Marjorie's Maytime

Marjorie Maynard #5

by Carolyn Wells

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Fiction

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1911

About the author

Carolyn Wells was a prolific writer for over 40 years and was especially noted for her humor, and she was a frequent contributor of nonsense verse and whimsical pieces to such little magazines as Gelett Burgess' The Lark, the Chap Book, the Yellow Book, and the Philistine.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[QNPoohBear · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Maynards go touring in their new motor car. Marjorie gets up to hi jinks and they make some new friends.

I really liked seeing Marjorie's hi jinks. She's so bad but so funny. She's as irrepressible as ever. I also liked seeing the difference between city life on Fifth Avenue vs. "country life." The Maynards are indulgent parents - probably more than most - but it was interesting to note the city kids' view of people who live outside the city. I just love their new friends who are more indulgent than the Maynard parents.

What I didn't like were the dated racist depictions of gypsies and playing Indians. The section with gypsies is so improbable and stupid but it's integral to the plot. There's also a section on playing Indians which I skipped. These attitudes were common at the time and I think unfortunately prevent this series from being a timeless classic.

If you love Anne of Green Gables and Lucy Maud Montgomery's other books, you will probably enjoy this series.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up just in time to read it in May myself. Marjorie's Maytime is Marjorie's playtime, and I knew from the first page, where Marjorie was being "delightfully noisy" jumping down the stairs two at a time, that this was going to be a good one.

An early piece of road trip fiction, this book sees Marjorie and her family traveling in Mr. Maynard's new chauffeured automobile, visiting family members, setting off on all kinds of adventures, and making new friends as they venture from Rockwell to Cambridge. For a few chapters, we're brought back to Grandma Sherwood and Uncle Steve's house, the place where it all began. I've loved Grandma and Uncle Steve from the beginning (not just because I had a Grandma and Uncle Steve of my own), but my goodness, Marjorie's other grandparents--stuffy and strict--make me appreciate them so much more! 😂

I love that we get more one-on-one interactions between Marjorie and her siblings here. She and King navigate being held hostage, and she and Kitty share a room in many of the places they visit, setting the scene for plenty of amusing conversations. It was interesting to get a stronger sense of her relationship with each of them individually, since we're more used to seeing the Maynards as a group.

As with any of the Marjorie books, there's no shortage of ideas for children's entertainment and crafts. I loved the thought of embroidering signatures of people you meet on a tea cloth, and I was the slightest bit disappointed this wasn't brought up elsewhere in the book after Marjorie had begun one. I wish she'd gotten to collect the signatures of Grandma and Grandpa Maynard, Cousins Jack and Ethel, grumpy Bertha Baker and any of her peers, and, had she brought it with her to the circus, maybe even Cora and Vivian. (Poor Vivian. Hers was such a depressing chapter in an otherwise lighthearted book!)

One more Marjorie book to go. I can't wait to see what else our lovable, playful Maynard children get themselves into!

Present ranking:
#2 Marjorie's Busy Days (5 stars)
#5 Marjorie's Maytime (4 stars)
#1 Marjorie's Vacation
#4 Marjorie in Command
#3 Marjorie's New Friend (3 stars)