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Future in a Handbasket: The Life and Letters Behind Carney's House Party
Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy books are intensely autobiographical. The character Carney Sibley was based on her friend Marion Willard, whose life paralleled Carney's in many ways. Like Carney, her father was a banker and she had two younger brothers. Like Carney, she went off to college at Vassar. Like Carney, she had a beau very similar to Larry Humphreys. And, like Carney, she married a dashing, wealthy young man.
The finding of a cache of letters written from Marion at Vassar to her parents in Mankato, Minnesota was the impetus for the writing of this book. These letters, plus Carney's husband's letters home from World War I and her son's from World War II, form the core of a moving, stunning biography of an ordinary girl whose story was fictionally recorded by one of the most beloved authors of the 20th century.
184 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 26, 2009
This was a delight. Although Ms. Dolnick is obviously not a professional historian, she equally obviously did a great deal of leg-work for this little gem. Her footnotes are critical for keeping people straight, especially since MHL used real-life names for different characters ("Carney's" maiden name is Joe's last name, and Tib, Betsy's friend, is also the name of one of "Carney's" real-life brothers!!).
The book is mostly letters to and from various people in Marnie's life, but Dolnick's comments are not only nicely written, but she didn't try to take on too much. It seems to me that that's an important factor in making a book like this a success. Dolnick was fortunate that so many people who knew Marnie were still alive and willing to share their memories with her as she worked on this project.
The book is mostly letters to and from various people in Marnie's life, but Dolnick's comments are not only nicely written, but she didn't try to take on too much. It seems to me that that's an important factor in making a book like this a success. Dolnick was fortunate that so many people who knew Marnie were still alive and willing to share their memories with her as she worked on this project.
May 25, 2010
Paired this with Carney's House Party for our VSC discussion. A wonderful look into the life of an "ordinary" woman - Marion Willard Everett, the real-life Carney from the Betsy-Tacy series. The letters begin with Marnie's early 20th century Vassar years and prove that the 'freshman 15' is indeed a universality. As Marnie marries and raises a family, the letters show her gumption in dealing with life's tragedies. And finally - my favorite part - comes the exchange of letters between Maud Hart Lovelace and Marnie, as Maud works on Carney's House Party.
Fabulous photos to pore over and clear, judicious writing from Dolnick. She lets the letters speak for themselves and fills in the background with her well-researched details.
Last read: 10-12-06
Fabulous photos to pore over and clear, judicious writing from Dolnick. She lets the letters speak for themselves and fills in the background with her well-researched details.
Last read: 10-12-06
November 24, 2016
The Maud Heart Lovelace tour continues! This book contains the letters of the family of Marion Willard. You don't know who she was, but Lovelace based the character of Carney Sibley on her. (And I know most of you still don't know who she is, but if you read all of the Betsy-Tacy books, you might know what I'm talking about.)
Willard and her family were solid letter writers, and as you read along you will be privy to upper-middle class life at Vassar college in the 1910s; some WWI training stuff, various letters in the 20s and 30s; WWII letters; and post-war letters.
I'm a fan of letters in general, so I enjoyed this book.
Willard and her family were solid letter writers, and as you read along you will be privy to upper-middle class life at Vassar college in the 1910s; some WWI training stuff, various letters in the 20s and 30s; WWII letters; and post-war letters.
I'm a fan of letters in general, so I enjoyed this book.
May 22, 2008
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I knew I would appreciate it for Betsy-Tacy purposes but I didn't know I would enjoy it so much. It was a treat to read. I plan on purchasing my own copy.
February 12, 2017
This book is fabulous! If you are a true Betsy-Tacy fan and have read Carney's House Party then you will want to read this and get to know real life Carney, for she was a remarkable woman. This book captures her life from the time she was at Vasser through her old age. You will be able to read letters she wrote home from college, learn about her husband Bill (Sam in the books) and also read his WWI letters home, and learn about her own children and read her son's letters home from WWII. You will also be able to read the correspondence between dear friends Maud Hart Lovelace and Marian Willard (Carney) that went on during the writing of CHP. I really loved this book and getting to know Marian.
August 8, 2010
This book follows the real life "Carney" Marion Willard through college and her married life. It includes letters written by Marion, some from her family, and interviews with surviving children and grandchildren. I loved it so much, I laughed, and I cried. I have such a deep connection to these characters.
November 2, 2024
When I discovered this rare gem on Amazon selling for $185, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy! When it arrived through interlibrary loan, I devoured the compilation of letters in one sitting, only to stumble upon several surprise discoveries along the way. Four years ago I had fallen in love with the 1940s Betsy-Tacy series and committed to read the entire oeuvre by author Maud Hart Lovelace. I adored the Betsy-Tacy adjacent Carney’s House Party. But while it portrays a great deal of biographical truth, the real life of Carney’s counterpart Marion Willard is very different from her fictionalized memoir. Amy Dolnick’s Future in a Handbasket provide a transcription of and commentary on Marion’s letters that “exhibit a flair for storytelling, a warm-hearted spirit, and a detailed snapshot of life behind the” house party.
“What is there about a certain small house on a side street in a fairish sized city back in the United States that pulls and tugs at a man’s heartstrings till the thought of home rings alone. Yes, that’s it–home. The place toward which, slowly but surely he is traveling. No matter where he goes or why–always uppermost in his mind is the thought–this road leads to home. It may be a vine-covered shack in the hills–or a penthouse tall the sky–it may be a little windswept sad hut or it may be a home on a midwestern farm. But no matter what it is or where–still the thought remains there–that someday the long journey will be over, and he’ll step off the train–walk down the road and open the front door–he’s home!”
While I was charmed by the fictional Carney, it was the words of her real-life son Eddie (above) that stole my heart! Certain I’d found my soulmate from another lifetime, I was devastated to discover that he was killed in action “having made the supreme sacrifice in defense of his country on 2 October 1944.” Now, I don’t have to wonder if “maybe my soulmate died,” I now know! Amy Dolnick’s Future in a Handbasket: The Life and Letters Behind Carney’s House Party is a poignant reminder that “People are wonderful balm for hurt minds, watching and talking…seems to buoy one up considerably, sort of a mutual floating service.” We honor their memory by walking through life inspired by their example, bringing up the next generation of children to walk in the footsteps of the legacy they leave in their wake.
“What is there about a certain small house on a side street in a fairish sized city back in the United States that pulls and tugs at a man’s heartstrings till the thought of home rings alone. Yes, that’s it–home. The place toward which, slowly but surely he is traveling. No matter where he goes or why–always uppermost in his mind is the thought–this road leads to home. It may be a vine-covered shack in the hills–or a penthouse tall the sky–it may be a little windswept sad hut or it may be a home on a midwestern farm. But no matter what it is or where–still the thought remains there–that someday the long journey will be over, and he’ll step off the train–walk down the road and open the front door–he’s home!”
While I was charmed by the fictional Carney, it was the words of her real-life son Eddie (above) that stole my heart! Certain I’d found my soulmate from another lifetime, I was devastated to discover that he was killed in action “having made the supreme sacrifice in defense of his country on 2 October 1944.” Now, I don’t have to wonder if “maybe my soulmate died,” I now know! Amy Dolnick’s Future in a Handbasket: The Life and Letters Behind Carney’s House Party is a poignant reminder that “People are wonderful balm for hurt minds, watching and talking…seems to buoy one up considerably, sort of a mutual floating service.” We honor their memory by walking through life inspired by their example, bringing up the next generation of children to walk in the footsteps of the legacy they leave in their wake.
August 12, 2018
Anyone who loves Maud Hart Lovelace’s “Carney’s House Party” will love this book, which looks at the life of Carney’s real-life counterpart, Marion Willard. Through a combination of letters, pictures and text, Rechner gives us a full picture of Marion, starting with her time at Vassar and taking us through both World Wars and the years that followed. Of particular interest to “Carney” fans may be a selection of letters between Marion and Lovelace, in which MHL picks Marion’s brain for details about her college life and courtship, many of which made their way into the final book.
December 3, 2011
Some of Marion’s college letters are a bit gossipy, and not as interesting to me as the rest of the book (but still enjoyable). It seems like it would’ve been really fun to go to Vassar in those days. In that section in particular, I found it hard to keep track of who’s who (some people mentioned had the same name, and then there are the fictional names based on some characters...so it gets confusing). The footnotes were very helpful. If anything, I wished for more of them (and it might be nice if they were at the bottom of each page and not at the end of the chapters). People really knew how to write good letters then!
I greatly enjoyed reading the parts about how Marion and Bill raised their children, and their life as a family. I also found the war letters to be extremely interesting. Tears were shed more than once during the reading of this book. I’m still confused about who is Willy/Bill and who is Ted/Ed in the photos. It seems like they are labeled inconsistently. Why didn’t we get to read any of Will’s wartime letters?
The letters from Maud Hart Lovelace to Marnie are absolutely delightful, and it makes me admire Lovelace even more. An example of an interesting quote from one of Maud's letters: “I like to work a little religion into these books. You'll notice that I usually manage to” (p. 161). I also learned that Maud called Delos "Delossy" (p. 159)! Cutest Maud trivia I've learned in awhile. Delos helped Maud with a lot of her male characterizations, which is another thing I learned reading this. It was interesting to get a small peek at Maud as a wife and mother. It sounds like her daughter Merian was very smart and busy with many school activities.
My biggest pet peeve with this book is that we aren’t given the responses to letters. I feel like we only get one side. The part where this bugged me to the point of frustration was in Maud’s correspondence with Marion while preparing to write, and during the writing of Carney's House Party. Maud would ask questions, but Marion’s answers were not all published! I really wanted to get to know Marion through her own words as she grew older. Were those letters just not available? I also wanted to hear more about Kathleen Baxter and friends' visit with Marnie in the '60s.
Neat story about the Sproats. It sounds like a series of books on Louise Everett King would’ve been interesting (p. 171).
Dolnick did a marvelous job; I’d love to read her other Maud-related books. The real people in this book seem like such lovely individuals. I kind of feel like each of the Crowd members deserves a book like this! It would've been amazing to meet them all.
I consider this a must-read for fans of the Betsy-Tacy series and Deep Valley books, especially those that love Carney's House Party.
I blogged about this book here.
I greatly enjoyed reading the parts about how Marion and Bill raised their children, and their life as a family. I also found the war letters to be extremely interesting. Tears were shed more than once during the reading of this book. I’m still confused about who is Willy/Bill and who is Ted/Ed in the photos. It seems like they are labeled inconsistently. Why didn’t we get to read any of Will’s wartime letters?
The letters from Maud Hart Lovelace to Marnie are absolutely delightful, and it makes me admire Lovelace even more. An example of an interesting quote from one of Maud's letters: “I like to work a little religion into these books. You'll notice that I usually manage to” (p. 161). I also learned that Maud called Delos "Delossy" (p. 159)! Cutest Maud trivia I've learned in awhile. Delos helped Maud with a lot of her male characterizations, which is another thing I learned reading this. It was interesting to get a small peek at Maud as a wife and mother. It sounds like her daughter Merian was very smart and busy with many school activities.
My biggest pet peeve with this book is that we aren’t given the responses to letters. I feel like we only get one side. The part where this bugged me to the point of frustration was in Maud’s correspondence with Marion while preparing to write, and during the writing of Carney's House Party. Maud would ask questions, but Marion’s answers were not all published! I really wanted to get to know Marion through her own words as she grew older. Were those letters just not available? I also wanted to hear more about Kathleen Baxter and friends' visit with Marnie in the '60s.
Neat story about the Sproats. It sounds like a series of books on Louise Everett King would’ve been interesting (p. 171).
Dolnick did a marvelous job; I’d love to read her other Maud-related books. The real people in this book seem like such lovely individuals. I kind of feel like each of the Crowd members deserves a book like this! It would've been amazing to meet them all.
I consider this a must-read for fans of the Betsy-Tacy series and Deep Valley books, especially those that love Carney's House Party.
I blogged about this book here.
January 20, 2014
Wow – this book was so touching (I cried three times). Thank heavens for Interlibrary Loan; my library borrowed this book for me from Minnesota. In Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy books, Lovelace writes a fictionalized story based on her experiences and friends from childhood in early 1900’s Minnesota. Though all names have been changed, most characters are based on real people. In addition to the 10 Betsy-Tacy books (which I read as a child and have enjoyed reading aloud to my children), Lovelace wrote 3 Deep Valley books, including Carney’s House Party. “Future in a Handbasket” tells the story of the “real” Carney, with photographs and letters. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Marion/Marney Willard’s letters home from college (Vassar in 1911), letters from her future husband while he served in World War 1, then letters she received from her son who was fighting in World War 2. After following his war experiences through his letters over several months, it was heartbreaking to find out that he was killed in action, within months of his father’s death. I enjoyed seeing just how much of Carney’s House Party was actually true, and I loved reading about the life of what some people might consider an “ordinary woman”. But I wouldn’t consider her “ordinary”; Marion was a faithful, strong and positive woman, wife and mother.
August 13, 2009
This was a lot of fun to read and the pictures were just fantastic to see. I liked seeing the true stories behind Carney's House Party and Carney/Sam, but I really liked the end parts best, with Marnie as an adult and Bill at war and later her son at war and later still talking with Maud as Maud wrote the book. I guess I prefer college-Carney to Marnie, but loved Marnie as an adult.
(Also, Bill highly resembled Leonardo DiCaprio, I think. *g*)
(Also, Bill highly resembled Leonardo DiCaprio, I think. *g*)
July 11, 2007
It's a slim book, but nicely packed with pictures of the real-life Carney and her family as well as excerpts from her letters. It's not the kind of book I'll re-read often, but it's nice to have around for reference purposes (because you never know when you'll feel the need to know what Tacy's real-life name was) and for being able to put faces to the names in the Betsy-Tacy world.
September 15, 2008
I was surprised by how much this book touched me. It was funny and sad and poignant. I felt very lucky to be offered a glimpse into the private intimate correspondence of the extraordinary people that made up "Carney"'s family. I stayed up late to finish it but sometimes couldn't read through my tears. Maud's and Marnie's correspondence at the end is priceless too.
April 7, 2016
This book was a little confusing at times and laid out a bit strangely, but the final chapters were so touching with the letters that Ted wrote to his mother. I'd like to own it someday. (I was so lucky to be able to read it through inter-state library loan.)
April 13, 2024
I love collections of archival letters, and I love the Betsy-Tacy series, so this was a wonderful read. Marney's letters from Vassar were probably my favorite, followed by those her son wrote from World War II.
Want to read
October 24, 2009Part of the loot I acquired at the Betsy-Tacy convention. Started it on the plane out of Minneapolis and am absolutely loving it. Makes me want to reread Carney's House Party immediately.
January 2, 2010
Loved seeing the real people behind the book characters and following them over Carney/Marney's adult life.
August 26, 2015
A good read for any Betsy-Tacy fan. A great look at Vassar life in the early 1900s and the interesting life story of "Carney" through both world wars. Enjoyed it!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews