Penelope's Postscripts

Penelope's Experiences

by Kate Douglas Wiggin

Penelope's Postscripts is a collection of letters written by the fictional character Penelope of Greek mythology. The letters were written by author Kate Douglas Wiggin and were originally published in 1901. The book is divided into two the first part contains letters written by Penelope while she was waiting for her husband, Odysseus, to return from the Trojan War, and the second part contains letters written after his return. The letters provide insight into Penelope's thoughts and feelings during her long separation from her husband and her struggles to maintain her household and raise their son, Telemachus, in his absence. The book also explores themes of love, loyalty, and perseverance. Overall, Penelope's Postscripts is a unique and engaging portrayal of one of the most famous women in Greek mythology.Salemina and I were in Geneva. If you had ever travelled through Europe with a charming spinster who never sat down at a Continental table d'hote without being asked by an American vis-a-vis whether she were one of the P.'s of Salem, Massachusetts, you would understand why I call my friend Salemina. She doesn't mind it. She knows that I am simply jealous.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.

Genres: Fiction

84 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1915

About the author

Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin

Kate Douglas Wiggin, nee Smith (1856-1923) was an American children's author and educator. She was born in Philadelphia, and was of Welsh descent. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 (the "Silver Street Free Kindergarten"). With her sister in the 1880s she also established a training school for kindergarten teachers. Her best known books are The Story of Pasty (1883), The Birds' Christmas Carol (1886), Polly Oliver's Problem (1893), A Cathedral Courtship (1893), The Village Watchtoer (1896), Marm Lisa (1897) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903).

Reviews

[Kate]

A bit of Venice, a bit of Wales, a bit of Devon, and a bit of New England and babies, this one gives you more of the conversational floweryness that is sometimes a joy to follow and sometimes a show-offy drag on the story (for instance, the section on Francesca's besotted tutor, dull dull dull). I read this one out of order but other than a spoiler about Salamina, it jumps around in time so much that it doesn't matter. Still very very conservative and I could have done without the commentary about there being no Penelope anymore now that she is Mrs. William Beresford (gah!).

[Rebecca]

Meh, this was okay - kind of a nice postscript, but not ultimately necessary. I felt like it didn't really add much, though the final chapter was charming.

[QNPoohBear]

This is the first and last episode in the Penelope series. It takes place just after A Catherdral Courtship and features cameos from the characters of that novel. As Penelope and friends travel through Europe, she jots down impressions in her diary. These impressions are not as polished or as amusing as her other extracts. The descriptions are not as detailed and the story focuses a lot on other characters. It concludes with Penelope telling us what she's up to now in 19__.