Debuted as a television movie in 2004. Not rated.
Plot
The movie starts like Meet Samantha, with a confrontation between Samantha and the next-door neighbor boy, Eddie Ryland (complete with "Three times four is twelve!"). Then Eddie's family's new servants arrive, a father with three young daughters, and Nellie, the eldest, is Samantha's age. Samantha is eager to make friends, but Nellie insists she must keep her station. Like in the books, Samantha is able to convince her to meet for short times to play, chat, and teach Nellie to read. Despite their class differences, which Samantha is largely unaware of anyway, they become fast friends. Nellie also has some things to teach Samantha, about some of the harsher truths of life. Samantha doesn't really get that she's "above" the servant class, but she starts seeing that there are invisible barriers between her and Nellie in the forms of opportunities, and she doesn't like them.
Shortly after Nellie begins to grasp reading, Samantha's Uncle Gard returns from his trip to Europe. He has a lady friend, Cornelia. Samantha is concerned; Cornelia seems to take a lot of Uncle Gard's attention. And she's about to take a lot more of it. She and Uncle Gard are engaged. Cornelia asks Samantha to be a bridesmaid. She's initially reluctant, but agrees with Grandmary's approval. But the wedding just proves Samantha's worries. It's going to be when Uncle Gard was supposed to take Samantha to the exposition in St. Louis. Uncle Gard is very contrite, promising to make it up to her, and assures Samantha that no matter what happens with him and Cornelia, Samantha will always be part of his family. Cornelia also tries to endear herself to Samantha, doing things like bringing cake samples for Samantha and the O'Malley sisters for them to judge.
One night, Samantha can't sleep, and overhears Grandmary and Uncle Gard talking about whether Samantha should stay with Gard and Cornelia for a month or two after the wedding. Samantha thinks they're arguing over who gets stuck with her, and goes outside to find Nellie. The girls go to the boathouse, where Samantha keeps mementos of her parents. They fall asleep, and Nellie ends up severely reprimanded for forgetting her place. Grandmary, who hadn't realized that Samantha had turned the boathouse into a sort of shrine, talks with her about her late parents. She helps Samantha see that staying with her uncle and new aunt is a good thing.
The movie then skips ahead to summer and the wedding. Shortly before the ceremony starts, Cornelia's niece accidentally burns Cornelia's veil. Thinking quickly, Samantha rushes to the boathouse and gets her mother's veil for Cornelia to wear. She is family, after all. The wedding goes by beautifully, although Samantha does hear some gossips going on about how "poor Cornelia" has to take in her new niece. A quick chat with her uncle reassures her, at least for the meantime.
Once the honeymoon is over, Samantha joins her aunt and uncle in New York City. (Grandmary goes on a cruise with her gentleman friend Admiral Beemis, who has proposed to her twice every year for the last dozen years.) Samantha misses Nellie terribly, but the girls keep up with letters. She's a little out of place at first, but settles in to her new temporary life. She gets to sit on her aunt's suffragette meetings, and enjoy the fast-paced life of the city. Her school is holding a speech contest about what demonstrates progress in America. Samantha picks factories, and is busy practicing her speech when a letter arrives from Grandmary's housekeeper.
The letter informs Samantha that Nellie's father has died of influenza. Nellie and her sisters are at an orphanage in New York City. Uncle Gard gets the address and promises to visit the O'Malley girls the very next day. But he's not allowed to visit, since he's not looking to adopt and he's not related. Cornelia is able to get the orphanage to bend the rules a bit due to her friend's generous donations to the place. Samantha is able to very briefly see Nellie and her sisters, long enough to confirm what she and Cornelia suspected from the tour: the orphanage is no place for children. Samantha organizes a clothing drive at her school, and delivers them with some Thanksgiving food. While Cornelia again distracts the orphanage director, Samantha is able to talk with Nellie. Nellie's very worried; she might be sent out west on the orphan train soon, and be separated from her sisters forever. After Thanksgiving dinner with her aunt and uncle, Samantha goes back to the orphanage to help the O'Malley sisters escape. She hides them in the attic, but the orphanage director comes around asking questions. She's sure Samantha is behind the escape, and also wants to blame the O'Malley sisters for some missing money, which she actually embezzled (the girls saw her do it as they were escaping).
A short time later, as Christmas approaches (about when Samantha will return to live with Grandmary...what was her plan regarding Nellie and her sisters then?), Bridget falls ill. Samantha has to find Nellie, who's gone to work in a textile factory. Samantha sees first hand how deplorable the conditions are: a boy gets his hand in a machine, and the manager just yells at him that the broken part will come out his pay, and calls out that there's an opening for a job at the boy's machine once he's freed. Samantha finds Nellie and they rush back to Gard and Cornelia's. Bridget's so ill that Samantha is forced to tell her aunt and uncle everything. They agree that the girls will stay until Bridget is better, but Uncle Gard tells Samantha, as gently as he can, that the law is the law and the girls will have to go back. Samantha reveals that she still feels unwanted, so she thought she had to hide the O'Malley sisters: if Gard and Cornelia don't want their own niece, why would they care about three girls they have no relation to? Cornelia clearly cares. She talks with her benefactor friend, who fires the orphanage director. She says coldly that she and the rest of the board of directors never intended to fund a prison, and there have been several hints about "misappropriation of funds."
Samantha's school has its speech competition right after all that. She delivers an amended speech, one about the real conditions of factories, imploring the audience to push for reforms to make factories as wonderful as other parts of American life. Because she delivered a different speech than she submitted, she's disqualified from the competition, but Grandmary says that she, a much harsher judge, has been swayed. On the way home, Gard and Cornelia tell Samantha that Grandmary finally accepted Admiral Beemis's proposal. And...what would Samantha think about making her stay with them permanent? Samantha readily agrees. She also points out that Cornelia will need extra help...maybe three servants? Uncle Gard disagrees. They need three sisters for Samantha. Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny happily agree to be a family. Together, the family of six delivers a Christmas celebration to the orphanage, complete with food, decorations, and gifts.
Misc
The movie came out a hundred years after it was set. I wonder if that was on purpose at all, if it could have been released in 2003 or something but they waited.
Nellie's mother has already died in the movie, before it starts. There's a little subplot about Jenny not talking at all after her mother's death, until she enthusiastically says, "Yes, sir!" to Uncle Gard's suggestion about adopting them.
In the movie, Samantha's parents drowned in the river behind Grandmary's house, not in the lake at the summer house. It seems she was a little older when they died too; she has more memories.
I always pictured Samantha and Grandmary living in a neighborhood like the one in Disney's Lady and the Tramp, sort of in suburbia. Here the houses are sprawling estates on a river in the countryside. With the graves of Samantha's parents in the backyard. Right by the river where they drowned.
I hope the actor who plays Eddie Ryland is acting. He's good at being mean. By the way, Eddie is short for Edward.
Grandmary's less reserved than I imagined her. She giggles on several occasions.
Samantha's doll Lydia is something she's had for a long time in the movie, and she gives it to Nellie to keep safe when she goes to New York City. Nellie's able to hold on to it even at the orphanage.
If you have the opportunity to visit the Louvre, I recommend seeing the sculpture Cupid and Psyche. It's my favorite. Such a beautiful image of love.
Samantha wishes on the brightest star EVER. It's about the quarter of the size of a full moon.
Here, Agatha is Cornelia's niece, rather than one of her two younger twin sisters. She has only one sister, not three.
The IMDB page for the movie criticizes the fact that Eddie's money jar has obviously current coins in it (Samantha and Nellie dump it in the church collection plate to get back at him for his meanness). But some coins from the early 1900s and earlier are crazy expensive, and it's a TV movie. Still, the jar could have been more translucent to make the coins less obvious.
The private school uniforms that Samantha and her New York City classmates wear look like 1980s maternity dresses.
I feel weird listening to Samantha talk about how
handmade things will all be replaced with machine made ones, since I'm
knitting while I watch the movie.
I still say one of the best signs of progress is the advances in modern medicine: understanding germ theory, vaccination, and antibiotics.
Mrs. Frouchy's actress does a great job. She looks and acts exactly like in the books, even down to that haughty, disapproving sneer. Makes her comeuppance (which wasn't in the books) so wonderful to watch!
Cast
Samantha - AnnaSophia Robb
Grandmary - Mia Farrow
Nellie O'Malley - Kelsey Lewis
Bridget O'Malley - Hannah Endicott-Douglas
Jenny O'Malley - Olivia Ballantyne
Uncle Gard - Jordan Bridges
Aunt Cornelia - Rebecca Mader
Agatha - Shae Norris
Cornelia's sister - Janine Theriault
Cornelia's friends - Melody Johnson, Jeanette Sousa
Admiral Beemis - Bruce Gooch
Emma - Clare Stone
Lillian - Nancy E. L. Ward
Eddie Ryland - Michael Kanev
Mrs. Ryland - Deborah McCabe
Mrs. Vandergeld - Kate Trotter
Police Officer - Adrian Truss
School Principal - Karen Eyo
Miss Stevens - Shary Guthrie
Miss Frouchy - Donna Goodhand
Factory Floor Manager - Bruce McFee
Factory Lady - Jackie Brown
Factory Boy - Keir Gilchrist
Characters not specified: Kenner Ames, Stewart Arnott, Stan Coles, Michele Ferney, Angela Fusco, Alanna Glass, Ashley Green, Michelle Moffat, Mary Pitt (Jessie, Mrs. Hawkins, Gertrude, and Mr. O'Malley are in the movie, but I'm not sure who plays them)
12/31/13
The Cry of the Loon
Written in 2009 by Barbara Steiner, illustrated by Jean-Paul Tibbles
Plot
It's summer again, and Samantha, Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny are going to spend some of it at Grandmary's summer house in the Adirondacks. Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia are staying in New York City with the newborn son, William Samuel.
Samantha is excited to show the cabin to her new sisters and wants them to create lots of happy memories together, so she's a little worried that the caretakers' sons will get in the way. But she's soon distracted from that by the talk of Grandmary possibly selling the cabin! With her birthday coming up, Grandmary is feeling her age, mores when she slips and injures her ankle. Samantha is suspicious, thinking someone tampered with the stairs Grandmary fell on. Perhaps someone trying to convince her to sell...
There are some other accidents, like a small fire and a tree falling. And when out exploring, Samantha and her sisters happen upon a painter with what looks like a surveyor's map of Grandmary's property, drawn up into lots. Even worse, when the girls return to the cabin, Grandmary is meeting with a man to discuss a possible sale! And then the canoe Samantha and Nellie are in--which passed a safety check the day before--springs a leak and the girls narrowly avoid disaster. The painter is fortunately nearby, and he rescues them. Things calm down for a bit, enough that Samantha and Grandmary have a nice bonding moment during which Grandmary tells her about how as a young woman she had two suitors clamoring for her attentions. Samantha starts to relax and think that maybe the accidents were all just accidents. Until Grandmary's birthday, anyway. During the celebration, the painter reveals himself as the suitor Grandmary didn't choose, and then the cabin breaks out in flames. The caretakers are able to put it out, but it was pretty clearly arson.
So at first it seems like the painter might be out for revenge or something, but when Samantha and Nellie see a figure stealing away in the night, they follow. They overhear a conversation and after getting caught eavesdropping, locked in an ice shed, and finally rescued, they're able to tell the Admiral and Grandmary that the caretaker was working with a buyer to make all the little "accidents" happen, in hopes of getting Grandmary to sell. Both men are quickly caught by the painter and the Admiral. The caretaker's family, who also work at the cabin, knew nothing of the plot, so Grandmary agrees to let them stay on, in the cabin she won't be selling.
Looking Back
The Adirondacks have enjoyed a long history as a resort area. In America's youth, it was an exotic, secluded retreat area that was difficult if not impossible to reach without a guide. As time went on, it became more and more developed, until people feared the wilderness would be completely eradicated. By Samantha's time, a portion of the land bigger than the entire state of Massachusetts had been set aside as a preserve, but the people in the area still had to balance preserving the sights while allowing access for them to been seen.
Misc
This book is dedicated to Meghan Kane, "the toughest, hardest-working girl I know."
In The Stolen Sapphire, Samantha and Nellie start calling Grandmary's second husband Grand-pere, French for Grandfather. But now they're back to calling him Admiral. Grandmary calls him Archie.
Nellie is stunned at the size of their cabin, saying it's like a mansion in the woods. I remember the first time I saw my husband's grandparents "cabin" in Idaho...it's a regular house, and a big one. By contrast, my cousins have a cabin in northern Arizona, and while it has plumbing and electricity, it looks like a proper log cabin.
Nellie earns money by tutoring fellow students at her school.
Oh, Grandmary's first name is Mary. That explains her being called Grandmary rather than Grandma or something else. Too bad this book was published after my cousin's kids were born; my aunt Mary was wondering what to be called.
Samantha says that last summer she was alone at the cabin a lot, but Agnes and Agatha visited her then. Although, they weren't there the whole summer.
Plot
It's summer again, and Samantha, Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny are going to spend some of it at Grandmary's summer house in the Adirondacks. Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia are staying in New York City with the newborn son, William Samuel.
Samantha is excited to show the cabin to her new sisters and wants them to create lots of happy memories together, so she's a little worried that the caretakers' sons will get in the way. But she's soon distracted from that by the talk of Grandmary possibly selling the cabin! With her birthday coming up, Grandmary is feeling her age, mores when she slips and injures her ankle. Samantha is suspicious, thinking someone tampered with the stairs Grandmary fell on. Perhaps someone trying to convince her to sell...
There are some other accidents, like a small fire and a tree falling. And when out exploring, Samantha and her sisters happen upon a painter with what looks like a surveyor's map of Grandmary's property, drawn up into lots. Even worse, when the girls return to the cabin, Grandmary is meeting with a man to discuss a possible sale! And then the canoe Samantha and Nellie are in--which passed a safety check the day before--springs a leak and the girls narrowly avoid disaster. The painter is fortunately nearby, and he rescues them. Things calm down for a bit, enough that Samantha and Grandmary have a nice bonding moment during which Grandmary tells her about how as a young woman she had two suitors clamoring for her attentions. Samantha starts to relax and think that maybe the accidents were all just accidents. Until Grandmary's birthday, anyway. During the celebration, the painter reveals himself as the suitor Grandmary didn't choose, and then the cabin breaks out in flames. The caretakers are able to put it out, but it was pretty clearly arson.
So at first it seems like the painter might be out for revenge or something, but when Samantha and Nellie see a figure stealing away in the night, they follow. They overhear a conversation and after getting caught eavesdropping, locked in an ice shed, and finally rescued, they're able to tell the Admiral and Grandmary that the caretaker was working with a buyer to make all the little "accidents" happen, in hopes of getting Grandmary to sell. Both men are quickly caught by the painter and the Admiral. The caretaker's family, who also work at the cabin, knew nothing of the plot, so Grandmary agrees to let them stay on, in the cabin she won't be selling.
Looking Back
The Adirondacks have enjoyed a long history as a resort area. In America's youth, it was an exotic, secluded retreat area that was difficult if not impossible to reach without a guide. As time went on, it became more and more developed, until people feared the wilderness would be completely eradicated. By Samantha's time, a portion of the land bigger than the entire state of Massachusetts had been set aside as a preserve, but the people in the area still had to balance preserving the sights while allowing access for them to been seen.
Misc
This book is dedicated to Meghan Kane, "the toughest, hardest-working girl I know."
In The Stolen Sapphire, Samantha and Nellie start calling Grandmary's second husband Grand-pere, French for Grandfather. But now they're back to calling him Admiral. Grandmary calls him Archie.
Nellie is stunned at the size of their cabin, saying it's like a mansion in the woods. I remember the first time I saw my husband's grandparents "cabin" in Idaho...it's a regular house, and a big one. By contrast, my cousins have a cabin in northern Arizona, and while it has plumbing and electricity, it looks like a proper log cabin.
Nellie earns money by tutoring fellow students at her school.
Oh, Grandmary's first name is Mary. That explains her being called Grandmary rather than Grandma or something else. Too bad this book was published after my cousin's kids were born; my aunt Mary was wondering what to be called.
Samantha says that last summer she was alone at the cabin a lot, but Agnes and Agatha visited her then. Although, they weren't there the whole summer.
12/29/13
The Curse of Ravenscourt
Written in 2005 by Sarah Masters Buckley, illustrated by Jean-Paul Tibbles
Plot
As Gard and Cornelia have now adopted FOUR girls, they need to expand their home. Because of the construction, the family is going to live at a hotel for a couple weeks, the Ravenscourt. Gard will have to be away for the first week, travelling on business. The owner is happy to see them, as business hasn't been as brisk as he expected.. Nellie is immediately suspicious of him: he's a slumlord in her old neighborhood, and an old woman, who blamed her infant grandson's death on his shoddy apartments, cursed him. Some of the hotel employees know about the curse too, and think it's responsible for the hotel's lack of business and other happenings, ranging from faulty furnaces to the death of an employee who fell down an elevator shaft.
At first, Samantha dismisses the superstitious worries as nonsense. But the bad luck is piling up: Bridget and Jenny's school is closed due to a chicken pox outbreak and they come down with the disease, Samantha and Nellie realize they're technically on the thirteenth floor (it's labelled the fourteenth; number thirteen was skipped). And someone painted the number 13 in blood-red numbers on their floor. Nellie worries that it was something but Samantha is still looking for a logical solution. Cornelia is acting strange, too; very cautious of being around the girls, to the point that she leaves to stay with her mother. The owner's daughter, Eloise, thinks someone is set on destroying her father's reputation. She is unaware of the condition of his apartments in Nellie's old neighborhood. Eloise doesn't want to believe it, but a trip to the building proves that Nellie was telling the truth. Eloise takes the shock of the news very well, consulting Nellie for what should be done to help the tenants (Eloise is an adult). And on the way back to the hotel, Nellie and Samantha see Cornelia back at the house.
Nellie is worried that Cornelia and Gard have decided four girls are too many to care for and that the curse is responsible for this. Samantha tries to reassure her that her aunt and uncle wouldn't abandon them, and that someone at the hotel must be behind the strange occurrences. After an elevator crashes too close to when Jenny and Bridget were going to be riding in it, Samantha starts to wonder if the building really is cursed. But then she overhears people discussing how they planned several of the mishaps, and after some detective work, she and Nellie discover--along with an undercover police officer--that the hotel owner's rival has been paying one of the employees to stage little accidents ever since the elevator death. The rival will have to pay a substantial fine, which Eloise assures Nellie will go toward renovating the apartments.
There's still one mystery: why did Cornelia leave and lie about staying with her mother? It turns that she didn't know whether she'd had chicken pox and her mother couldn't remember. Chicken pox is more serious when an adult catches it...especially a pregnant woman. Gard and Cornelia are expecting a baby in the spring!
Looking Back
In Samantha's time, ghost stories were very popular. People enjoyed being scared by performances of apparitions projected on stages, and seances were common pastimes. The Looking Back section mentions the Fox sisters, the famous duo who successfully faked a connection with the spirit world.
Misc
This book is dedicated to J. J.
It's really interesting to read about all the work that servants do for Samantha's family. While it would certainly be nice to have help like that sometimes, I'd feel too awkward letting someone do everything for me.
One character mentions that Cornelia is still giving speeches about women's suffrage.
Telephone is shortened as 'phone, with the apostrophe preceding it.
This mystery was published a year before The Stolen Sapphire, but since there's no mention of a baby or pregnancy in the later book, I placed this one chronologically second.
Plot
As Gard and Cornelia have now adopted FOUR girls, they need to expand their home. Because of the construction, the family is going to live at a hotel for a couple weeks, the Ravenscourt. Gard will have to be away for the first week, travelling on business. The owner is happy to see them, as business hasn't been as brisk as he expected.. Nellie is immediately suspicious of him: he's a slumlord in her old neighborhood, and an old woman, who blamed her infant grandson's death on his shoddy apartments, cursed him. Some of the hotel employees know about the curse too, and think it's responsible for the hotel's lack of business and other happenings, ranging from faulty furnaces to the death of an employee who fell down an elevator shaft.
At first, Samantha dismisses the superstitious worries as nonsense. But the bad luck is piling up: Bridget and Jenny's school is closed due to a chicken pox outbreak and they come down with the disease, Samantha and Nellie realize they're technically on the thirteenth floor (it's labelled the fourteenth; number thirteen was skipped). And someone painted the number 13 in blood-red numbers on their floor. Nellie worries that it was something but Samantha is still looking for a logical solution. Cornelia is acting strange, too; very cautious of being around the girls, to the point that she leaves to stay with her mother. The owner's daughter, Eloise, thinks someone is set on destroying her father's reputation. She is unaware of the condition of his apartments in Nellie's old neighborhood. Eloise doesn't want to believe it, but a trip to the building proves that Nellie was telling the truth. Eloise takes the shock of the news very well, consulting Nellie for what should be done to help the tenants (Eloise is an adult). And on the way back to the hotel, Nellie and Samantha see Cornelia back at the house.
Nellie is worried that Cornelia and Gard have decided four girls are too many to care for and that the curse is responsible for this. Samantha tries to reassure her that her aunt and uncle wouldn't abandon them, and that someone at the hotel must be behind the strange occurrences. After an elevator crashes too close to when Jenny and Bridget were going to be riding in it, Samantha starts to wonder if the building really is cursed. But then she overhears people discussing how they planned several of the mishaps, and after some detective work, she and Nellie discover--along with an undercover police officer--that the hotel owner's rival has been paying one of the employees to stage little accidents ever since the elevator death. The rival will have to pay a substantial fine, which Eloise assures Nellie will go toward renovating the apartments.
There's still one mystery: why did Cornelia leave and lie about staying with her mother? It turns that she didn't know whether she'd had chicken pox and her mother couldn't remember. Chicken pox is more serious when an adult catches it...especially a pregnant woman. Gard and Cornelia are expecting a baby in the spring!
Looking Back
In Samantha's time, ghost stories were very popular. People enjoyed being scared by performances of apparitions projected on stages, and seances were common pastimes. The Looking Back section mentions the Fox sisters, the famous duo who successfully faked a connection with the spirit world.
Misc
This book is dedicated to J. J.
It's really interesting to read about all the work that servants do for Samantha's family. While it would certainly be nice to have help like that sometimes, I'd feel too awkward letting someone do everything for me.
One character mentions that Cornelia is still giving speeches about women's suffrage.
Telephone is shortened as 'phone, with the apostrophe preceding it.
This mystery was published a year before The Stolen Sapphire, but since there's no mention of a baby or pregnancy in the later book, I placed this one chronologically second.
12/28/13
Clue in the Castle Tower
Written in 2011 by Sarah Masters Buckley, illustrated by Sergio Giovine
Plot
Samantha and Nellie are on a trip with Grandmary and Admiral Beemis (no longer "Grand-pere") to England and France. Grandmary says it's an important part of a young woman's education. While there, they are invited to stay with a friend of the Admiral's, Sir Charles. He lives in a castle with his twelve-year-old twin nephews (their parents died a while ago, and Sir Charles recently lost his wife). Sir Charles's goddaughter, Lady Frothingham, is also staying there, and very interested in the rumors of ghosts haunting the castle. Given the recent death of the woman who was likely her godmother, I'd say that's a little insensitive, but no one else seems to mind. As an newly-hired newspaper reporter, she spends a lot of time taking pictures to preserve the history and legend of the place. It was originally the property of Sir Reginald, who fought in the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, when the outnumber English forces defeated the French on St. Crispin's Day. He died shortly after the battle from his injuries, alone in his castle, which is why his ghost is rumored to still be there almost five hundred years later.
The girls also meet Mabel, a servant girl their age. Samantha is eager to engage her, but Nellie recognizes that Mabel is trying to keep her "place" in society. There are several other servants in the house, which makes for lots of suspects when Sir Charles discovers his first edition of Milton's Paradise Lost is missing. Further investigation reveals more than a dozen rare and valuable books are gone. In the aftermath of this, Sir Charles gets fed up with his nephews' unruliness and vows to send them back the boarding school they'd just been sent home from. But the boys got sent home on purpose, causing trouble whenever they could because of the bullying they faced from their peers. Samantha and Nellie think that if the four of them can find the books, the boys might get a reprieve. Grandmary points out that whoever stole the books knew their value, for only the most rare ones were taken and they were replaced with later edition (that is, less expensive) versions.
During the course of their investigations, the four learn that a ghostly figure has been seen at night, but it's just Mabel. She climbs one of the towers clandestinely to use a telescope to see signal lights her younger sisters back home, eight miles away, set out for her. She also tells how Sir Charles's wife knew about her night walks, and had a heart-to-heart with her the night before she died. She was also writing a letter that went unfinished, and is now missing. Samantha remembers that Grandmary's writing desk has a secret compartment, and the four take the deceased woman's desk apart searching for one. Sir Charles happens upon them in the process, and is furious. Fortunately, Grandmary and the Admiral calm him down and let the children explain themselves. Grandmary eyes the desk for a moment, then expertly pops open the secret compartment. Inside is the letter!
The letter reveals that Sir Charles's late wife sold the books herself. Since falling ill, she had realized that the most important parts of life are not things but family, and sold the books to leave enough money behind for Sir Charles and their nephews to enjoy the castle (the books had been primarily hers). So the twins don't have to go back to boarding school after all, and their tutor can keep his job. Mabel will be allowed one Sunday a month to visit her family, but Samantha and Nellie have a better idea: they've each been awarded twenty-five pounds for helping solve the mystery of what happened to the books. They give their reward to Mabel. With that money, her widowed mother can pay off their debts and Mabel will be able to go back to school and fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher.
Looking Back
In the early 1900s, a "Grand Tour" was a common part of a wealthy child's education. It consisted of going abroad to Europe, especially England, to study for several months. There children learned about the more class-structured societies, and got a wonderful first-hand look at Western history. By contrast, many lower-class Europeans were anxious to move to the United States, where they saw an opportunity for class advancement and the hope of better lives for their children.
Misc
This book is dedicated to George and Alison, the author's siblings.
I didn't realize that just over a hundred years ago, London was the world's biggest city.
Samantha and Nellie are now twelve years old.
It's winter in this book.
Samantha has a birth certificate despite being born in the 1800s, which shows how well-connected her family was. It wasn't until a little while after her birth that they became a priority for the government.
Grandmary has blue eyes.
Plot
Samantha and Nellie are on a trip with Grandmary and Admiral Beemis (no longer "Grand-pere") to England and France. Grandmary says it's an important part of a young woman's education. While there, they are invited to stay with a friend of the Admiral's, Sir Charles. He lives in a castle with his twelve-year-old twin nephews (their parents died a while ago, and Sir Charles recently lost his wife). Sir Charles's goddaughter, Lady Frothingham, is also staying there, and very interested in the rumors of ghosts haunting the castle. Given the recent death of the woman who was likely her godmother, I'd say that's a little insensitive, but no one else seems to mind. As an newly-hired newspaper reporter, she spends a lot of time taking pictures to preserve the history and legend of the place. It was originally the property of Sir Reginald, who fought in the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, when the outnumber English forces defeated the French on St. Crispin's Day. He died shortly after the battle from his injuries, alone in his castle, which is why his ghost is rumored to still be there almost five hundred years later.
The girls also meet Mabel, a servant girl their age. Samantha is eager to engage her, but Nellie recognizes that Mabel is trying to keep her "place" in society. There are several other servants in the house, which makes for lots of suspects when Sir Charles discovers his first edition of Milton's Paradise Lost is missing. Further investigation reveals more than a dozen rare and valuable books are gone. In the aftermath of this, Sir Charles gets fed up with his nephews' unruliness and vows to send them back the boarding school they'd just been sent home from. But the boys got sent home on purpose, causing trouble whenever they could because of the bullying they faced from their peers. Samantha and Nellie think that if the four of them can find the books, the boys might get a reprieve. Grandmary points out that whoever stole the books knew their value, for only the most rare ones were taken and they were replaced with later edition (that is, less expensive) versions.
During the course of their investigations, the four learn that a ghostly figure has been seen at night, but it's just Mabel. She climbs one of the towers clandestinely to use a telescope to see signal lights her younger sisters back home, eight miles away, set out for her. She also tells how Sir Charles's wife knew about her night walks, and had a heart-to-heart with her the night before she died. She was also writing a letter that went unfinished, and is now missing. Samantha remembers that Grandmary's writing desk has a secret compartment, and the four take the deceased woman's desk apart searching for one. Sir Charles happens upon them in the process, and is furious. Fortunately, Grandmary and the Admiral calm him down and let the children explain themselves. Grandmary eyes the desk for a moment, then expertly pops open the secret compartment. Inside is the letter!
The letter reveals that Sir Charles's late wife sold the books herself. Since falling ill, she had realized that the most important parts of life are not things but family, and sold the books to leave enough money behind for Sir Charles and their nephews to enjoy the castle (the books had been primarily hers). So the twins don't have to go back to boarding school after all, and their tutor can keep his job. Mabel will be allowed one Sunday a month to visit her family, but Samantha and Nellie have a better idea: they've each been awarded twenty-five pounds for helping solve the mystery of what happened to the books. They give their reward to Mabel. With that money, her widowed mother can pay off their debts and Mabel will be able to go back to school and fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher.
Looking Back
In the early 1900s, a "Grand Tour" was a common part of a wealthy child's education. It consisted of going abroad to Europe, especially England, to study for several months. There children learned about the more class-structured societies, and got a wonderful first-hand look at Western history. By contrast, many lower-class Europeans were anxious to move to the United States, where they saw an opportunity for class advancement and the hope of better lives for their children.
Misc
This book is dedicated to George and Alison, the author's siblings.
I didn't realize that just over a hundred years ago, London was the world's biggest city.
Samantha and Nellie are now twelve years old.
It's winter in this book.
Samantha has a birth certificate despite being born in the 1800s, which shows how well-connected her family was. It wasn't until a little while after her birth that they became a priority for the government.
Grandmary has blue eyes.
12/27/13
The Stolen Sapphire
Written in 2006 by Sarah Masters Buckley, illustrated by Jean-Paul Tibbles
Plot
Samantha and Nellie are joining Grandmary and Admiral Beemis on a cruise to England and France. Also accompanying them is a French tutor, Mademoiselle Etienne. On board the ship, they meet a haughty girl their age named Charlotta, and the nephew of a famous archeologist, Harry, who is an intriguing young man. His uncle is returning from South America, with treasures for a museum, including the famous Blue Star sapphire, which is said to be cursed.
Predictably, the sapphire disappears one night at dinner. It seems everyone is a suspect. I am happy that the pet monkey someone had was searched right away. No one else does either, though. For a bit, it seems the only reasonable suspects are Nellie, Samantha, Charlotta, and Mademoiselle Etienne. Nellie and Samantha know each other didn't do it, and while they dislike Charlotta they can't prove she stole anything. Her parents were interested in buying it so she might have been helping them, but when Mademoiselle Etienne becomes the prime suspect, Charlotta's mother tries to buy the sapphire from her, so it's unlikely any of Charlotta's family took it. Nellie doesn't believe that Mademoiselle Etienne took it either, and Samantha agrees. Remembering how Nellie was falsely accused of stealing Mrs. Van Sicklen's black pearl necklace, the girls return to the scene of the crime to investigate. They uncover evidence that widens the pool of suspects to anyone present at the dinner. After some more digging, they conclude that Harry is the most likely suspect. But even after convincing the adults to search Harry's things, the sapphire remains missing.
The next morning, Samantha has a flash of insight: they're docking to drop off mail. She suggests searching the mail bag for packages that could contain sapphire. Sure enough, they find one addressed to Harry, containing a hollowed-out book with the sapphire inside. To reward their diligence, Admiral Beemis--who the girls now start calling Grand-pere--adjusts their itinerary a bit to include disembarking the ship in Ireland.
Looking Back
By the 1870s, steamboats were making passage across the oceans much faster and safer than in years past. In Samantha's time, a wealthy passenger could enjoy extravagant accommodations on a pleasure cruise, while poorer passengers were crammed into steerage. Many wealthy people traveled to exotic lands in search of treasures or historical artifacts. One such treasure is the Star of India sapphire, which resides in the American Museum of National History, and inspired the jewel in the story.
Misc
This book is dedicated Alexandra.
The events of this book take place a little more than two years after Meet Samantha.
Samantha brings Clara, her nutcracker doll, on the cruise, and Nellie brings Lydia. (I wonder how she was able to hang on to Lydia with her uncle selling everything for booze and through her stay at Coldrock House...)
While writing this, I impressed myself with spelling "mademoiselle" right on the first try. That quarter of French in seventh grade really paid off.
Nellie talks about returning to Ireland, so it seems that she was born there, and possibly her sisters as well.
Plot
Samantha and Nellie are joining Grandmary and Admiral Beemis on a cruise to England and France. Also accompanying them is a French tutor, Mademoiselle Etienne. On board the ship, they meet a haughty girl their age named Charlotta, and the nephew of a famous archeologist, Harry, who is an intriguing young man. His uncle is returning from South America, with treasures for a museum, including the famous Blue Star sapphire, which is said to be cursed.
Predictably, the sapphire disappears one night at dinner. It seems everyone is a suspect. I am happy that the pet monkey someone had was searched right away. No one else does either, though. For a bit, it seems the only reasonable suspects are Nellie, Samantha, Charlotta, and Mademoiselle Etienne. Nellie and Samantha know each other didn't do it, and while they dislike Charlotta they can't prove she stole anything. Her parents were interested in buying it so she might have been helping them, but when Mademoiselle Etienne becomes the prime suspect, Charlotta's mother tries to buy the sapphire from her, so it's unlikely any of Charlotta's family took it. Nellie doesn't believe that Mademoiselle Etienne took it either, and Samantha agrees. Remembering how Nellie was falsely accused of stealing Mrs. Van Sicklen's black pearl necklace, the girls return to the scene of the crime to investigate. They uncover evidence that widens the pool of suspects to anyone present at the dinner. After some more digging, they conclude that Harry is the most likely suspect. But even after convincing the adults to search Harry's things, the sapphire remains missing.
The next morning, Samantha has a flash of insight: they're docking to drop off mail. She suggests searching the mail bag for packages that could contain sapphire. Sure enough, they find one addressed to Harry, containing a hollowed-out book with the sapphire inside. To reward their diligence, Admiral Beemis--who the girls now start calling Grand-pere--adjusts their itinerary a bit to include disembarking the ship in Ireland.
Looking Back
By the 1870s, steamboats were making passage across the oceans much faster and safer than in years past. In Samantha's time, a wealthy passenger could enjoy extravagant accommodations on a pleasure cruise, while poorer passengers were crammed into steerage. Many wealthy people traveled to exotic lands in search of treasures or historical artifacts. One such treasure is the Star of India sapphire, which resides in the American Museum of National History, and inspired the jewel in the story.
Misc
This book is dedicated Alexandra.
The events of this book take place a little more than two years after Meet Samantha.
Samantha brings Clara, her nutcracker doll, on the cruise, and Nellie brings Lydia. (I wonder how she was able to hang on to Lydia with her uncle selling everything for booze and through her stay at Coldrock House...)
While writing this, I impressed myself with spelling "mademoiselle" right on the first try. That quarter of French in seventh grade really paid off.
Nellie talks about returning to Ireland, so it seems that she was born there, and possibly her sisters as well.
12/25/13
Merry Christmas!
I have three Samantha mysteries to review before moving on to Molly in January. The mysteries will be posted on December 27, 29, and 31. But for today, a picture of me about twenty years ago, with my Felicity doll in the matching Christmas dress that my mom sewed for me:
The Christmas dresses were available to buy through American Girl, but my mom is amazing at sewing and knew she could make a dress for less money. She later sewed me a fancy prom dress that I also wore to a formal in college, and my wedding dress.
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and happy Wednesday to everyone!
12/23/13
Nellie's Promise
Written in 2004 by Valerie Tripp, illustrated by Dan Andreasen and Susan McAliley
Plot
As Nellie is happily returning to her home with Gard and Cornelia, marveling at how completely different her life is now than it was a month ago, her reverie is shattered: her uncle Mike, working on a road crew, spots her and vows to take her and her sisters back. As family, he has a right to take them in, and he can't wait to put the girls to work so he can drink their money away. Aware that he doesn't yet know where Nellie lives, she keeps the encounter to herself so as not to spoil anyone else's happiness. The secret eats away at her as she worries that she'll be unable to fulfill the promise she made to her mother to take care of Bridget and Jenny.
While Nellie is incredibly grateful to Samantha, Gard, and Cornelia, she's having trouble adjusting to living in the upper class. She worries that she's imposing too much on her benefactors, and the conversations with the girls at school are difficult to keep up with. Nellie understand all that they're talking about, but her experiences are so different. For instance, when the girls talk about their eighth birthday parties, they mention hot air balloon rides while she was too busy working in a factory to acknowledge her birthday at all.
Nellie has a distraction in the form helping Cornelia with some charity work. There's a settlement house near where Nellie's uncle used to live, a place for immigrants to learn American customs and ways to earn money in their new country. Nellie loves feeling useful as she introduces Cornelia and Samantha around, and translates the bits of Italian and German she knows so Cornelia can converse with some of the women. But back at home, Samantha is upset. Nellie isn't sure what's wrong, but she feels terribly guilty because she knows it has something to do with their trip to the settlement house. As Nellie spends more time with Gard and Cornelia and Samantha with Bridget and Jenny, it seems the family is increasingly split in half.
Suddenly, everything comes to light all at once. Nellie hears back from a school in Boston where she can go learn to be a teacher. Samantha blows up at Nellie, fearing Nellie will leave with Bridget and Jenny and never see the Edwards family again. Quickly, it's revealed that Samantha had been upset because she realized the awful conditions Nellie and her sisters lived in, and wanted to try to make up for what they'd been through. That's why she'd been spending so much time with Bridget and Jenny, and also being sure to give Nellie time with Gard and Cornelia, in hopes that she'd eventually reveal what had been troubling her. Nellie finally tells Samantha about her uncle. As the girls are headed to tell Gard and Cornelia about Mike's threat, they discover that he's in the parlor. Gard and Cornelia had hired a detective to find him so that he could sign over his legal rights to Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny, allowing Gard and Cornelia to formally adopt them. Mike balks at first, trying to con some money out of the wealthy couple, but Nellie threatens him with pressing charges of child abuse and abandonment. He hastily signs the papers and leaves.
The book ends three weeks before Samantha's birthday. She tells Nellie her of her birthday wish as they part ways: Nellie now attends a vocational school instead of Samantha's private school. Samantha's wish? She hopes that the adoption is finalized by her birthday, so that she can have three sisters for her present.
Looking Back
In the early 1900s, it was very rare for orphans to be adopted by anyone other than family. There was no real foster care or social system in place to be sure that orphans went to good homes, either. Many poorer children ended up in orphanages like the one Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny were at in Changes for Samantha. Children adopted out of these orphanages were usually taken on as workers rather than sons or daughters. There were "orphan trains" that took children out to the frontier, where they would often end up as farmhands. Sometimes the children on the orphan trains weren't really orphans, but children of destitute parents who signed formal surrender papers in hopes that their children would have a better life out west.
Misc
This book is dedicated to "Tamara England, dear friend and trusted editor, with love and thanks."
Instead of being set in 1904 or 1905, like the other Samantha books, this is set in 1906.
It's specified that Nellie's parents died in December. So the short stories about Christmas definitely take place before Changes for Samantha, as the feature Nellie without mention of her parents' death, and her father even makes an appearance in one.
Gard is a lawyer.
An exchange between Nellie and a teacher at the settlement house confirms that she is of Irish descent, and her referring to her mother as "Mam" implies that at least her mother was an immigrant.
There's a character named Ida Brown in Little Town on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, who is the adopted daughter of the church's pastor. She mentions that she has to work to earn her keep, since she's an orphan. I'm willing to bet that she came to the Dakota Territory on an orphan train. (Little Town on the Prairie takes in the early 1880s.)
Plot
As Nellie is happily returning to her home with Gard and Cornelia, marveling at how completely different her life is now than it was a month ago, her reverie is shattered: her uncle Mike, working on a road crew, spots her and vows to take her and her sisters back. As family, he has a right to take them in, and he can't wait to put the girls to work so he can drink their money away. Aware that he doesn't yet know where Nellie lives, she keeps the encounter to herself so as not to spoil anyone else's happiness. The secret eats away at her as she worries that she'll be unable to fulfill the promise she made to her mother to take care of Bridget and Jenny.
While Nellie is incredibly grateful to Samantha, Gard, and Cornelia, she's having trouble adjusting to living in the upper class. She worries that she's imposing too much on her benefactors, and the conversations with the girls at school are difficult to keep up with. Nellie understand all that they're talking about, but her experiences are so different. For instance, when the girls talk about their eighth birthday parties, they mention hot air balloon rides while she was too busy working in a factory to acknowledge her birthday at all.
Nellie has a distraction in the form helping Cornelia with some charity work. There's a settlement house near where Nellie's uncle used to live, a place for immigrants to learn American customs and ways to earn money in their new country. Nellie loves feeling useful as she introduces Cornelia and Samantha around, and translates the bits of Italian and German she knows so Cornelia can converse with some of the women. But back at home, Samantha is upset. Nellie isn't sure what's wrong, but she feels terribly guilty because she knows it has something to do with their trip to the settlement house. As Nellie spends more time with Gard and Cornelia and Samantha with Bridget and Jenny, it seems the family is increasingly split in half.
Suddenly, everything comes to light all at once. Nellie hears back from a school in Boston where she can go learn to be a teacher. Samantha blows up at Nellie, fearing Nellie will leave with Bridget and Jenny and never see the Edwards family again. Quickly, it's revealed that Samantha had been upset because she realized the awful conditions Nellie and her sisters lived in, and wanted to try to make up for what they'd been through. That's why she'd been spending so much time with Bridget and Jenny, and also being sure to give Nellie time with Gard and Cornelia, in hopes that she'd eventually reveal what had been troubling her. Nellie finally tells Samantha about her uncle. As the girls are headed to tell Gard and Cornelia about Mike's threat, they discover that he's in the parlor. Gard and Cornelia had hired a detective to find him so that he could sign over his legal rights to Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny, allowing Gard and Cornelia to formally adopt them. Mike balks at first, trying to con some money out of the wealthy couple, but Nellie threatens him with pressing charges of child abuse and abandonment. He hastily signs the papers and leaves.
The book ends three weeks before Samantha's birthday. She tells Nellie her of her birthday wish as they part ways: Nellie now attends a vocational school instead of Samantha's private school. Samantha's wish? She hopes that the adoption is finalized by her birthday, so that she can have three sisters for her present.
Looking Back
In the early 1900s, it was very rare for orphans to be adopted by anyone other than family. There was no real foster care or social system in place to be sure that orphans went to good homes, either. Many poorer children ended up in orphanages like the one Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny were at in Changes for Samantha. Children adopted out of these orphanages were usually taken on as workers rather than sons or daughters. There were "orphan trains" that took children out to the frontier, where they would often end up as farmhands. Sometimes the children on the orphan trains weren't really orphans, but children of destitute parents who signed formal surrender papers in hopes that their children would have a better life out west.
Misc
This book is dedicated to "Tamara England, dear friend and trusted editor, with love and thanks."
Instead of being set in 1904 or 1905, like the other Samantha books, this is set in 1906.
It's specified that Nellie's parents died in December. So the short stories about Christmas definitely take place before Changes for Samantha, as the feature Nellie without mention of her parents' death, and her father even makes an appearance in one.
Gard is a lawyer.
An exchange between Nellie and a teacher at the settlement house confirms that she is of Irish descent, and her referring to her mother as "Mam" implies that at least her mother was an immigrant.
There's a character named Ida Brown in Little Town on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, who is the adopted daughter of the church's pastor. She mentions that she has to work to earn her keep, since she's an orphan. I'm willing to bet that she came to the Dakota Territory on an orphan train. (Little Town on the Prairie takes in the early 1880s.)
12/21/13
Changes for Samantha
Written in 1988 by Valerie Tripp; illustrations by Dan Andreasen and Luann Roberts
Plot
As the book starts, it seems that life is good. After many years, Grandmary finally accepted the marriage proposal from Admiral Beemis, and they're on a long sailing trip on his yacht. Samantha now lives with Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia, in exciting New York City. One day after school, Samantha and Aunt Cornelia make valentines for the people close to them, chatting about what makes their loved ones special and planning surprises for them. Then Uncle Gard comes home with a letter from Nellie. Influenza hit Mount Bedford hard, and her parents died. The Van Sicklens are unable to keep the girls on, so Nellie and her sisters are moving in with their uncle in New York City. Nellie says she will come visit Samantha soon, and Samantha waits impatiently for her to come so she can be with her friend in her time of need.
But days pass with no word from Nellie. Samantha begins to worry, especially when a long-distance telephone call to Mrs. Van Sicklen confirms that Nellie and her sisters left Mount Bedford two weeks ago. She doesn't know where the uncle lives, only the neighborhood. Samantha is determined to find Nellie, no matter how difficult navigating the unfamiliar area might be. She is somewhat successful, only because the uncle is a known worthless drunk. She learns that he stole everything he could from Nellie and her sisters and disappeared. Another woman in the cramped apartment building took them in for a week, but as that family was destitute as well, Nellie felt she couldn't ask them to make the stay permanent. Nellie and her sisters are now in an orphanage a few block away. She quickly confesses her adventure to Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia, who warn her to never go to such a dangerous part of the city alone again, but also immediately make plans for Aunt Cornelia and Samantha to visit with treats for Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny.
The visit doesn't do much to comfort Samantha. The orphanage is less a place to care for children who have been through traumatic losses than a strict house of order designed to tear down fragile little ones and build up mousy, almost robotic servants in their places. The director (Miss Tusnelda Frouchy) won't allow Nellie and her sisters to have the gifts and barely allows a visit with Nellie at all. Samantha and Nellie are able to arrange that they will meet for a few brief minutes every afternoon when Nellie empties the ashes from the stoves into the trash. Samantha brings food for Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny, who are malnourished. Any other gifts, like the gloves Samantha gives Nellie to protect her chapped hands, are snatched away by Miss Frouchy. After several days of clandestine meetings, Nellie reveals that she's being sent away to be hired out in the West--without her sisters. Samantha convinces Nellie to sneak her sisters out with the next day, and she hides them in the attic of Uncle Gard's and Aunt Cornelia's house. It's not a long-term solution, especially with the eagle-eyed and strict maid Gertrude lurking about, but it will keep the sisters together until Samantha and Nellie come up with a better plan.
Sure enough, after a few days, Gertrude finds them. Samantha is heart-broken at the thought of the girls having to go back to the orphanage. Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia instruct all four of them to have warm baths and get some decent sleep; they'll decide what to do next in the morning.
The next day is Valentine's Day, and there are six places set with valentine cards. Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia explain that they have no need for maids, but would love three daughters. Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny happily accept the offer of adoption, and Samantha is elated at the thought of having sisters.
Looking Back
As new technology rapidly became available to the general public, the distinction between the upper and lower classes became less apparent. Electricity became more widespread, and the cost of goods relative to wages went down. As Samantha grew up, fewer people were willing to work as servants, because the emerging middle class meant that more of them could get better jobs. Women were also working outside the household more and more, and gaining more freedoms with that. It was still considered improper for a woman to live alone, but women were becoming more independent.
Misc
The book is dedicated to Petty, Heuer, and Dalton families.
So far, two people have died of the flu in my state this year. At least one had no other health concerns like a compromised immune system or lung disease. As I've written before, vaccines are a god-send that work so well, a lot of people have forgotten how terrible the diseases they prevent against can be. The flu--influenza--can be fatal. Gastroenteritis, or the "stomach flu" as it's sometimes called, is not the same thing at all.
Plot
As the book starts, it seems that life is good. After many years, Grandmary finally accepted the marriage proposal from Admiral Beemis, and they're on a long sailing trip on his yacht. Samantha now lives with Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia, in exciting New York City. One day after school, Samantha and Aunt Cornelia make valentines for the people close to them, chatting about what makes their loved ones special and planning surprises for them. Then Uncle Gard comes home with a letter from Nellie. Influenza hit Mount Bedford hard, and her parents died. The Van Sicklens are unable to keep the girls on, so Nellie and her sisters are moving in with their uncle in New York City. Nellie says she will come visit Samantha soon, and Samantha waits impatiently for her to come so she can be with her friend in her time of need.
But days pass with no word from Nellie. Samantha begins to worry, especially when a long-distance telephone call to Mrs. Van Sicklen confirms that Nellie and her sisters left Mount Bedford two weeks ago. She doesn't know where the uncle lives, only the neighborhood. Samantha is determined to find Nellie, no matter how difficult navigating the unfamiliar area might be. She is somewhat successful, only because the uncle is a known worthless drunk. She learns that he stole everything he could from Nellie and her sisters and disappeared. Another woman in the cramped apartment building took them in for a week, but as that family was destitute as well, Nellie felt she couldn't ask them to make the stay permanent. Nellie and her sisters are now in an orphanage a few block away. She quickly confesses her adventure to Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia, who warn her to never go to such a dangerous part of the city alone again, but also immediately make plans for Aunt Cornelia and Samantha to visit with treats for Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny.
The visit doesn't do much to comfort Samantha. The orphanage is less a place to care for children who have been through traumatic losses than a strict house of order designed to tear down fragile little ones and build up mousy, almost robotic servants in their places. The director (Miss Tusnelda Frouchy) won't allow Nellie and her sisters to have the gifts and barely allows a visit with Nellie at all. Samantha and Nellie are able to arrange that they will meet for a few brief minutes every afternoon when Nellie empties the ashes from the stoves into the trash. Samantha brings food for Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny, who are malnourished. Any other gifts, like the gloves Samantha gives Nellie to protect her chapped hands, are snatched away by Miss Frouchy. After several days of clandestine meetings, Nellie reveals that she's being sent away to be hired out in the West--without her sisters. Samantha convinces Nellie to sneak her sisters out with the next day, and she hides them in the attic of Uncle Gard's and Aunt Cornelia's house. It's not a long-term solution, especially with the eagle-eyed and strict maid Gertrude lurking about, but it will keep the sisters together until Samantha and Nellie come up with a better plan.
Sure enough, after a few days, Gertrude finds them. Samantha is heart-broken at the thought of the girls having to go back to the orphanage. Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia instruct all four of them to have warm baths and get some decent sleep; they'll decide what to do next in the morning.
The next day is Valentine's Day, and there are six places set with valentine cards. Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia explain that they have no need for maids, but would love three daughters. Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny happily accept the offer of adoption, and Samantha is elated at the thought of having sisters.
Looking Back
As new technology rapidly became available to the general public, the distinction between the upper and lower classes became less apparent. Electricity became more widespread, and the cost of goods relative to wages went down. As Samantha grew up, fewer people were willing to work as servants, because the emerging middle class meant that more of them could get better jobs. Women were also working outside the household more and more, and gaining more freedoms with that. It was still considered improper for a woman to live alone, but women were becoming more independent.
Misc
The book is dedicated to Petty, Heuer, and Dalton families.
So far, two people have died of the flu in my state this year. At least one had no other health concerns like a compromised immune system or lung disease. As I've written before, vaccines are a god-send that work so well, a lot of people have forgotten how terrible the diseases they prevent against can be. The flu--influenza--can be fatal. Gastroenteritis, or the "stomach flu" as it's sometimes called, is not the same thing at all.
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