Three Margarets

The Margaret Series #1

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

John Montford has asked his nieces to come spend a summer with him to become acquainted with him and each other. The three young women - Margaret, Peggy, and Rita - find that although each was named Margaret after their grandmother, their distinctly different upbringings means they (at least initially) have little in common. Can they become lasting friends?

244 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1897

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]

Originally published in 1897, Three Margarets was the first book in Laura E. Richards Margaret Series, about three young cousins, all named Margaret Montfort. When the "three Margarets" came to stay at Fernley House, their Uncle John's home on Long Island, they found themselves enjoying an unsupervised summer, slowly becoming acquainted with one another. Margaret was a true "Northerner," with her quiet, bookish ways; and she was also very, very good. Rita was fiery, dramatic, and terribly aristocratic, proud of her royal Spanish blood, inherited from her Cuban mother. Peggy was sweet but awkward, physically courageous but mentally timid, a true daughter of the western prairie.

All three had much to learn, and the slow process whereby they all became friends, mirrored their growth in wisdom and understanding. I found this a wonderful, engaging and entertaining read, and I am thankful to my friend Constance for suggesting it. I cared about all three of the "Margarets," despite my impatience with (and occasional amusement at) Rita, and did not think the story was overwhelmed by too strong a moralistic tone, as is sometimes the case with Victorian literature of this kind. The moments of light-hearted fun, as when the girls play "dress up" with all the beautiful costumes up in the garret, are nicely balanced with the moments of truth, when each much confront and vanquish her prejudices. I finished Three Margarets with a real feeling of satisfaction, and immediately longed to read the next in the series...

Addendum: Having recently read Laura E. Richards' five-volume Hildegarde Series, beginning with Queen Hildegarde: A Story for Girls , I've been meaning to move on to the Margaret Series, which apparently is connected in some way to the Hildegarde books, and thought I'd begin by rereading Three Margarets. I found it just as charming as the first time around, and was (once again) instantly involved in the story, from the opening scene in which the three cousins approach Fernley House through the rain. I was struck, in this rereading, by some of the stereotypes surrounding the depiction of Rita - the "slowness" of people with Spanish blood (their desire for naps!), and their passionate excitability - and by the importance of the issue of Cuban independence, something that, given the publication date (1897, with the Spanish-American War just around the corner), would have been quite current. Fascinating stuff, to see the political and cultural currents of the day reflected in this sweet girls' story. And now, on to Margaret Montfort !

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a charming story, written by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards, daughter of Julia Ward Howe, who wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and Samuel Gridley Howe, who founded the Perkins School for the Blind. Richards wrote several books for children and teen girls, the most famous of which was Captain January, made into a movie with Shirley Temple. This book is the first in her 6-book series about three Montfort cousins all named Margaret: Margaret, a seventeen-year-old from the east coast, who, already motherless, has recently lost her father at the start of the first book. She is old beyond her years - and is aware of her seriousness, often defining herself as 37 instead of 17. The 2nd Margaret goes by Peggy, who lives on a ranch with her large "salt of the earth" family in the west - she is much less refined than her two cousins and depicted as somewhat naive and "primitive," but the least class conscious of the three. The 3rd Margaret is Margarita from Cuba, of American and Spanish descent, and sympathetic to the Cuban fight for freedom from Spain (the Cuba Libre movement), which is a very interesting point of this novel. Margarita - Rita - is the most fiery and dramatic of the three, and quite condescending to Peggy (at first) and the staff at Fernley Hall where all three are visiting at their Uncle John Montfort's invitation.

The story has some predictable moments and Margaret's "goodness" could get a bit annoying, but it is a wonderful character study. Published in 1897, it provides an interesting look at the changing parameters for girls at the dawn of the 20th century. I found it quite interesting that Peggy, who is clearly not as "classically" educated as either of her cousins, doesn't like the history and literature that Margaret tries to teach her so she can mold her into a "proper young lady." Rita tries to teach Peggy how to be more fashionable and refined. Peggy likes math more than literature and history and wants to be like her mother, who is a hard-working ranch woman with a basic education, but wise in the way of nature and everyday life. I also found it intriguing that Richards includes a Spanish character that is ready to deny her Spanish colonial heritage in favor of the Cuban rebellion. While it does have some traditional Victorian elements, including a privileging of the white upper middle class status as the marker of success, the book provides some important insights. I'm looking forward to the other books in the series.

[Sue]

A typical late 19th Century Girls' Series book, but better written than most. This is the first book in the series.

[Chiara_libros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morí de amor!!! Es un libro tan adorable.