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The Tapestry Room: A Child's Romance
It is quite a journey from Jeanne's bedroom down the long corridor, to the place fascinating to her since her babyhood: the room hung with tapestry -- very old, and in some parts faded, but still distinct. Jeanne sees something strange in one tapestry, of a garden. Didn't those peacocks move, ever so slightly? Then Dudu, the family's raven, is at the window -- but she just saw that decrepit old bird down on the terrace. Dudu cannot fly that fast! Now she hears wonderful news -- her cousin Hugh is coming to stay. He will be like a little brother -- and he will sleep in the tapestry room . . .
146 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1879
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About the author
Mrs. Molesworth
457 books22 followersMary Louisa Molesworth, née Stewart was an English writer of children's stories who wrote for children under the name of Mrs. Molesworth. Her first novels, for adult readers, Lover and Husband (1869) to Cicely (1874), appeared under the pseudonym of Ennis Graham. Her name occasionally appears in print as M.L.S. Molesworth.
She was born in Rotterdam, a daughter of Charles Augustus Stewart (1809–1873) who later became a rich merchant in Manchester and his wife Agnes Janet Wilson (1810–1883). Mary had three brothers and two sisters. She was educated in Great Britain and Switzerland: much of her girlhood was spent in Manchester. In 1861 she married Major R. Molesworth, nephew of Viscount Molesworth; they legally separated in 1879.
Mrs. Molesworth is best known as a writer of books for the young, such as Tell Me a Story (1875), Carrots (1876), The Cuckoo Clock (1877), The Tapestry Room (1879), and A Christmas Child (1880). She has been called "the Jane Austen of the nursery," while The Carved Lions (1895) "is probably her masterpiece."
Mary Louisa Molesworth typified late Victorian writing for girls. Aimed at girls too old for fairies and princesses but too young for Austen and the Brontës, books by Molesworth had their share of amusement, but they also had a good deal of moral instruction. The girls reading Molesworth would grow up to be mothers; thus, the books emphasized Victorian notions of duty and self-sacrifice.
Typical of the time, her young child characters often use a lisping style, and words may be misspelt to represent children's speech—"jography" for geography, for instance.
She took an interest in supernatural fiction. In 1888, she published a collection of supernatural tales under the title Four Ghost Stories, and in 1896 a similar collection of six tales under the title Uncanny Stories. In addition to those, her volume Studies and Stories includes a ghost story entitled "Old Gervais" and her Summer Stories for Boys and Girls includes "Not Exactly a Ghost Story."
A new edition of The Cuckoo Clock was published in 1914.
She died in 1921 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.
[Wikipedia]
She was born in Rotterdam, a daughter of Charles Augustus Stewart (1809–1873) who later became a rich merchant in Manchester and his wife Agnes Janet Wilson (1810–1883). Mary had three brothers and two sisters. She was educated in Great Britain and Switzerland: much of her girlhood was spent in Manchester. In 1861 she married Major R. Molesworth, nephew of Viscount Molesworth; they legally separated in 1879.
Mrs. Molesworth is best known as a writer of books for the young, such as Tell Me a Story (1875), Carrots (1876), The Cuckoo Clock (1877), The Tapestry Room (1879), and A Christmas Child (1880). She has been called "the Jane Austen of the nursery," while The Carved Lions (1895) "is probably her masterpiece."
Mary Louisa Molesworth typified late Victorian writing for girls. Aimed at girls too old for fairies and princesses but too young for Austen and the Brontës, books by Molesworth had their share of amusement, but they also had a good deal of moral instruction. The girls reading Molesworth would grow up to be mothers; thus, the books emphasized Victorian notions of duty and self-sacrifice.
Typical of the time, her young child characters often use a lisping style, and words may be misspelt to represent children's speech—"jography" for geography, for instance.
She took an interest in supernatural fiction. In 1888, she published a collection of supernatural tales under the title Four Ghost Stories, and in 1896 a similar collection of six tales under the title Uncanny Stories. In addition to those, her volume Studies and Stories includes a ghost story entitled "Old Gervais" and her Summer Stories for Boys and Girls includes "Not Exactly a Ghost Story."
A new edition of The Cuckoo Clock was published in 1914.
She died in 1921 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.
[Wikipedia]
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 5, 2016
A sweet story for kids about magic and friendship. It would be quite accessible for today's children, despite being written a hundred years ago.
November 25, 2017
This was on an Atlas Obscura list of forgotten children's books, so I tracked it down at the library.
Two children travel into strange lands through the door in a tapestry whenever the room is filled with moonlight. Their guide is an old raven.
This has some of the gentle tone of MacDonald's 'At the Back of the North Wind.'
Two children travel into strange lands through the door in a tapestry whenever the room is filled with moonlight. Their guide is an old raven.
This has some of the gentle tone of MacDonald's 'At the Back of the North Wind.'
January 25, 2022
Quant
I loved it. It was an easy read with dear characters that would be a good movie starring Lillian Gish
I loved it. It was an easy read with dear characters that would be a good movie starring Lillian Gish
May 27, 2024
This book was written in the 1800's, but despite that, it's still relatively timely. It takes place in the French countryside and is mostly just a collection of short stories, but the way the book wraps up is both mature and healthy.
I'd compare it to some Ghibli films, with how the story treats the audience with a healthy amount of respect.
I'd compare it to some Ghibli films, with how the story treats the audience with a healthy amount of respect.
January 30, 2026
Interesting story (fantasy) about two children living in a stately home with a room that has a big tapestry hanging on one wall. They end up having adventures when they find themselves in the castle depicted in the tapestry. I really liked the role that the children's animals and their nurse plays in their adventures.
October 25, 2020
a collection of pretty fancies strung together by a framing device; no plot or characterization involved.
November 11, 2007
Good, but not as good as some of her others.
January 12, 2013
An old fashioned childrens story. A very comforting read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews