A Little Maid of Ticonderoga

The Little Maid's Historical Series #5

by Alice Turner Curtis, Wuanita Smith (Illustrator)

The story of Faith Carew and her adventures in aiding Colonel Ethan Allen in his efforts to take Fort Ticonderoga.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, American Revolutionary War, American Revolution, Juvenile, Classics

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1917

About the author

Children's and young adult historical fiction author Alice Turner Curtis was born in Sullivan, Hancock County, Maine, USA. Her maiden name is Alice L. Turner. She is listed in the Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Books. Her father was a sailmaker. She was married (in Boston on 20 May 1895) to Irving Curtis (18 Jan 1835 – 18 Nov 1910). Her parents (both born in Maine) were John Vinal Turner and Susan Ann Spear. Alice lived her life in Maine and Massachusetts (notably, in Boston). She had been in the literary profession since at least 1895 (with Marjorie's Way being her first known book, published in 1904).

Alice Turner Curtis is the author of "The Little Maid's Historical Series", originally published, during the period from 1910 to 1937. Reprinted by Knopf in the 1940's and 1950's with illustrations by Sandra James. Some books were reprinted by Applewood in the 1990's with the original illustrations. One book containing two original stories was printed by Derrydale Books in 1991. She is also known for the Grandpa's Little Girls series, The Yankee Girl Civil War Stories, the Frontier Girl series, The Little Heroine series, the Marjorie series, the Little Runnaways series, and other books.

Reviews

[Majenta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm very glad I read it. A cool green read on a hot day. A Vermont village girl goes to visit relatives in New York and meets a neighbor girl who needs a friend. At home and away she deals with secrets good and bad....including the most important one of her young life. She's a likeable girl and her book is a likeable read.

Thanks for reading!

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to read these “Little Maid” books back in grade school, but abandoned them after my parents stopped being able to afford to spend $15 on a book I could read in an hour or less. I found this online at Project Gutenberg while looking for a story set in Vermont for a challenge.

To my surprise, it was engaging even from an adult standpoint. Not highbrow literature at all, but still interesting. I’d definitely recommend the story of how young Faith helps the Green Mountain Boys find out about the clandestine entrance to Fort Ticonderoga and learns to be a good friend to girls she meets.

Caution: there is a place where Faith doesn’t tell her parents something where her friend did wrong.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faith lives with her parents in the wilderness. After her father's friend's daughter comes to stay with the family for a period of time, her parents realize that Faith is missing out on school and companionship with kids her own age living in the middle of nowhere so they send her to Ticonderoga to live with her aunt and go to school. Faith learns many lessons about relationships and people, and better yet, she is able to help in the fight against the British.

If you like the Little House series (I thought the first one terribly boring), try this series.

Upper elementary.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my favorite book series when I was a child. There wasn't much in children's series back then and I loved these and the historical background with brave strong girls as the main characters. Probably why I still enjoy historical fiction. They were followed by Anne of Green Gables, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, The Secret Garden and all the classic heroines.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edition: I read a free Kindle e-book copy of it, which had no illustrations. I got it here: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Ticonde...

This is an interesting historical fiction book leading up to the capture of Fort Ticonderoga.

Summary:

Our main character is Faith Carew, a little girl who lives in the wilderness with her mother, father, and kitten (Bounce). Faith loves her home in the wilderness, and likes listening to the brook talk.

A girl named Esther Eldridge comes to visit and stay with Faith's family for a while (her father does not stay). Esther is not from the wilderness (but from a more populated area). Faith discovers Esther to be mischievous and greedy. Faith makes a rash promise to do anything for her guest, which ends in Esther obtaining possession of her prized beads. Esther encourages and helps Faith to get into trouble doing something with sweet stuff in the kitchen. However, instead of getting into trouble with her parents, a bear enters the house and upsets the kitchen. The girls flee while the bear is distracted. Faith's father kills the bear, which had upset the syrup Faith was cooking (her father talks about using the bear's meat for food). Faith's mother overhears Esther taunting Faith, and discovers that Esther was behind this and other naughty things; Esther gets into trouble. Faith's mother reproves Esther, and Esther mends her ways, being quite sorry for how she behaved. Faith and Esther become good friends after that.

Esther wants to give Faith's beads back, but she lost them. Esther has to go home. She doesn't mention that she lost the beads. Faith notices, but is surprised and doesn't say anything (she does believe that Esther has mended her ways and doesn't know why Esther seemed to keep the beads).

Faith meets Ethan Allen (the historical figure) outdoors, and they talk.

Because of a comment of Esther's, Faith's parents decide to send Faith to live with her Aunt Priscilla (Aunt Prissy) in Ticonderoga to go to school. A native American woman friend named Kashaqua overhears and offers to take Faith there herself (since she is headed that way). Faith's parents do not refuse (although they do have some inner conflict about it for some unknown reason). Faith journeys with Kashaqua. She discovers that Kashaqua has tamed a bear. They arrive at Aunt Prissy's and Kashaqua soon disappears. Faith meets her cousins. The family has a dog.

Faith has good experiences with her aunt, who gave her the aforementioned beads. Her aunt gives her more nice things (e.g. clothes). Aunt Prissy tells faith of a nearby shoemaker's daughter named Louise, and fears that Louise is a mischievous girl. Louise's father is on the British side of the war. Louise, unbeknowst to her father, comes to call on Faith, and Faith is quite surprised. Louise has untidy hair and clothes that aren't so nice. Louise walks with a crutch. Faith brushes her hair before she can protest, and gives her some nice things to wear, which she puts does during the visit. They make good friends, but when Louise has to go, she gives the nice things back to Faith, telling her that her father says she's not allowed to accept gifts. Her father is not exactly poor, but he is single and doesn't seem to realize some things about his daughter. Nevertheless, the book doesn't delve deeply into the reason for her attire.

Aunt Prissy and Faith aim to help Louise, but it's a sticky situation since Louise's father could become very upset about their help and their relations could be ruined as a result. So, Aunt Prissy comes up with a plan. Aunt Prissy and Faith go to Louse's house and talk with her father. Faith is allowed to visit at that time with Louise. Louise is worried that Faith won't like her room, but Faith discovers and loves Louise's gray kitten (which is similar to Bounce). The kitten is just named 'Kitten', but Faith convinces Louise to give it a name. So, they call it Jump. Louise fears that she'll never be allowed to visit Faith and/or such. When they emerge from Louise's room, Louise is surprised to find that her father has agreed to let her go to visit (a lot) with Faith, and that she will get all kinds of clothes. This, however, is not a gift, but a business arrangement. Louise's father agreed to make shoes for Aunt Prissy's children in turn.

Faith persuades Aunt Prissy that Louise is not mischievous.

Faith, and I think her aunt, help to educate Louise (who had a bad experience at school and stopped going—although she never tells Faith about the incident in the book). Louise gets nice clothes and surprises her father by how beautiful she is. Her father eventually gets her some really nice clothes (and matching ones for Faith).

Faith makes friends with some British girls (who are on the British side of the war), and after some days, they arrange to go together to visit Fort Ticonderoga. Aunt Prissy is reluctant to allow this, but Faith persuades her that her friends are good girls. However, they turn out to be not-so-nice, and once they discover that Faith's father is a Miller and that her uncle is a farmer, they reveal this by leaving Faith to get lost in Fort Ticonderoga. Faith does get lost, but eventually finds a secret exit, which happens to be known by a friend of hers from school (named Nathan). Nathan is outside the door when she opens it, and he has her promise not to tell anyone about it. They leave through the exit so as not to face her former British friends at the entrance.

Faith falls on her way back into some thorns and tears her nicest dress (which Aunt Prissy gave her). She hides the fact on her return. The British girls come back and talk with Faith's aunt (who sends them away after noticing that Faith doesn't like them; she had, however, prepared a nice meal for them to share, but she didn't mention it to the girls). When Louise comes to visit, she persuades Faith to confess about the dress as soon as possible instead of attempting to mend it herself (which Faith does). Things go well. Faith is happy that Louise encouraged her to tell.

There's a quilting party. Girls from school come to visit. One of them, whose name is Jane, aims to make friends with Louise after finding her agreeable to her tastes (she had previously not found her so). Faith and Louise tricked their guests into thinking some giant makeshift dolls were friends visiting.

Faith aims to help in the war somehow. Nathan agrees to let her tell the secret if it will help with the war (and she is confident that it will).

Faith tells a man on the American side about the secret entrance to Fort Ticonderoga, and finds a way to secretly show it to him (although he at first refuses). He's pretty happy about it afterward.

Faith gets receives a letter that lets her know that her beads have been discovered (her mother wants to know why she didn't take them). Faith is confused, thinking that Esther still had them.

Louise and her father suddenly vanish without a word (going with the British side somewhere).

Faith (after a really long stay) eventually returns home to find that a now healthy Esther and her father have moved into the wilderness near them.

Esther had given Faith new beads (so now, Faith has two sets of beads). I think she got them in a package before she left for home.

Faith and Esther aim to help with the war. So, they secretly take a dangerous journey (probably themselves unaware of the dangers) to let Ethan Allen know about Nathan. They find someone (not Ethan) and tell him (after which he tells Ethan Allen), and he helps them return home.

Fort Ticonderoga is taken, and Faith discovers that she did help them significantly.

Louise reappears at some point. Her father had been captured. However, Louise's father joins the American side, and consents to allow Aunt Prissy to adopt Louise.

Everyone is quite happy.

Throughout the book, Faith is inwardly upset about most of the secrets she feels she has to keep (and doesn't want any more secrets), and she is quite relieved to be free of each afterward.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faith Carew learns about telling the truth, when to keep secrets, and how to be a friend, all against the background of Fort Ticonderoga and the American Revolution. The biggest secret she has is knowledge of the location of a secret unguarded entrance into Fort Ticonderoga. This information, Faith knows, will help Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys take the fort from the British.

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

MCL. I thought Faith did the right thing.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should be embarrassed that I read this book because of a pencil, but there you have it. I found a delightful girl's book series.

Faith is an only child and is quickly introduced to lots of different people. First spoiled Ester, who she quickly befriends, and then she goes away to school in Ticonderoga and meets Louise who is crippled and shy. Faith changes Louise's whole life. She goes from a rag a muffin to a girl with friends who holds her head high.

It isn't all roses. She also meets two Tories that betray her, but Faith turns thst betrayal into the spark that helps the Americans take the fort from the British.

[K D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I had read every book in this series. They kept me reading through two summers.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is one in a series of stories about Colonial America written for young girls (7-12), originally published in 1917...it was an interesting and fun read.

[rinabeana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading thing when I was about 8 years old and living in Lake George for the summer. I developed a mad crush on Ethan Allen and Seth Warner (still have a hero complex...) and wanted to be Faith Carew. My family visited both Bennington, VT and Fort Ticonderoga and I was obsessed with finding the cliff door. Recently I was recommending the Lake George area to a colleague as a vacation spot (with his 12-year-old daughter) and described the book. As the details were fuzzy, I decided to reread it. Even after all these years, I still enjoyed it, though reading some background on Ethan Allen's grandstanding antics has abated my crush a bit. (HA!)