Betty's Bright Idea, Deacon Pitkin's Farm, and the First Christmas of New England

by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Three short stories set in middle-America by the American author and abolitionist famous for writing Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Genres: Christmas, Short Stories, Classics

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1875

About the author

Great political influence of Uncle Tom's Cabin , novel against slavery of 1852 of Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, American writer, advanced the cause of abolition.

Lyman Beecher fathered Catharine Esther Beecher, Edward Beecher, Henry Ward Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, another child.

Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, an author, attacked the cruelty, and reached millions of persons as a play even in Britain. She made the tangible issues of the 1850s to millions and energized forces in the north. She angered and embittered the south. A commonly quoted statement, apocryphally attributed to Abraham Lincoln, sums up the effect. He met Stowe and then said, "So you're the little woman that started this great war!" or so people say.

AKA:
Χάρριετ Μπήτσερ Στόου (Greek)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet...

Reviews

[Janis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is the first H. B. Stowe I’ve read. It doesn’t make me want to tackle Uncle Toms Cabin. So many of these older books move at a much slower pace than we are used to today. These stories have that tendency as well.

A common theme I’ve found in these old Christmas stories is one of girls deciding to help others less fortunate than they are. That is the plot of the first story. Never see that plot in a modern book.

2nd story is of adolescents just moments away from being adults. The girl has lots of suitors. The boy doesn’t, but he’s the one she really wants. And he wants her. However, they are not doing a good job of communicating. This is a romance plot I’ve read many times, although society is no longer so rigid about her role and his role.

3rd story is a slice of life tale of the pilgrims landing in America. It’s quick compared to the other two. Much of it consists of carols being sung to children and words spoken in church. Even so, this is the one I liked the best.

[Cait · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of depressing trio of stories. The first had babies dying to give people a sense of pity for suffering, the second had a guy giving up on his dreams of an education, and the third was about the pilgrims and had people dying too!

Obviously designed as religious and moral stories for the season. They show how things have changed over time.

For such a short book, it took quite a while to get through. Nice glimpse into the past but unlikely to read again.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harriet Beecher Stowe is queen of a certain breed of American sentimentalism: classic good versus evil, virtue versus hedonism melodrama. You don't go to her for deep thoughts or surprises, but for a sort of hearty, sentimental verisimilitude. Like comfort food or Hallmark movies, this worldview blends well with Christmas. These three holiday-themed short novels may be simple and emotionally manipulative, but isn't that what Christmas is about?

[Sharon Zink · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good book to have read, but not necessarily an enjoyable book to read. It is written like a Victorian novel, and there isn't much of a plot.

[Kerstin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Betty’s Bright Idea:
It is a sweet Christmas story with a touch of divine intervention and full of the sentimentalism of the 19th century.