The Colonial Twins of Virginia

Twins

by Lucy Fitch Perkins

Where once the only roads were dangerous forest paths, highways and railroads now weave a pattern across the length and breadth of the land. Yet a little apart from its changed world the stately old mansion of Honeywood still stands among its ancient tree groves.

Genres: Historical Fiction

108 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1924

About the author

From a book jacket: "In 1910, at a crowded school in a poor section of Chicago, Lucy Fitch Perkins found children from twenty-seven different countries learning together. This experience instilled in her a vivid awareness of the task that faced American teachers: to bring out of this potpourri of races one unified nation. Her idea grew into a series of stories, some with geographical backgrounds, others with historical settings. Her goal was to increase sympathy and understanding for the unique qualities of the different nationalities and the heritage left to them and to us by our forebears. The Twins books have received acclaim from librarians, teachers, and parents, but, more important, from the children themselves."

Reviews

[Joy]

In the early 1900s Lucy Fitch Perkins wrote a series of children's books about twins, set in different times and places. This one, in 1676 Virginia when plantations were isolated and vulnerable, connected by the river, has twelve-year-old plantation heir Tom and Beatrix opposing river pirates in a very realistic manner. That realism has probably reduced today's audience for the book, because the work is mostly done by slaves. My mother wouldn't have read this to me, which I think was rather ostrich-like, but understandable.