Polly: A New-Fashioned Girl

by L.T. Meade

Relates the trials and tribulations of the Maybright family, and their adventures after the death of their mother.

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

342 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1889

About the author

Mrs. L.T. Meade (Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Toulmin Smith), was a prolific children's author of Anglo Irish extraction. Born in 1844, Meade was the eldest daughter of a Protestant clergyman, whose church was in County Cork. Moving from Ireland to London as a young woman, after the death of her mother, she studied in the Reading Room of the British Museum in preparation for her intended career as a writer, before marrying Alfred Toulmin Smith in September 1879.

The author of close to 300 books, Meade wrote in many genres, but is best known for her girls' school stories. She was one of the editors of the girls' magazine, Atalanta from 1887-93, and was active in women's issues. She died in 1914.

Reviews

[Georgia · Rating 1 out of 5]

These are all terrible people. Polly herself is headstrong and arrogant. She draws a young servant into her bad behaviour, with the result that the child is sacked. The father makes some questionable decisions. Flower has "passions", and steals a baby for revenge. David steals a dog, also for revenge, and traps it in a hole in the ground. Much melodrama about blindness and illness.

The most interesting bit is Flower's passions, which are terrifying to her younger brother to the point he begs people not to upset her. But she changes her personality magically.

Not a pleasant read.

[Kimberly Karalius · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wild ride of emotions, for sure, but I loved every minute of it. All the characters won me over in the end and it was surprisingly easy to tell them apart (nine kids plus a ton of other characters? Yes). And their father was just as charming as my fav fictional dad, Captain Crewe from A LITTLE PRINCESS (the movie version lol).

I definitely want to read more of her books!

[Judith DeStefano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Polly: A New-Fashioned Girl is one of L. T. Meade's books for girls. Polly is fourteen as the story begins and the second daughter in a large family. The book is divided into two main parts, the first following the rise and fall of Polly's attempt to housekeep. A girl and a boy, new wards of Dr. Maybright, come to stay in part two of the book, and Flower causes a great trouble to arise in the Maybright family. Readers will find reason to smile in part one as Dr. Maybright looks forward to Polly's housekeeping with trepidation, and to be disgusted in part two with Flower's selfish revenge against Polly. However, neither Flower nor Polly is irredeemable in their foolishness, and both are wiser by the end of the story. However, readers may also wish the story would reach its resolution a bit more quickly. Enjoy!

[Amyem]

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18666/...

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't really understand how the title of this book applied to anything that happened in this book. It was a good book though, and I was glad about the ending, the middle seemed too terrible for old children's books to contemplate. Another L.T. Meade book that I have enjoyed very much!