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Black Flower
"The story of impulsive tomboy Theo, told with all Miss Abbott's gaiety and her understanding of girls."
248 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1929
3 people want to read
About the author
Jane D. Abbott
98 books6 followersJane Ludlow Drake Abbott (1879-1962) was an American author who began her career writing for adolescent girls, and went on to write adult romance. Born in Buffalo, New York, to a family involved in the shipbuilding industry of the Great Lakes region, she was educated at Cornell University, and married Buffalo attorney Frank A. Abbott. Most of her twenty juvenile titles were published under the name Jane D. Abbott, although a few were released under the name Jane Abbott. Her adult titles were all released under the name Jane Abbott.
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January 28, 2019
Fifteen-year-old Theodate Waring - Theo for short - was a tomboy extraordinaire, one who loved the outdoors, and had a fierce loyalty to her somewhat dreamy older brother, Jard. Uninterested in things like clothing or boys, she was also an indifferent student, and the despair of her teacher. Overhearing school bully Joe Brace calling Jard a coward and a sissy one day, her subsequent actions, in knocking Joe down in the street, lead to a minor scandal in the small town of Merridam. When word reaches her father, the local country doctor, that she has behaved in this fashion, he is grieved and perplexed, and begins to believe that Theo's older sister Susan is right, and that she (Theo) has been left to run wild. What follows is an anxious season of change and growth, as Theo both longs for and resents the idea of "blossoming" into a young woman. Complicating matters is the arrival in Merridam of the wealthy Bradford family, as Beth Bradford, who is Theo's age, is a beautiful, perfectly-put-together, and graciously-behaved young lady. Although Theo resists becoming friends with this newcomer, Beth's friendliness and obvious longing for companions of her own age, after many years spent moving around due to the ill health of her mother, eventually win her over. Changes come into the lives of both girls during the course of the story, and Theo especially, does eventually blossom, becoming the "black flower" she imagines herself to be...
The seventh children's novel and eighth title overall that I have read from Jane Abbott, a prolific author of both juvenile and adult books during the first half of the twentieth century, Black Flower displays its creator's love of unusual girls' names. There's Dicket Farth, heroine of Merridy Road ; Janny, AKA Janice, of the eponymously named Janny ; Jerry, AKA Jerauld, of Highacres ; Dinty, AKA Druscilla, of A Row of Stars ; and Jeremy Haverhill, of Folly Farm . When I saw that the heroine here was named Theodate, I at first assumed that this was simply another example of Abbott's flair for giving unconventional names to her heroines. As it turns out, there was a rather famous Theodate in the late nineteenth, early twentieth centuries - Theodate Pope Riddle, a pioneering American woman architect - who was perhaps an inspiration for Abbott. After all, the Theodate in Black Flower decides at the end of the novel to become , which was, at that time, still an unusual choice for a girl. Leaving that aside, I found the story here engaging, and Theo a sympathetic young heroine. I expected some of the story developments, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment. Published in 1929, the narrative here explores gendered roles in a way that contemporary readers might find uncomfortable. Theo's tomboyishness is considered problematic because she is a young woman, while Jard's sensitivity creates unease, lest it lead to cowardice, something unacceptable in young men. These are not unexpected themes, given the date of publication, but current readers might want to be aware of them, going in. For my part, I continue to enjoy Abbott's work, and to find that she has some real psychological insight into young girls and women. I plan to continue. I will definitely be continuing to read through her work.
The seventh children's novel and eighth title overall that I have read from Jane Abbott, a prolific author of both juvenile and adult books during the first half of the twentieth century, Black Flower displays its creator's love of unusual girls' names. There's Dicket Farth, heroine of Merridy Road ; Janny, AKA Janice, of the eponymously named Janny ; Jerry, AKA Jerauld, of Highacres ; Dinty, AKA Druscilla, of A Row of Stars ; and Jeremy Haverhill, of Folly Farm . When I saw that the heroine here was named Theodate, I at first assumed that this was simply another example of Abbott's flair for giving unconventional names to her heroines. As it turns out, there was a rather famous Theodate in the late nineteenth, early twentieth centuries - Theodate Pope Riddle, a pioneering American woman architect - who was perhaps an inspiration for Abbott. After all, the Theodate in Black Flower decides at the end of the novel to become , which was, at that time, still an unusual choice for a girl. Leaving that aside, I found the story here engaging, and Theo a sympathetic young heroine. I expected some of the story developments, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment. Published in 1929, the narrative here explores gendered roles in a way that contemporary readers might find uncomfortable. Theo's tomboyishness is considered problematic because she is a young woman, while Jard's sensitivity creates unease, lest it lead to cowardice, something unacceptable in young men. These are not unexpected themes, given the date of publication, but current readers might want to be aware of them, going in. For my part, I continue to enjoy Abbott's work, and to find that she has some real psychological insight into young girls and women. I plan to continue. I will definitely be continuing to read through her work.
Displaying 1 of 1 review