Polly and the Princess

by Emma C. Dowd

"Oh, I remember now! She's little and sweet-looking. Somebody told me she had nervous prostration. Too bad! She is so young and pretty!" A tiny sneer fluttered from face to face, skipping one here and there in its course. It ended in Miss Castlevaine's "Huh!" "I think Miss Sterling is real pretty!" Miss Crilly, from the opposite side, beamed on the "new lady." "She has faded dreadfully," asserted Mrs. Crump. "They used to call her handsome years ago, though she never was my style o' beauty. But now—" She shook her head with hard emphasis.

218 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2004

Reviews

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Gutenberg for this free read. Now Polly is 13, but she's still the Perfect Girl that no one can say "no" to. She runs around telling adults what to do, either with a merry laugh or with a pretty frown between her brows and tears just-not-forming in her lovely eyes. And they either go along with her latest scheme or hang their heads in acknowledgement of her correction, depending on the situation.
The story centres around a home for indigent gentlewomen, of the kind you have to be "approved" to move into. What struck me was that some of the residents were certainly not elderly; the Princess of the title is only about 40, but I guess she had nowhere to go. Apparently elder abuse was just as common in "homes" of 1917 as it is today. Cheap, nasty food, restrictive rules, going through your correspondence and denying the freedom to have visitors, leave the premises, or even visit another resident in her room. The "superintendent" (matron) even tries to flog a particular resident!
I must have missed an instalment because one of the characters who lives in her house goes back to his dad....in Australia? OK.
There is far too much RO-mance in this story for my taste, from Polly's own boyfriend troubles to a couple of weddings, one perfect, the other much less so.

[Red9 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely!

This is a beautiful story with an old-time feel along the lines of Gene Stratton Porter. A young girl changes lives in a nursing home.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it great literature, no. However, it is a glimpse into the cultural norms of the early 20th century. The fascination with things we take for granted today, such as cars and telephones, is a reminder that these were luxuries not so long ago. The bigger issue is the treatment of women in that era. Essentially sent to a poor house if you were a spinster or widow in the time before social security and pensions. Yes it is factionalized but there is some reality to it.

[Tria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad but not great. Would have been better with some heavy editing as a novella; the story wouldn't have been changed much by the cut in length. Much more drawn out than it needed to be, and confusing in parts.

[Stephenie Oxley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really surprised to find that I enjoyed this book so much after a slow start. I really got drawn into the story. I loved the character of Mr Randolph,a true knight in shining armour!