparently read a lot of adult novels about 19th century British "high life," and took inspiration from conversations she had overheard between her mother's friends, but the story is all hers. It's very funny and pokes holes in all kinds of adult vanity and silliness, but it also has the sweet innocence of a young girl's imagination. In 2003, the BBC produced a made-for-TV movie of the story and got some top-notch actors to perform in it. The production is brilliantly done and, when told through the filter of sarcastic adult screenwriters, even funnier than the original story.
July 8, 2010
This Victorian curiosity is a novella written by a girl who was just nine years old, and it has two storylines: a love triangle story and a rise-in-fortunes story in which the titular Mr. Salteena pursues his worthy goal of becoming an authentic English gentleman. There’s a good chuckle on nearly every page here--all provided by young Ms. Ashford’s distinctive phrasing, creative spelling and grammar, and Cormac McCarthy-like, almost non-existent punctuation. But maybe the primary value of this hour-or-so-long read is its ability to give its audience intimate access to the mind of a child who lived in a very different time and place. Her perceptiveness about certain aspects of Victorian life is just as revealing as her more obvious ignorance of particular mores of the time.
And this is just the sort of book I can’t comment on without also supplying a few favorite passages--such as the following bit in which we learn of Bernard Clark’s idiosyncratic evening ritual:
Bernard always had a few prayers in the hall and some whiskey afterwards as he was rather pious but Mr Salteena was not very addicted to prayers so he marched up to bed.
Also, consider the Prince of Wales, in a rare, unguarded moment:
One grows weary of Court Life he remarked.
Ah yes agreed the earl.
It upsets me said the prince lapping up his strawberry ice all I want is peace and quiut and a little fun and here I am tied down to this life he said taking off his crown being royal has many painfull drawbacks.
And then there’s the case of Mr. Clark’s passion for young Ethel:
She looked a dainty vishen with her fair hair waving in the breeze and Bernard bit his lips rather hard for he could hardly contain himself and felt he must marry Ethel soon.
But I’ll restrain myself from quoting from the two chapters in which Ethel receives proposals of marriage. It would be almost criminal to spoil those moments for anyone.
And this is just the sort of book I can’t comment on without also supplying a few favorite passages--such as the following bit in which we learn of Bernard Clark’s idiosyncratic evening ritual:
Bernard always had a few prayers in the hall and some whiskey afterwards as he was rather pious but Mr Salteena was not very addicted to prayers so he marched up to bed.
Also, consider the Prince of Wales, in a rare, unguarded moment:
One grows weary of Court Life he remarked.
Ah yes agreed the earl.
It upsets me said the prince lapping up his strawberry ice all I want is peace and quiut and a little fun and here I am tied down to this life he said taking off his crown being royal has many painfull drawbacks.
And then there’s the case of Mr. Clark’s passion for young Ethel:
She looked a dainty vishen with her fair hair waving in the breeze and Bernard bit his lips rather hard for he could hardly contain himself and felt he must marry Ethel soon.
But I’ll restrain myself from quoting from the two chapters in which Ethel receives proposals of marriage. It would be almost criminal to spoil those moments for anyone.
November 17, 2017
This is so FRICKING cute. I didn't even highlight all my favorite lines in the Kindle version but I did get some good ones. This is literature as only a precocious 9-yo can write it. I just found out that Daisy Ashford wrote more books and I can't wait to have money so I can buy her entire library. I will become a Daisy Ashford scholar, you WATCH me.
Read
May 1, 2022The book is titled "The Young Visiters" and then it starts with "Mr Salteena was an elderly man of 42 and was fond of asking peaple to stay with him." :D :D
Anyway, spelling mistakes and simplistic story aside it's hard to believe that it was written by a 9-year-old.
Anyway, spelling mistakes and simplistic story aside it's hard to believe that it was written by a 9-year-old.
March 15, 2025
My life will be sour grapes and ashes without you
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