The Trumpeter Swan

by Temple Bailey

It had rained all night, one of the summer rains that, beginning in a thunder-storm in Washington, had continued in a steaming drizzle until morning. There were only four passengers in the sleeper, men all of them-two in adjoining sections in the middle of the car, a third in the drawing-room, a fourth an intermittent occupant of a berth at the end. They had gone to bed unaware of the estate or circumstance of their fellow-travellers, and had waked to find the train delayed by washouts, and side-tracked until more could be learned of the condition of the road. The man in the drawing-room shone, in the few glimpses that the others had of him, with an effulgence which was dazzling. His valet, the intermittent sleeper in the end berth, was a smug little soul, with a small nose which pointed to the stars. When the door of the compartment opened to admit breakfast there was the radiance of a brocade dressing-gown, the shine of a sleek head, the staccato of an imperious voice.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Childrens

340 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1920

About the author

Known as "Queen of the Romantic Novel", Irene Temple Bailey was born in Petersburg, Virginia. Her childhood was spent in Washington, D.C., and she attended a girls' school in Richmond, Virginia. In the early 1900s, she had her fiction published in national magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Cavalier Magazine, Cosmopolitan, American Magazine, McClure's, Woman's Home Companion, Good Housekeeping, and McCall's.

Her success with short stories inspired her to try her hand at books, and her first novel, Judy, was published in 1907. She eventually wrote over 25 best-selling books and became one of the most successful authors of her time. Later she also ventured into screenwriting; in 1914 she wrote the screenplay for the Vitagraph Studios film Auntie.

Temple Bailey is probably most famous for her short story, "A Parable of Motherhood."

Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1...

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the reviews on this page refer to the book "The Trumpet of the Swan" by E.B. White, a children's classic. This book by Temple Bailey is an adult romance novel, published in 1920. The Bailey book is not a children's book, so don't get confused and turn your children loose with this one. The only swan in this book is a rather sad, stuffed one.

The story is set mostly in Virginia at the end of World War I. American soldiers are returning home from war and one of them is Randy Paine. He is disillusioned after fighting for a worthy cause to find that the rest of the world is back to business as usual: making money and clambering for power. He is not ready to join back in with their temporal goals, as his soul has gone through the valley and survived.

He sees his old state changing as well. Some of the fine, old families have been replaced with outsiders; rich city people with very different values and customs. There is also some shaking up of the old comfortable class system. His old friend Becky is being swept off her feet by a wealthy cad. All is not well on the homefront.

This was a nice little romance story. I do like reading older books like this. It is similar to a historical romance, but it was modern when it was written. It makes a big difference, and usually a difference for the better, since there is no 21st century spin on the story. But beware: the story is set in the South and there are some attitudes and words that may be quite offensive. If you can distance yourself and keep a perspective of the era in which this was written, you can read it with pleasure for the most part. It was what it was. This is a Progressive-Era novel and reflects the old attitudes and manners, not the modern ones.

[Jenny Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kept me interested, and guessing which way the story would go. If reading you have to understand the time period this was written as there is some racial language used, and the book was published in the 1920's. But overall good story.

[Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book about a swan

[Rachel L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Post WWI story. Light, easy read.

[blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this book, somehow, after reading The Trumpet of the Swan and, as I often do, got a copy to read because apparently I don't EVER want to reduce the number of fiction books I have still to read under 180.

Personal griping aside, this is the kind of book I like to read. Not for the genre, which is pretty much straight-up romance novel, but for the way it reflects certain ideas and values of the time, and also how those ideas and values are echoed (or not) today.

The story begins with a group of men on a train into the Deep South. Two of the men are war buddies returning home after WWI. One of the other men is a popinjay who did not serve, but whose man-servant did serve (not that this affords him any protection from his employer's abuse). The South, as portrayed here, is in a kind of postbellum limbo, with the old aristocratic houses largely decaying, and hanging on to their old ways in the face of a rapidly changing world.

Well, one of the soldiers is from the area and he's going back, in part, to be with his childhood friend, a beautiful but simple country gal (literally raised in a convent), and for whose affections he will soon be vying for with our popinjay—who has no particular merit except a silver tongue.

The story is handled well and the prose is largely adequate, though there are a few passages that kind of clunky in their repetitive simplicity (still putting it miles ahead of a modern pop novel). I wasn't surprised by...anything...that I can recall, but such novels are a kind of comfort food, and not for me to knock on that basis. And it's the journey, after all.

No, what I found most interesting was how closely the attitudes about WWI mirrored the ones that would be expressed about WWII 25 years later. (Indeed the themes of repatriation of solders would've fit perfectly into William Wyler's 1946 masterpiece, "The Best Years of Our Lives".) This was a little depressing to read since, while I'm willing to suspend disbelief about WWII, WWI, and especially America's involvement therein, was just a hideous waste.

Then there are the race relation aspects. Obviously, the attitudes of then (particularly in the South) are not the attitudes of now. While I didn't agree with them, I could see how they could come to pass. At one point, though, the author says, "She had the Negro's natural love of white children"!

Heh.

Mostly, though, the racial observations are in the eyes of the characters, not the authorial voice which is way better. It would've been artistically brilliant to carve out a portion of the 350 pages for the black people, as they had some interesting POVs of their own, but I can't imagine that would've helped Ms. Bailey's sales much.

Wiki says she sold 3M novels in her day, and she seems barely remembered today. Sic transit, etc.

[Vicki Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Temple Bailey novel, and if I can do anything about it, it won't be the last! Good old-fashioned morals and romance.

[Kyledrahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when i was younger about 8 or 9. This book was so fascinating to me because it made me feel that things like trumpeting swans were possible. If that was so, anything else could be possible. That was the reason this book was so intriguing and important to me. Temple Bailey was a great writer, that showed of how she made a swan have many feelings and an emotional capacity that is equal to humans.
My personal favorite moment in this whole book was when the trumpeter swan asked its owner to cut its feet so it could take it's trumpeting ability to a whole new level. I felt sorry for the boy because he had to hurt his pet that he fought so hard to keep. I also thought it must have been hard for the swan to endure the pain it had to have.
This book is for all types of people. It can easily be a quick read for a teenager, a short flight book, and a beginner's first real book. I personally considered it my first real book that i read. I felt so proud of myself, so proud that i read it more than 3 times. It is a good book to read for a moral uplifting. I will not divulge the ending, but it is definitely one of those fuzzy feelings.
This book overall is a great one. It encompasses all of a person's feelings. Sad, happiness, anger, bliss, joy, and sometimes hate. So, go buy Trumpeter Swan and make it a good read, no matter your level of reading.

[Ashley Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book around fifth grade and feel in love with it! I was intrigued with the little details of the swan's tools for communicating with people and wished i could have as cool of a pet. This story is one of the first I remember actually enjoying as a child.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book in fourth or fifth grade,(i cant remember) but it was an ok book.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read this to Zane. I had never read it before.. . Zane and I both loved this book. Zane actually would give it 5 stars but I am more stingy with my stars. :)

[Josiah Cro · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great book, pretty funny