Another Gutenberg read on my lunch break at my desk....Not as immediately ridiculous, but full of superfun gender and class assumptions that make me giggle.

This was written in 1914 and I feel very confident in saying that it was commissioned by a movie studio. It's main purpose is to convince you that movies aren't low or crass and that theatre actors are snobby and obnoxious about this wonderful new medium.

It's part of a short (four or five book) series, one of the innumerable girls 'adventure' series (more of those between 1900-1930 than in the last fifty years!). A stage actor loses his voice when he and his daughters are on the edge of being in the workhouse. His daughter Alice tries to bring up movies but he is a huge snoot until three tradesmen in succession cut off their credit (which he gets annoyed about, I HATED the father so much, "Yes we should starve rather than me degrade my art").

There's a very minor issue of a patent being stolen and the girls help thwart the crime but it's suuuper marginal compared to the main issue of talking about how the movie industry works! One of the stage-turned-movie actors in it is a former Shakespearean actor with the name Wellington Bunn which made me laugh every single time. ( )

Another Gutenberg read on my lunch break at my desk....Not as immediately ridiculous, but full of superfun gender and class assumptions that make me giggle.