Carrots, Just a Little Boy

by Mrs. Molesworth

""Carrots, Just a Little Boy"" is a classic children's novel written by Mary Louisa Molesworth. The story follows the adventures of a young boy named Carrots, who lives with his mother in a small village. Carrots is a mischievous and curious child who often finds himself getting into trouble, but he has a heart of gold and a kind spirit. Throughout the book, Carrots learns important lessons about honesty, friendship, and the importance of family. Along the way, he meets a cast of memorable characters, including his best friend, Dickie, and a wise old woman named Granny. The book is filled with charming illustrations and is sure to delight young readers with its timeless story of childhood innocence and adventure.1926. Mary Louisa Molesworth typified late Victorian writing for girls. Aimed at girls too old for fairies and princesses but too young for Austen and the Brontes, books by Molesworth had their share of amusement, but they also had a good deal of moral instruction. Molesworth's stories followed a formula where the heroine of the story, usually a middle-class girl, would learn the value of helping girls less fortunate than herself. Floss's Baby; Six Years Old; The Lost Half-Sovereign; Carrots in Trouble; Carrots All Right Again; A Long Ago Story; The Bewitched Tongue; Sybil; A Journey and Its Ending; Happy and Sad; The Two Funny Little Trots; and Good Endings.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1876

About the author

Mary Louisa Molesworth, née Stewart was an English writer of children's stories who wrote for children under the name of Mrs. Molesworth. Her first novels, for adult readers, Lover and Husband (1869) to Cicely (1874), appeared under the pseudonym of Ennis Graham. Her name occasionally appears in print as M.L.S. Molesworth.

She was born in Rotterdam, a daughter of Charles Augustus Stewart (1809–1873) who later became a rich merchant in Manchester and his wife Agnes Janet Wilson (1810–1883). Mary had three brothers and two sisters. She was educated in Great Britain and Switzerland: much of her girlhood was spent in Manchester. In 1861 she married Major R. Molesworth, nephew of Viscount Molesworth; they legally separated in 1879.

Mrs. Molesworth is best known as a writer of books for the young, such as Tell Me a Story (1875), Carrots (1876), The Cuckoo Clock (1877), The Tapestry Room (1879), and A Christmas Child (1880). She has been called "the Jane Austen of the nursery," while The Carved Lions (1895) "is probably her masterpiece."

Mary Louisa Molesworth typified late Victorian writing for girls. Aimed at girls too old for fairies and princesses but too young for Austen and the Brontës, books by Molesworth had their share of amusement, but they also had a good deal of moral instruction. The girls reading Molesworth would grow up to be mothers; thus, the books emphasized Victorian notions of duty and self-sacrifice.

Typical of the time, her young child characters often use a lisping style, and words may be misspelt to represent children's speech—"jography" for geography, for instance.

She took an interest in supernatural fiction. In 1888, she published a collection of supernatural tales under the title Four Ghost Stories, and in 1896 a similar collection of six tales under the title Uncanny Stories. In addition to those, her volume Studies and Stories includes a ghost story entitled "Old Gervais" and her Summer Stories for Boys and Girls includes "Not Exactly a Ghost Story."

A new edition of The Cuckoo Clock was published in 1914.

She died in 1921 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.

[Wikipedia]

Reviews

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet classic children’s story about a young boy and his sister. I enjoyed it, although I was frustrated by the parenting skills in this middle class Victorian family. It’s probably not very accessible to modern young readers, who I think would be unaccustomed to the style and plot.

[Jim Greene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very light. Really a kid’s book from the 19th century

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very lovely's children's story that I feel can be enjoyed by all regardless of age.