A Little Girl in Old New York

A Little Girl #1

by Amanda Minnie Douglas

"How would you like to go to New York to live, little girl?" The little girl looked up into her father's face to see if he was "making fun." He did sometimes. He was beginning to go down the hill of middle life, a rather stout personage with a fair, florid complexion, brown hair, rough and curly, and a border of beard shaved well away from his mouth. Both beard and hair were getting threads of white in them. His jolly blue eyes were mostly in a twinkle, and his good-natured mouth looked as if he might be laughing at you. She studied him intently. Three months before she had been taken to the city on a visit, and it was a great event. I suspect that her mother did not like being separated from her a whole fortnight. She was such a nice, quiet, well-behaved little girl. Children were trained in those days. Some of them actually took pride in being as nice as possible and obeying the first time they were spoken to, without even asking "Why? "

Genres: Historical Fiction

ebook

First published January 1, 1896

About the author

Amanda Minnie Douglas (1831-1916) was a prolific American writer. Born in New York City, she attended the City Institute there and after moving studied English and American literature with a private tutor. She later took up writing and sold several stories to periodicals, including the Saturday Evening Post, New York Ledger, and Lady's Friend. In 1866 her first book In Trust was published. Her other works include: Home Nook; or, The Crown of Duty (1874), There's No Place Like Home (1875), Hope Mills (1880), Floyd Grandon's Honor (1884), A Little Girl in Old Philadelphia (1890), A Little Girl in Old New York (1896), A Little Girl of Long Ago (1897), A Little Girl in Old Boston (1898), A Little Girl in Old Detroit (1902), A Little Girl in Old Quebec (1906), A Little Girl in Old Salem (1908) and The Girls at Mount Morris (1914).

Reviews

[Megan Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the constant breaking of the fourth wall, but man-oh-man did I wish an actual conflict would arise and the "goodness" of the little girl would be tested.