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Lady Betty Across the Water
I don't know yet whether I'm pleased or not, but I do know that I'm excited-more excited than I've ever been in my life, except perhaps when Miss Mackinstry, my last governess, had hysterics in the schoolroom and fainted among the tea things. I suppose I shan't be able to decide about the state of my feelings until I've had more of them on the same subject, or until I've written down in this book of mine everything exactly as it's happened. I like doing that; it makes things seem so clear when you try to review them afterwards. The excitement began at breakfast by Mother having a letter that she liked. I knew she liked it by the way her eyes lighted up, as if they had been lamps and the letter a match. All the other letters, mostly with horrid, tradesmanny-looking envelopes, which had been making her quite glowery, she pushed aside.
332 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1906
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42 people want to read
About the author
C.N. Williamson
345 books8 followersCharles Norris Williamson, 1859–1920, British writer and journalist
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 17, 2017
Lady Betty is of the age to "come out," but her plainer older sister has simply got to be married off before she can, as the family has plenty of respectability but no money. When an American aristocrat (a lady at the top of the Five Hundred) offers to give her a holiday in America, her mother immediately accepts to get her out of the way and in the way of her own chance at a marriage that will provide a well-filled purse.
Betty writes a hilarious tale filled with all sorts of things, from the handsome steerage passenger who risks his life jumping overboard after a small boy who falls off their ocean liner, to the lady in Newport who tries to literally force Betty into a marriage with that lady's creepy brother who is old enough to be Betty's father. The book contains some truly laugh-out-loud one-liners--and Jim Brett. Every girl needs a mysterious Jim Brett in their lives.
Betty writes a hilarious tale filled with all sorts of things, from the handsome steerage passenger who risks his life jumping overboard after a small boy who falls off their ocean liner, to the lady in Newport who tries to literally force Betty into a marriage with that lady's creepy brother who is old enough to be Betty's father. The book contains some truly laugh-out-loud one-liners--and Jim Brett. Every girl needs a mysterious Jim Brett in their lives.
December 12, 2017
I'm so happy to have discovered the Williamsons though I didn't love this one as I did "Set in Silver"
I prefered SS's Audrie to Lady Betty and Lady Betty has to deal with such unpleasant folks "across the water" that it just wasn't as much fun to read. Fortunately, it was fascinating the entire time simply because I'm always interested outside views of America and Americans and it was so interesting to see how Lady Betty's preconceived notions held up (or were torn asunder) by reality. Most notably, she assumed everyone would be equals in America and found out that was absolutely not the case. Also, just little details tickled my fancy, such as Lady Betty's shock at her skimpy American bathing suit but oh well as she'd just be with other women (apparently men and women bathed separately at the seaside in England and only for very short visits) then she was so shocked when the men popped out of the changing rooms and came right over to frolic on the beaches with the women! But she quickly got over that because they could stay at the seaside all day long and it was so luxurious and wonderful! ;-) So absorbing to read about the life of the "Four Hundred" (elite) in New York and Newport and their amazing mansions and elaborate parties. Oh, if you've read Wharton or Fitzgerald and the like it's nothing "new" here but I still found it remarkable the lengths and expenses these people would go to impress one another! At heart, this is a story about choosing love over money and Jim Brett is certainly swoony enough to make a good case for that, even though I was not at all surprised by how things turned out ;-)
*free on Project Gutenberg
I prefered SS's Audrie to Lady Betty and Lady Betty has to deal with such unpleasant folks "across the water" that it just wasn't as much fun to read. Fortunately, it was fascinating the entire time simply because I'm always interested outside views of America and Americans and it was so interesting to see how Lady Betty's preconceived notions held up (or were torn asunder) by reality. Most notably, she assumed everyone would be equals in America and found out that was absolutely not the case. Also, just little details tickled my fancy, such as Lady Betty's shock at her skimpy American bathing suit but oh well as she'd just be with other women (apparently men and women bathed separately at the seaside in England and only for very short visits) then she was so shocked when the men popped out of the changing rooms and came right over to frolic on the beaches with the women! But she quickly got over that because they could stay at the seaside all day long and it was so luxurious and wonderful! ;-) So absorbing to read about the life of the "Four Hundred" (elite) in New York and Newport and their amazing mansions and elaborate parties. Oh, if you've read Wharton or Fitzgerald and the like it's nothing "new" here but I still found it remarkable the lengths and expenses these people would go to impress one another! At heart, this is a story about choosing love over money and Jim Brett is certainly swoony enough to make a good case for that, even though I was not at all surprised by how things turned out ;-)
*free on Project Gutenberg
September 22, 2012
Another book by the Williamsons, authors of "Set in Silver."
In this book a young woman, Lady Betty, from a British family is sent to America because her older sister is trying to get engaged to a rich British nobleman and the family is afraid that Betty, being too pretty, will be a distraction and a hindrance. ???!
So she is sent across the ocean with some American acquaintances. While on ship, she becomes fascinated with a man in third-class, who heroically jumps into the ocean to save a little boy who had fallen overboard.
Once she arrives in America, she is part of a whirlwind of social events and millionaires. She compares American customs with what she is used to back home, and then she has to learn that the customs of the rich and famous are in a category by themselves. Basically she's figuring out which class of people she wants to belong to, what it is that really matters when judging a person to be a worthwhile companion, etc., etc.
The man she met on ship, Jim Brett, pops in and out on occasion. Viewing him as being in a lower social class (and therefore not a candidate for a suitor), she has no problem expressing her commendation for him and even her feelings of friendship. She is even comfortable enough around him to express her preference for his good qualities as opposed to the less-than-pleasing manners of her more wealthy acquaintances. Clearly she's being a little dense in thinking that it's safe to say all this to a man just because he's in a different social class.
Anyway, Jim Brett leaves her a couple of discreet gifts that should right away be hints that he is more than what he appears. Then he is able to help her out in a key crisis in her life, with speed and resources that don't seem to mesh with a poor man's capabilities. Could it be...could it be that he is (gasp) in disguise????!!!! Surely not in a Williamsons' book!
Anyway, Betty doesn't give any thought to that possibility, which means that she has to wrestle with the concept of people being equal in spite of their outward circumstances, and the need to evaluate for herself the right way to treat people. This isn't really too much of a stretch for her, though. She's pretty open-minded.
Lady Betty's commentary on America can be pretty funny. Some of it is still understandable today: for instance, her reaction to skyscrapers. I found it odd that she thought the Statue of Liberty was small, though.
And one unintentionally funny part of the book was where her friend Sally (from Kentucky) is relating her doomed romance, where the man she loved thought that she was going to marry someone else, so he became a monk in a Catholic monastery.
In Kentucky.
Now, I realize that there may be one or two of these institutions around the state, but Sally's story makes it sound like that is just naturally what one would do if thwarted in love and living in the state of Kentucky. I chuckled. A lot.
But, of course, Lady Betty takes away the moral of the story, which is more or less: You should definitely marry for love, or else, who knows? The monastery may be just around the corner.
And I mean, we've all been there. It happens, right?
In this book a young woman, Lady Betty, from a British family is sent to America because her older sister is trying to get engaged to a rich British nobleman and the family is afraid that Betty, being too pretty, will be a distraction and a hindrance. ???!
So she is sent across the ocean with some American acquaintances. While on ship, she becomes fascinated with a man in third-class, who heroically jumps into the ocean to save a little boy who had fallen overboard.
Once she arrives in America, she is part of a whirlwind of social events and millionaires. She compares American customs with what she is used to back home, and then she has to learn that the customs of the rich and famous are in a category by themselves. Basically she's figuring out which class of people she wants to belong to, what it is that really matters when judging a person to be a worthwhile companion, etc., etc.
The man she met on ship, Jim Brett, pops in and out on occasion. Viewing him as being in a lower social class (and therefore not a candidate for a suitor), she has no problem expressing her commendation for him and even her feelings of friendship. She is even comfortable enough around him to express her preference for his good qualities as opposed to the less-than-pleasing manners of her more wealthy acquaintances. Clearly she's being a little dense in thinking that it's safe to say all this to a man just because he's in a different social class.
Anyway, Jim Brett leaves her a couple of discreet gifts that should right away be hints that he is more than what he appears. Then he is able to help her out in a key crisis in her life, with speed and resources that don't seem to mesh with a poor man's capabilities. Could it be...could it be that he is (gasp) in disguise????!!!! Surely not in a Williamsons' book!
Anyway, Betty doesn't give any thought to that possibility, which means that she has to wrestle with the concept of people being equal in spite of their outward circumstances, and the need to evaluate for herself the right way to treat people. This isn't really too much of a stretch for her, though. She's pretty open-minded.
Lady Betty's commentary on America can be pretty funny. Some of it is still understandable today: for instance, her reaction to skyscrapers. I found it odd that she thought the Statue of Liberty was small, though.
And one unintentionally funny part of the book was where her friend Sally (from Kentucky) is relating her doomed romance, where the man she loved thought that she was going to marry someone else, so he became a monk in a Catholic monastery.
In Kentucky.
Now, I realize that there may be one or two of these institutions around the state, but Sally's story makes it sound like that is just naturally what one would do if thwarted in love and living in the state of Kentucky. I chuckled. A lot.
But, of course, Lady Betty takes away the moral of the story, which is more or less: You should definitely marry for love, or else, who knows? The monastery may be just around the corner.
And I mean, we've all been there. It happens, right?
October 5, 2019
I have bought a few Dodo Press books over the years, and I very much admire that publishing house’s determination to bring perhaps forgotten novels forward to the 21st century, and to a whole new audience. I am so, so grateful that Lady Betty Across the Water was one of their chosen texts to preserve, because I completely loved this tale of a beautiful young Duke’s daughter who is introduced to wealthy New York society in the early 1900s.
Told by the naive but strangely insightful Lady Betty herself, in the guise of her journal, we see this young girl who is not yet “out” in her homeland, but is much courted and feted in the very title-conscious confines of the nouveau riche East Coast Elite. Betty’s wonderment at the classism that persists in the America is very entertaining, as is her shock at the effrontery with which various maids and other servants address her, and her delight at the sight of African Americans, and half-formed, self-acknowledged “wrong” wish that slavery was still a thing so she could have such beauty with her always, is… well, you have to remember this was written in 1906 and try to be forgiving.
There is a lovely love story, which you see coming a mile away but that unfolds quite unexpectedly, and some hilariously awful secondary characters who are surely a sharp-penned satire of some New York personalities I cannot name, yet weirdly recognize.
In all, a delightful romp!
Told by the naive but strangely insightful Lady Betty herself, in the guise of her journal, we see this young girl who is not yet “out” in her homeland, but is much courted and feted in the very title-conscious confines of the nouveau riche East Coast Elite. Betty’s wonderment at the classism that persists in the America is very entertaining, as is her shock at the effrontery with which various maids and other servants address her, and her delight at the sight of African Americans, and half-formed, self-acknowledged “wrong” wish that slavery was still a thing so she could have such beauty with her always, is… well, you have to remember this was written in 1906 and try to be forgiving.
There is a lovely love story, which you see coming a mile away but that unfolds quite unexpectedly, and some hilariously awful secondary characters who are surely a sharp-penned satire of some New York personalities I cannot name, yet weirdly recognize.
In all, a delightful romp!
February 25, 2012
This was a delightful romp. Lady Betty, an English noblewoman, is packed off to America while her plainer sister endeavors to get engaged. Lady Betty, you see, is just too beautiful! Too sweet! Too enchanting by half! Does she have adventures in America? Do some of them involve dashing American men? I suggest you find out for yourself.
The writing is good, the characters lively and believable, and the ending eminently satisfying. I'm a bit of a Luddite- I ordered the real book through Inter-Library-Loan, but it's also pretty widely available as a free eBook.
The writing is good, the characters lively and believable, and the ending eminently satisfying. I'm a bit of a Luddite- I ordered the real book through Inter-Library-Loan, but it's also pretty widely available as a free eBook.
February 20, 2018
This is a book I found in a thrift store years ago, drawn to it simply because it was old. It is a beautiful mauve color with elegant writing and a picture of a young woman. My copy is indeed published in 1906 and even has a few illustrations.
Apparently this a true story of a young english woman who travels to america and lives among high society. It is a fascinating sketch of Edwardian culture, and entertaining to boot. It's a sweet little romance, perfect for summer reading.
Apparently this a true story of a young english woman who travels to america and lives among high society. It is a fascinating sketch of Edwardian culture, and entertaining to boot. It's a sweet little romance, perfect for summer reading.
September 26, 2012
One of my all time favorite books. It has a bit of everything, you can't go wrong. Though I can't believe that someone can be so naive, but thats all the fun of reading it I guess.
August 25, 2011
Witty humor, fun read: definitely fun to read it in the original 1906 binding!
March 22, 2019
I found this book when I happened upon a hole-in-the-wall used book store. The store was packed with books floor to ceiling. I had been there for forty-minutes looking in all the nook and crannies and had talked quite a bit to the elderly woman who was sitting in a rocking chair by the cash register. I felt like I should buy something after being there for so long, so I looked around and I happened to see this dusky mauve book with a beautiful script on the front alongside a delightful picture of a young woman. It was published in 1908 and had a handful of lovely illustrations in it. I had no idea what the book was about but I end up buying it.
Lady Betty is a young woman from England not yet out, as she is still waiting for her elder sister to get married. Betty gets sent to visit acquaintances in America, so she won't be a distraction for her sisters suitors.
Good things first. I enjoyed Betty's take on all the differences between England and America. She goes into great detail about the various cities and people she meets, but I was never bored instead I really loved getting to see what New York and Chicago looked like back then. It was like getting a personal view of historical time and place and seeing what was important to people back then. The author also has a great turn of phase that at times was quite humorous. The gentle romance between Betty and Jim was very sweet. What I didn't like about it was how Betty spoke about anyone who wasn't white. She basically thought of them as almost like children even if they were adults. Her casual racism, although probably common at the time, made me very uncomfortable.
Lady Betty is a young woman from England not yet out, as she is still waiting for her elder sister to get married. Betty gets sent to visit acquaintances in America, so she won't be a distraction for her sisters suitors.
Good things first. I enjoyed Betty's take on all the differences between England and America. She goes into great detail about the various cities and people she meets, but I was never bored instead I really loved getting to see what New York and Chicago looked like back then. It was like getting a personal view of historical time and place and seeing what was important to people back then. The author also has a great turn of phase that at times was quite humorous. The gentle romance between Betty and Jim was very sweet. What I didn't like about it was how Betty spoke about anyone who wasn't white. She basically thought of them as almost like children even if they were adults. Her casual racism, although probably common at the time, made me very uncomfortable.
September 23, 2017
I was lucky to get a first edition through interlibrary loan--much better than reading a free ebook, what with the ragged page edges and the vibrant fashion-platey illustrations. Mostly this was very silly with some typically horrifying sexism and not a lot of, say, character or plot development. But, you know, fun.
How in the world did this even end up on my To Read list? It's been on there forever--longer than any other title, at the top/bottom. I challenge you all to go find the book that's been languishing on your To Read for the longest and get it on your bedside table :).
How in the world did this even end up on my To Read list? It's been on there forever--longer than any other title, at the top/bottom. I challenge you all to go find the book that's been languishing on your To Read for the longest and get it on your bedside table :).
May 30, 2025
A well-written story with lots of funny anecdotal moments and comparisons between British and American culture, but not enough plot or character development to make me want to read it again. I thought it was fun to notice that some of those same differences between the US and Britain still seem to exist 100 years later. I didn't enjoy Lady Betty's manner of objectifying various black Americans she met.
September 18, 2017
A good enough read, but the simplistic, nationalistic, prejudices of the author weary.
October 18, 2018
My great-grandfather wrote music based on this book so I wanted to see what it was all about. So fun to read the same words he read and he was inspired by. The book is a very cute, fast read.
April 4, 2021
Hopelessly cute story from the turn of the last century.
June 15, 2023
A delightful one time read
Liked the H and h.
Would have loved an epilogue for this.
Liked the H and h.
Would have loved an epilogue for this.
October 13, 2016
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OceanPearl Books - Book Review
Lady Betty, as the youngest and most beautiful daughter, feels siffled at home by her mother and sister’s cold atittude towards her. Her fortune is changed when a suitor is expected for her sister, Vic. Both her mother and sister plan to banish her from the estate so that the would be suitor does not fall in love with Lady Betty. When Lady Betty is forced to travel to the States with a virtual stranger, the adventure of a lifetime begins . Her accidental meeting with the handsome yet poverty stricken man, Jim Brett, keeps her intrigued.
A novel of satirical humor from the eyes of a young, aristocratic girl who is far from what her title declares her to be. Jim Brett’s gentleman chivalry shines bright when Lady Betty finds herself enamored by unwanted sutitors and fortune hunters. Williamson brings about a unique viewpoint of class distinictions in the Britain and States.
The book is available at for FREE at http://manybooks.net/titles/williamso....
OceanPearl Books - Book Review
Lady Betty, as the youngest and most beautiful daughter, feels siffled at home by her mother and sister’s cold atittude towards her. Her fortune is changed when a suitor is expected for her sister, Vic. Both her mother and sister plan to banish her from the estate so that the would be suitor does not fall in love with Lady Betty. When Lady Betty is forced to travel to the States with a virtual stranger, the adventure of a lifetime begins . Her accidental meeting with the handsome yet poverty stricken man, Jim Brett, keeps her intrigued.
A novel of satirical humor from the eyes of a young, aristocratic girl who is far from what her title declares her to be. Jim Brett’s gentleman chivalry shines bright when Lady Betty finds herself enamored by unwanted sutitors and fortune hunters. Williamson brings about a unique viewpoint of class distinictions in the Britain and States.
The book is available at for FREE at http://manybooks.net/titles/williamso....
April 24, 2014
free at Kindle. . .
November 28, 2012
Charming story that makes use of the word 'pulchritude', what's not to love!
April 4, 2017
Lady Betty is enjoyably light and typically improbable. Not quite as fun as her cousin, Lord Loveland's story.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews