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Fanny #1-3
Fanny and the Monsters and Other Stories
Fanny and the Monsters and Other Stories
Fanny Stanton is of the opinion that being the eldest of eight children is bad - but being a girl is even worse! Fanny and the Monsters contains three delightful stories about the irrepressible Fanny, who is expected to lead the life of a demure Victorian Girl but whose spirit and sense of adventure constantly lead her into trouble of one sort or another!
Fanny Stanton is of the opinion that being the eldest of eight children is bad - but being a girl is even worse! Fanny and the Monsters contains three delightful stories about the irrepressible Fanny, who is expected to lead the life of a demure Victorian Girl but whose spirit and sense of adventure constantly lead her into trouble of one sort or another!
128 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 1982
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About the author
Penelope Lively
132 books947 followersPenelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children. She has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize: once in 1977 for her first novel, The Road to Lichfield, and again in 1984 for According to Mark. She later won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger.
Her other books include Going Back; Judgement Day; Next to Nature, Art; Perfect Happiness; Passing On; City of the Mind; Cleopatra’s Sister; Heat Wave; Beyond the Blue Mountains, a collection of short stories; Oleander, Jacaranda, a memoir of her childhood days in Egypt; Spiderweb; her autobiographical work, A House Unlocked; The Photograph; Making It Up; Consequences; Family Album, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Costa Novel Award, and How It All Began.
She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year’s Honours List, and DBE in 2012.
Penelope Lively lives in London. She was married to Jack Lively, who died in 1998.
Her other books include Going Back; Judgement Day; Next to Nature, Art; Perfect Happiness; Passing On; City of the Mind; Cleopatra’s Sister; Heat Wave; Beyond the Blue Mountains, a collection of short stories; Oleander, Jacaranda, a memoir of her childhood days in Egypt; Spiderweb; her autobiographical work, A House Unlocked; The Photograph; Making It Up; Consequences; Family Album, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Costa Novel Award, and How It All Began.
She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year’s Honours List, and DBE in 2012.
Penelope Lively lives in London. She was married to Jack Lively, who died in 1998.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 18, 2014
"For her tenth birthday, in 1866, Fanny received as presents a doll, a needle-case and embroidery frame, a story-book and a seed-pearl necklace. She had been hoping for a microscope, a geological hammer, a book about fossils and a butterfly net. She did her best to smile nicely, and looked with particular hatred at the doll which was from her godmother, Aunt Caroline."
Fanny and the Monsters was recommended to me by someone who'd read it as a child, and I'm so sorry I didn't discover this in my own childhood. The Puffin collection of three stories about Fanny, the feisty Victorian proto-feminist, was published in 1982, when I was nine, the same age as Fanny and the perfect age to read of her adventures. Fanny is the eldest of eight (every year, as regularly as Christmas and Easter and birthdays, Mamma provides the nursery with a brand new, just-born baby). Papa is a Victorian patriarch who will not have Mr Darwin's name mentioned in the house. Mamma expects Fanny's hair to be curled when she visits the drawing-room. And yet Fanny manages to have a lot of fun - when she isn't running away to be a kitchen-maid at the vicarage out of fear that God might take her at her word and taken her newest baby sister back.
Penelope Lively is honest about the restrictions of Fanny's life: "It would be nice to be able to report that Fanny grew up to become a famous lady scientist, but this is not that sort of story. In fact, she grew up to do just what was expected of her - this is to say she married and had a good many children and spent most of her time being bothered about the housekeeping." But she also shows Fanny's strong-willed determination to be her own person. I'm glad to have encountered Fanny, even if I'm thirty years' older than the ideal age for meeting her, and I can heartily recommend this book to girls aged seven and up.
In fact, this might be a useful corrective to young women who claim not to be feminist. This was what like was like for girls pre-feminism. Remember!
Fanny and the Monsters was recommended to me by someone who'd read it as a child, and I'm so sorry I didn't discover this in my own childhood. The Puffin collection of three stories about Fanny, the feisty Victorian proto-feminist, was published in 1982, when I was nine, the same age as Fanny and the perfect age to read of her adventures. Fanny is the eldest of eight (every year, as regularly as Christmas and Easter and birthdays, Mamma provides the nursery with a brand new, just-born baby). Papa is a Victorian patriarch who will not have Mr Darwin's name mentioned in the house. Mamma expects Fanny's hair to be curled when she visits the drawing-room. And yet Fanny manages to have a lot of fun - when she isn't running away to be a kitchen-maid at the vicarage out of fear that God might take her at her word and taken her newest baby sister back.
Penelope Lively is honest about the restrictions of Fanny's life: "It would be nice to be able to report that Fanny grew up to become a famous lady scientist, but this is not that sort of story. In fact, she grew up to do just what was expected of her - this is to say she married and had a good many children and spent most of her time being bothered about the housekeeping." But she also shows Fanny's strong-willed determination to be her own person. I'm glad to have encountered Fanny, even if I'm thirty years' older than the ideal age for meeting her, and I can heartily recommend this book to girls aged seven and up.
In fact, this might be a useful corrective to young women who claim not to be feminist. This was what like was like for girls pre-feminism. Remember!
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August 17, 20231979
May 10, 2016
I read this when I was 10 and really enjoyed it. Fanny is a very well-developed character, we learn about her interests, her opinions, her feelings towards her family and we see her selfish moments. I think she was the first fictional character who I fancied. It brings up the sexism and the religious attitudes of Victorian times whilst remaining sweet, somewhat relatable and a nice story for any kid who loves prehistoric life and/or history. This has to be one of the most underrated books I've ever read.
April 5, 2019
It's funny read, especially the first two stories.
I like the historical background and the writing on how life dynamics in those time , and boy what a life Fanny has with six or seven siblings >.< (initially i shocked within two pages where her mother gave birth (again) even though they have many toddlers and a baby(!) in the house lol.)
Oh I also like the Crystal Palace description, it looks like a stunning place (and it was, based on my google result) and disappointed to discover it got burnt down more than 80 years ago :(
I like the historical background and the writing on how life dynamics in those time , and boy what a life Fanny has with six or seven siblings >.< (initially i shocked within two pages where her mother gave birth (again) even though they have many toddlers and a baby(!) in the house lol.)
Oh I also like the Crystal Palace description, it looks like a stunning place (and it was, based on my google result) and disappointed to discover it got burnt down more than 80 years ago :(
February 23, 2015
I recently reacquainted myself with a favorite book from childhood, Astercote, and was surprised to find the author was Penelope Lively and have been reading other juvenile books of hers. Imagine my delight when I found this - as the Crystal Palace, 1851 Exhibition and the dinosaurs exhibited there are a pet interest of mine. Go Fanny! Delightful book.
March 28, 2016
Memorable, charming story about a plucky girl growing up in Victorian London. Classic.
August 7, 2014
Delightful, as usual.
April 5, 2017
Any 8 year old who can hold a conversation about paleontology with a scholar is a great kid in my book!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews