Margaret Montfort

The Margaret Series #2

by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards, Etheldred B. Barry (Illustrator)

"A little gentlewoman eighteen years of age; an ill-bred and malicious visitor; three naughty children gradually reduced to decent behavior, and a beneficent uncle playing host and guardian, are the characters in this genial, almost jovial story of a summer. It is a continuation of the Three Margarets, and teaches the same lesson: truth, kindness and good manners." -from: American Ecclesiastical Review, Volume 19, 1898

282 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1898

About the author

Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards (27 February, 1850 – 14 January, 1943) was an American writer. She often published as Laura E. Richards & wrote more than 90 books including biographies, poetry, and several for children.

Her father was Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, an abolitionist and the founder of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind. She was named after his famous deaf-blind pupil Laura Bridgman. Her mother Julia Ward Howe wrote the words to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having introduced the three Margaret Montforts in the initial book in her Margaret Series - first cousins with the same name, Margaret, Peggy and Rita Montfort all come to spend the summer at the ancestral family home, Fernley House, in Three Margarets - Laura E. Richards proceeds to the story of the eldest Margaret in this sequel, with the subsequent Peggy and Rita detailing the adventures of their respective heroines. Here we have Margaret, settling into her quiet new life at Fernley with Uncle John, and discovering that she has much to learn about keeping a home. Jolted out of her complacency by a conversation she overhears between the housekeeper and cook, Margaret resolves to become more involved in the household tasks, now that her beloved Aunt Faith, who once oversaw all such matters, has died. Her good resolutions are put to the test, however, and she discovers that it won't be an easy thing to become the mistress of Fernley, when the obnoxious Sophronia Montfort descends upon the house, claiming that it is her duty to "make a home" for her Cousin John. Margaret and her Uncle John do the best they can to carry on, despite the many annoyances created by their officious new house guest, with her predilection for giving unwanted advice, and for snooping around; and then providence (with a helpful hand from Uncle John) intervenes, in the form of three young cousins - Basil, Merton and Susan D. - whose arrival at Fernley heralds a new period of drama and excitement...

Every bit as engaging as the first entry in the series, Margaret Montfort may feature an unnaturally virtuous young heroine - Margaret is all unworldly retirement, gentle and lady-like, with a scholarly bent that makes her an ideal companion for Uncle John - but the odious Sophronia, the boisterous Basil and Susan D., and the duplicitous Merton, all make for an interesting contrast, in the character department. Cousin Sophronia, in particular, is the kind of character that one loves to hate, and reading about her eventual downfall at the hands of those young terrors is quite entertaining! I was somewhat less entertained by the depiction of Merton, as Margaret and Uncle John seem to wash their hands of him, at the close of the story. Dishonesty is a significant character flaw, I grant you, but a twelve-year-old hardly seems beyond reform. On another note, I was really quite interested to see a character from Richards' Hildegarde Series turn up here - I knew that the two series were interrelated, but was under the impression that the connection did not occur until later titles - in the form of Gerald Merryweather, who first appeared as a young teenager in Hildegarde's Neighbors , and is a twenty-one-year-old engineer in Margaret Montfort. I look forward to seeing more crossovers between the series!

In sum: an enjoyable follow-up to the first book, and a pleasant read in its own right. Readers with a taste for vintage girls' fiction ala L.M. Montgomery or Louisa May Alcott should give Laura E. Richards a try!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quite interesting sequel to The Three Margarets, this one focused on the Eastern Margaret, who stays with Uncle John at his estate, Fernley, in New England - or, at least, the geographical descriptions seem to imply New England. At first, life seems idyllic and quiet for the two, a kind of continuation of the life Margaret led with her father - studious, calm, uneventful . . . until John's cousin Anthony sends his three children to stay with John and Margaret while Anthony, a widower raising his children alone, looks for another job. The children turn Margaret's life upside down, but that is only the start. Into this chaos comes Sophronia, an older and never married cousin of John's who considers herself indispensable to John in his "single" guardian status over Margaret and the three new children, to Margaret's annoyance because she was growing into her role as mistress of Fernley. However, over the course of her experiences with both the children and Sophronia, Margaret learns to experience the childhood she never actually had with her father. She also meets Gerald Merryweather, whom she mistakes for a lower class workman at first, but he proves to be the son of a school friend of John's, making them of the same class. There are interesting class issues in this novel. Sophronia represents a member of the upper middle class that feels superior to anyone in a lower class and treats those in the lower or working class with haughty rudeness and disdain. She does not trust them. Margaret, on the other hand, although fully aware of her higher class status, treats those in the lower classes with respect, even if not as equals. She respects the work and, more importantly, the humanity of the servants at Fernley, Elizabeth and Frances, even asking their advice and guidance in how to run a household, something Sophronia would never do because she would deem it beneath her, and John would simply not think of doing - he is perfectly happy to let them run the house, and he does not treat his servants badly, but he also does not interact with them more than is necessary, unlike Margaret. Margaret does consider herself a "gentlewoman" and wants the children now under her care to live up to their class - which is what she tries to do with Peggy as well. She believes that those in a higher class should live up to the gentileness of their class and that they have a duty to raise others up or at least be generous and gracious to those in a lower class, and perhaps expect gratitude, loyalty, and respect from those they help.

I enjoyed this book, but did find it disturbing at the end that the middle child, Merton, was so easily split off from his brother and sister, sent back to his father in California, while the other two remain with Margaret and John. That there is no emotion in this decision on anyone's part - not John, not Margaret, not Basil (older brother), not Susan D. (little sister), or Anthony, their father, that he is splitting up the siblings was odd. I am glad that Margaret loosened up in this book. She was a bit too good and "saintly" in the first book. She is still too perfect a character, but she did show some spunk with Sophronia in this book, which I liked immensely.

The next two books will feature Peggy and Rita respectively. I am especially looking forward to Peggy's story, and I hope Richards doesn't smooth out all her rough edges. She is unconventional, and I like her most of the three cousins.

[KarlaC · Rating 4 out of 5]

My partner likes to buy old books, just because. The other day I was looking on the bookshelf for something different to read, and came across this book. The book itself looked a little damaged, and I like to read in bed, so I looked to see if it had been put online as it was in the public domain. It was published in 1898. It was! It was a good little story, and the writing is different from today's writing. So innocent. Yet refreshing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and finished it about a week, which is fast for me. So just for fun, check out old books online. They are free, and have very few restrictions to share. This one was wonderful. Not one I will reread, but one I will remember which is more than I can say for some books that are written today.