Shirley Watkins

Nancy Prescott and her sister Alma and their mother live in a cottage on the edge of town. Mr. Prescott is dead. Alma and her mother have an air of discontent about them. They frequently wish for things beyond their finances. They also wish for social connections beyond their income. Nancy’s level-headedness and money management is holding the family together. Nancy’s father had a close relationship with his uncle, Thomas. After Mr. and Mrs. Prescott married they spent all their money, mostly (it sounds like) on extravagant items for Nancy’s mother. Uncle Thomas and Mr. Prescott had a falling out over the Prescott’s extravagance. The family has not seen Uncle Thomas in years even though they live in the same town.

Alma and Nancy are invited to a party hosted by a girl not in their social circle. They go; Nancy sacrificing any new clothing items so that Alma can have a very nice looking ensemble. Despite the fact that Alma is a social butterfly, Nancy attracts the attention of a local matron, Miss Bancroft and her bachelor/author nephew, George Arnold.

Nancy is interested in going to college as she realizes she will have to make her way in the world. Nancy’s mother hopes the girls will marry well. To that end she sends them to a boarding school/finishing school so they can meet other girls from good/wealthy families and marry well. While the educational aspect of school is not really encouraged, Nancy studies hard to achieve her dream of college. Both Alma and Nancy make friends. Alma gets into scrapes and Nancy gets her out of them. Right before they leave for school Uncle Thomas is persuaded by Miss Bancroft to meet the girls.

While the girls are at school Mrs. Prescott makes some bad investments and both girls have to leave school after one semester. Both come home and get jobs, and Alma begins to outgrow her lack of responsibility. Uncle Thomas gets involved in their lives and eventually starts supporting them after Alma becomes very ill. (She recovers.) Nancy marries the George Arnold who is 15 years older than she is.

The story is not bad. Nancy takes her responsibilities and their family honor seriously and seems to frequently be patching up some scrape that Alma has gotten herself in to, or that their mother has gotten the family in to. Nancy’s good character is what is holding the family together, and I appreciate the emphasis on good character and good reputation that is a part of much older fiction. That said some of the characters’ changes of heart were just not quite believable. Uncle Thomas had a change of heart right at their desperate moment. Mrs. Prescott also had a change of heart and stopped overspending. Also somewhat unbelievable was George Arnold falling in love with an 18 year old girl (even if she did have good character). Still, this book was a charming read and an enjoyable reflection of its times.… (altro)