Marjorie Daw

by Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Collection of stories from the busy American editor and prolific writer and poet.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1873

About the author

Aldrich travelled with his father in his early years. He returned to Portsmouth to study for college, but his father's death in 1852 required that he earn a living; first in a business office in New York, then, as a journalist. He contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers. Among them, the New York Illustrated News. In 1865, he moved to Boston where he was editor of Ticknor & Fields' Every Saturday magazine. In 1881, Aldrich was brought in as editor at the Atlantic Monthly, a position he held until 1890. He was a talented poet and published many volumes of verse.

Aldrich died at Boston on March 19, 1907. His last words were "In spite of it all, I'm going to sleep."

Reviews

[Keturah Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

How lovely to find a story by this author who I first discovered as a young teen. When people complain of books being too dense, I'll point to this novella, a collection of fictional letters and telegrams about an irritable man who slips on lemon peeling and fractures his leg. A volley of letters commences with a comedic twist.

[Tom Britz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story happens in 1872. John Flemming slips on a lemon peel and ends up with a fractured fibula. He doesn't take kindly to the forced idleness of being confined to his couch just as summer is getting underway and he is so surly that he chases his own sister away and begins pelting his servant with copies of Honoré de Balzac that he keeps near the couch.
His best friend Edward Delaney is asked by John's doctor to begin writing letters to John and try and cheer him up. Pretty soon Edward invents a young lady that lives across the street and throughout their correspondence Edward keeps adding more and more detail, making Marjorie Daw into a reality for John. This is a tale of good intentions carried to extremes. Nice slice of life story, with some humorous takes.

[Carm9n · Rating 3 out of 5]

My impressions here...
https://carmenyamigos.blogspot.com/20...

[Carm9n]

My impressions here…
https://carmenyamigos.blogspot.com/20...

[Taija · Rating 5 out of 5]

!!!!!

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh boy! Another short story I stumbled on by accident again in one of my Mom's old short story anthology books. You will have to read it for the fun surprise ending! Another very re -readable short story!

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Marjorie Daw" is a short story first published about 1869. I read it in the 1960's. It is about two friends exchanging letters as one of them recovers from an injury. One friend keeps up his injured friends spirits by making up a story about a young woman. His good intentions backfire ...

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to give this one an okay. Nice short story, nothing special.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable, and not at all the surprise ending I was anticipating!

[Oznasia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some reviewers here are impressed by the surprise ending. I'm surprised they're impressed.