Miss Nonentity

by L.T. Meade, William Rainey (Illustrator)

Clarissa Rodney, daughter of Professor Rodney, on gaining the Randall Scholarship, determines to use the money this brings in paying for an eminent specialist, who saves her father's life. She engages the doctor unknown to her own family, and gets into great trouble on discovering that the scholarship is not to be paid in cash.

367 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1900

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

[Hannah]

Ebook here https://archive.org/details/missnonen...

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

We must remember, that this book was written in 1912. Stories for young women adhered to the standards of the day. That said, Clarissa's story is typical; a good hearted, spunky girl gets herself into multiple scrapes as one secret provokes more secrets and white lies. The title character, Clarissa's little sister, isn't given her nickname until well into the book, and the only reason the book is titled for her is because she helps her sister by explaining everything that happened to the grown-ups.

Several adults in the story are not at all likable. Clarissa's mother is harsh and stern, her best friend's step-uncle, Thomas Jenkins, is judgmental, controlling and fixated on the past, and her father's best friend, Mr. Sarson, detests women to the point of not even acknowledging them. Although the final pages exonerate Clarissa of any wrong doing, her future and that of her friend Mary are taken over by Thomas Jenkins, typically, with no regard for either girl's wishes. I found the ending very simplistic, as if the author were hurrying to wind up the story.

I enjoy reading very old books for children and young adults as they give me a picture of what life what like for them. This one was fun, and would read more of Mrs. Meade's prolific work.

[Stephen Fodor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Moral of today's Story Children: even if you steal, disobey your parents, and lie to cover up your sins, you still must tell your parents and ask God for forgiveness of those sins. Look at Carissa Rodney, she didn't, until her younger sister made it known. Look how miserable Clarissa was, until the truth was known. Lesson here kids: Don't be a Clarissa.