Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch

The Cabbage Patch #1

by Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice

In the shanty town called the Cabbage Patch, Mrs. Wiggs scrabbles for survival with her brood of five children.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Classics, Juvenile, Historical Fiction, Kids, Canon

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1901

About the author

Alice Hegan Rice, also known as Alice Caldwell Hegan, was an American novelist. Born Alice Caldwell Hegan in Shelbyville, Kentucky, she wrote over two dozen books, the most famous of which is Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. The book was a best seller in 1902 and is set in Louisville, Kentucky where she then lived. It was made into a successful play in 1903, and there were three Hollywood movie versions of it. The best known is the 1934 film that starred Pauline Lord and W.C. Fields.

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1901), The Inky Way (1940) and Happiness Road (1942) were autobiographical works.

She was born Alice Caldwell Hegan in Shelbyville, Kentucky on 11 January 1870, and died in Louisville, Kentucky on 10 February 1942. She was granted two honorary Litt.D. degrees, the first from from Rollins College in 1928, and the second from the University of Louisville in 1937.

She was married to poet and dramatist Cale Young Rice. They had no children. The house they lived in at 1444 St. James Court is still standing. She was a niece of Frances Little .

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone who makes a habit of visiting the children's section of every intriguingly dusty and shabby used bookstore they can find has certainly come across this ubiquitous title. For my sister and I, "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch" has come to stand as a sort of shorthand for the kind of used bookstore that at first glance seems promising (books with attractive old bindings) but ultimately disappoints. We have even imagined creating a kind of used bookstore bingo game, with the bingo cards listing the titles of the books one sees over and over again (other books represented would probably include Heidi, The Story of a Bad Boy, and Under the Lilacs). I recently bought some books on eBay that were offered as a lot, just because I wanted one of them (it was The Friendship of Anne), and among that lot was, what else, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. I decided to finally give in and read it. I had a nagging feeling that maybe it was reprinted so much because it was, you know, good. And actually, it kind of is. I don't think it was originally meant for children (it's mentioned in the opening paragraphs that Mr. Wiggs went to his death "by the alchohol route"), and perhaps this gives the story a slightly livelier, saltier, flavor than most children's fare of the period. The Cabbage Patch of the title, contrary to my expectations, is not some sort of bucolic farm, but a very poor area in a city where people scape up a living as best they can, and the book recounts Mrs. Wiggs' efforts to keep her five children fed. It's a very quick, sometimes amusing, read, and at one point even moving. I'd probably give it more stars but there were some things that made me uncomfortable -- the usual suspects for modern readers of books of this era, race and class related things. The author seems to feel empathy for the poor people of the Cabbage Patch, but equally sees them as a source of fun, with their misspelled writing and unlikely names (the three Wiggs girls are named Asia, Australia, and Europena). That being said, I did enjoy the book much more than I expected.

[Mandolin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mrs. Wiggs' life has been anything but easy. Her husband died of alcohol, her farm burned to the ground and now she struggles in her everyday fight to "pull agin' a debt." Her five children, Jimmy, Billy and the geographically named Asia, Australia and Europena, rely on her for encouragement and love in the harshest of circumstances and she does her best to give them what they need - and so much more. Though the threat of poverty and illness lie constantly at her door, Mrs. Wiggs keeps a sunny attitude that spreads its warmth over her little family and her neighbors. Despite her lack of education, her miniscule means and the many sadnesses that plague her life, Mrs. Wiggs is an example of contentment and generosity that shines out of her tiny community and has its effect even on the wealthier citizens of the nearby town. Her plans to avoid disaster are often hilarious (especially when she approaches the local doctor and asks to sell her body for research in case she ever dies, in order to provide for her children's wellbeing!) but all show the purity and humility that live in her heart.

This sweet book reminded me of the short stories written by Louisa May Alcott. How apt since the book I'm waiting for is "Marmee and Louisa!" Its characters are simple folk who face challenges that seem impossible. With fortitude and humble perseverance, they steadily work to keep their heads above water and their morals intact. A sweet love story threads through this tale that reinforces the importance of hard work leavened by love and laughter. I found a wealth of quotes in the book and feel that they summarize all the good that can be found in its pages better than I ever could:

"Looks like ever'thing in the world comes right, if we jes' wait long enough!"

"It is easy enough to be pleasant / When life flows along like a song / But the man worth while is the one who will smile / When everything goes dead wrong."

"The roads, the woods, the heavens, the hills / Are not a world today / But just a place God made for us / In which to play."

"...not that I ever set out to look fer happiness; seems like the folks that does that never finds it. I jes' do the best I kin where the good Lord put me at, an' it looks like I got a happy feelin' in me 'most all the time."

"Somehow, I never feel like good things b'long to me till I pass 'em on to somebody else."

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 2 out of 5]

My sister read and re-read this book when we were growing up. I usually didn't care for her library choices, but the other day I saw this on Gutenberg and downloaded it to see what all her fuss was.
What I found was a strange, episodic little tale that appeared to be going in one direction only to head in another. Mrs Wiggs and her brood of "childern" are literally starving on the wrong side of the tracks; there are no cabbages in the Cabbage Patch, just shanties of (curiously enough) German immigrants. Their lives are saved by a Christmas basket delivered by a beautiful, wealthy young lady.

Now you would think the story would go on to relate how said young lady takes a personal interest in the family and helps them out of extreme poverty. You'd be wrong. Oh, she gives them a little money to help out, but then the story shifts to centre around her abortive ro-mance with Mr Bob, her erstwhile fiancé. She gives him the mitten because his best friend is a drinker and gambler, and he doesn't mind being seen with him!

From that point, the Wiggs family are just the chorus that will eventually lead the couple back together. I couldn't believe it when I finished this very short read; my reaction was, "What? That's it? You're going to stop there?" Apparently so.

All the "laughs" in the tale--and they are few--centre around Mrs Wiggs' good-hearted ignorance. She doesn't even have enough sense to know she's suffering, according to the authoress.

[Hannah Landis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average story. I got the book because of the inscription in the front by someone who loved it. I think it's worth keeping simply because of that.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of my Christmas-money box of books this year. I've seen it several times at bookstores but always bought other things instead...but I'm glad I finally bought it! It's a fun, innocent story about the widow Mrs. Wings and her struggle to raise her children in the city. At just over 100 pages, I read it in less than an hour.

[Joan Concilio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a copy of this book before and somehow had gotten rid of it; then I found another copy in our local used book store with a wonderful inscription, and Chris kindly bought it for me, knowing my weakness for old children's books featuring cabbages in their titles. (No, really. If you haven't read Nobody Plays With a Cabbage by Meindert de Jong, you really should.) This is a wonderful story about life in a simpler time and the power of community. It now has a place of honor on my shelves next to the aforementioned de Jong Cabbage Wonder.

[R.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another of my favorite childhood books that I somehow managed to preserve. This story was old-fashioned even in the sixties when I read it. It's about a kindly lady with many children. They are poor. She believes in what the Bible teaches. Her philosophy is simple yet profound. I love the cadence of her "southern dialect". It isn't overdone. This book teaches love, acceptance, and forgiveness without being preachy or didactic. I highly recommend for present day children.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the first books I checked out of the public library and continued to have my Mother read it to be about once every 2 months for several years. I recently found a reprint and purchased for my library.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of the Wiggs family was fun and enjoyable, but I have given it three stars because of the silly side love story that didn't have any thing to do with the main story and was an annoying distraction.

[Richie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a magical little book. I have not read many authors from Louisville that have written about my city so this is special. This book makes you reassess life and to be happy for what you have. This will be a book I revisit over and over I think. I would like to find more of Rice's work.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book aloud to my husband while in the car and absolutely fell in love!

[Lucy Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I had the outlook on life that Mrs. Wiggs has in this this entertaining story.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slightly rosy but honest look at poverty

I don't know what I expected when I picked up this book, but I wasn't expecting what was delivered.

I think I expected something along the lines of Five Little Peppers and how they grew and in the cozy nature of the writing it is similar, but not in content.

Mrs. Wiggs husband was an alcoholic. Was because he died from the condition, only she doesn't say so in so many words. Her oldest son gets sick because he sleeps outside guarding someone else's property to help makes ends meet - he dies from his sickness. And he was really only a bit himself who had to grow up too fast because of his father's choices. Totally was NOT expecting any of that!

But that's the hard nature of poverty. And while there is some sugar coating in that the family does receive some help eventually (which also happens in real life for some) the hard nature of their lot is still apparent - even to children.

Mrs. Wiggs has a positive attitude and reliance on God (not in a preachy way) that helps her cope which is refreshing to see in a character. So many characters nowadays are whiny and entitled so it was a nice change to see people working for what they have & making the best of their difficult situation.

Even those of us who aren't living in abject poverty can learn from this family! There is a romance but of the early 1900s variety so its very clean and a side story that is sweet and innocent.

Due to the nature of the spoilers I recommend parents read the book before handing it to young children, but this work is suitable for practically any age.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saw this on the "Book Table" at a community garage sale this weekend. Originally published in 1901, this was the 1928 edition. It is is remarkably good condition,and apparently started out as in the library of the "Georgia School for the Deaf".

I remember my mother talking about reading this as a girl (amazing what the mind recalls), so thought it was worth the $0.25 price.

A sweet little story of the always optimistic Mrs Wiggs (a widow living in poverty with her 5 children). The 'Cabbage Patch' is the name given to the slum they live in.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This remind me so much of Kate Douglas Smith Wiggins The Bird's Christmas Carol that I was sure she had written this one as well. (Or maybe I was associating the two because of the similarity between Wiggs and Wiggin?) Anyway, the story is one of those about an impoverished family of blessed souls. Blah, blah, blah...Ya', we all know the story but it is nice, on occasion, to believe that the world is as simple as books sometimes make it out to be.

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the Reading 12.0 project at the library, this month (April) was read a book we read as a child.
I still have a copy of Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. I hadn't read it in years and years.
Gosh, it was different than I remember. Mrs. Wiggs who is an OLD woman turns out to be turning 50 years old, which as a child probably sounded ancient.
This book was really sad and depressing. No wonder I grew up to be a bleeding heart liberal!

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I somehow missed this book as a child. And perhaps I would have enjoyed it more, then. As an adult, this reads like a poor imitation of the Five Little Peppers books. It's a mildly amusing tale a of a widow (Mrs. Wiggs) and her children who live in a shanty town called the Cabbage Patch. They struggle to make ends meet but Mrs. Wiggs always has a sunny disposition. I enjoyed the Peppers books more.

[DeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book my mother recommended when I was young. I loved it then and loved reading it again after finding the old 1901 edition she gave me years ago.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it because of the film. I watched a lot of WC Fields movies as a kid. My parents have a bust of him.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, probably more from imagining my grandmother, Mamaw Wiggy (Mrs Wiggs), in similar circumstances. It was fun and interesting and worth the attention.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just grabbed this at a library book sale recently. I loved it! It was an easy read, and it was fun! :-)

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book as a child. From the moment I read the unusual names of the children, I knew it was going to be an entertaining story. What would I think about it now?

[Aggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good book to cheer you when you feel that the day is falling apart or is out of control

[Mary Quire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth reading.

This is a very heartwarming book. It takes place in Louisville, Kentucky and shows what it was like for many unfortunate families living at that time.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this as a kid, and as an adult, still find it suitably depressing.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Judging by the other reviews, I'm one of the few people that didn't like this book, and I generally do enjoy old books. Probably because I was expecting from the title that it would be a jolly, upbeat book suitable for small children, and it wasn't.

Any book that has two deaths (one from alcohol, one from starvation and exposure) and a fire in the first few chapters isn't what I'd call upbeat, even if the main character maintains a cheerful disposition in the face of all disaster.

Most children's books centre around one or more children. This one is more about their mother. And death due to alcoholism (two different people), is a hard topic. Not to mention the romance subplot tacked on which probably wouldn't interest young children.

I also don't enjoy humour revolving around people who do or say things incorrectly because they don't know any better and most of the laughs in this book are that kind. Mrs. Wiggs naming her three girls Asia, Australia, and Europena because she likes "jography" names is a good example.

That's as far as I'd gotten in my thinking when I started reading Marm Lisa by Kate Douglas Wiggin, an author I enjoy and who was mentioned by several reviewers of this book as writing similar things. What should I come across but a set of twins named Atlantic and Pacific? A quick Google search showed Marm Lisa to be published earlier by five years, so if there was any influence, it was running from Wiggin to Rice.

I was telling my husband about this when he pointed out the similarity in the last names--Wiggs and Wiggin. Maybe we're looking at parody/black humour. Mrs. Wiggs IS rather over the top for the strong, independent but poor widow trying to raise her children--so independent that she'd rather let a child die than ask someone for help.

Right or wrong, I'm sure there's an English lit thesis in there somewhere, but I have no intention of going back to school to write it.

[Amy Winsand · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting. I received this book for Christmas in 1963 when I was 8. I'm not sure what I thought about it back then, but I had saved it for 62+ years! I didn't have many books of my own back then, and it was a big deal when I was given a book for Christmas or my birthday. These gifts included "Lassie, Come Home", "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm", etc.

So I was really curious about Mrs. Wiggs since my son read it on a whim while visiting over the holidays. He was right. It's really rather strange in its treatment of a son suddenly dying, after Mrs. Wiggs had also been recently widowed and left with five children and not a penny to her name. In spite of their circumstances, she was stubbornly optimistic and found the silver lining in any cloud that came her way.

There is also a backstory between Miss Lucy, a kind, well-to-do and generous young woman who was called upon to help after the son's death, and Lucy's on-again, off-again love interest, Redding. Lucy had first introduced herself to the Wiggs family when delivering Christmas baskets to the needy. Now when she discovers Redding is also helping the family, his stock improves greatly in her eyes. Of course, Mrs. Wiggs is delighted.

It was a fast, fun read with a moral to the story. Look on the bright side. Things could always be worse. Appreciate the good and don't worry about the bad. I guess ATTITUDE is everything! - with a little help from good people.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this as a family when I was a little girl, a beloved gift from my great-grandma, who inscribed on the inside “I hope this little book will be as thrilling to you as it was to me when I was a little girl.” Indeed it is, Grandma. Indeed, it is. We could all do well to have the sunny disposition of Mrs Wiggs, who although living in utter poverty, seems the richest and happiest woman in the world. Reminds me of George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life”- the “richest man in town.”

“There ain’t no use in dyin’’fore yer time. Lots of folks is walkin’ round jes as dead as they’ll ever be. I b’lieve in gittin as much good outer life as you kin-not that I ever set out to look fer happiness; seems like the folks that does that never finds it. I jes do the best I kin where the good Lord put me at, an’ it looks like I got a happy feelin’ in me ‘most all the time.” (78)

[CatholicBibliophagist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch by Alice Caldwell Hegan which was published in 1901. It was a best seller the year after its publication and was adapted into a play and several movies. The title character is a preternaturally cheerful and optimistic widow woman living in a white urban slum after her house in the country burned down. Apparently it was a best seller in its day. It was adapted into a play and several movies. There's a fair amount of humor in it. And there's a romance between two secondary characters who are interested in helping the less fortunate. But the woman breaks off their engagement when she discovers that her intended had a "wild" period in his youth (of which he has since repented). But he is the one who brings real help and lasting change to Mrs. Wiggs and her family.

[Claudia McCarron · Rating 4 out of 5]

As you might expect for a book written about an impoverished family in the 1900's, there's a lot of dated content regarding race and class here. That said, it's still compelling, with some laugh-out-loud lines I'll keep coming back to. I found the parts about the Wiggs family just going about their daily lives and interacting with each other the strongest--when the upper-class charity workers Lucy and Michael show up, condescension seems to replace genuine understanding.

A really interesting read that demonstrates and challenges ideas on poverty, alcoholism, and the deserving poor in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries that also still holds together as an entertaining story.