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Mary Cary: Frequently Martha
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
188 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1910
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 26, 2015
This was my first sample of Bosher's writing and I read it all in one delicious gulp. Mary Cary's opinions are hilarious and spot-on about her friends and likes and dislikes. A small-town orphanage comes to life in this charming tale.
September 19, 2016
A remarkable book, I can't believe it was written in 1910. I enjoyed every moment listening to the librivox audio book. Many thanks to the narrator for her wonderful reading.
July 5, 2015
The next from my Grandmother's box of old books, Mary Cary is an old fashioned novel written from the point of view of an orphan girl. Sort of like Pollyanna or the Little Princess, but Mary Cary doesn't always do the right thing. Not much plot, but all are happy at the end.
June 5, 2014
I read this book in grammar school and found it many years later in an antique store. It is so funny, sad, and heartwarming. It's like reading a Shirley Temple movie. I've read it three times.
November 12, 2018
Thanks to Project Gutenberg for this classic freebie. An excellent bedtime read, but one thing struck me: a lot of the "charity girls" that inhabit the orphanage actually have living relatives in the same small town. They are in contact with them, and send Mary fruit when she's ill, so how is it that not one of those adult relations steps up to care for their orphaned girls? Especially in a town where appearances are apparently everything.
I really enjoyed the narrative voice of little Mary/Martha, who knows nothing of her own past and has no one to love her, so she turns a sharp eye on the world around her. Dumped at the orphanage at age 3, when the story opens she is rising a very mature 10. The "lovering bits" as L. M. Alcott would call them prove how old the "couple brought back together by the charming child" trope really is, as this book was written in 1910. I found myself wondering if the author of Pollyanna had read and liked this book; there is also a definite odour of Anne of Green Gables about it.
I've downloaded all of the author's books to sample; unfortunately so far "People Like That" seems to be an excuse for the author to ride her particular sociological hobbyhorse.
I really enjoyed the narrative voice of little Mary/Martha, who knows nothing of her own past and has no one to love her, so she turns a sharp eye on the world around her. Dumped at the orphanage at age 3, when the story opens she is rising a very mature 10. The "lovering bits" as L. M. Alcott would call them prove how old the "couple brought back together by the charming child" trope really is, as this book was written in 1910. I found myself wondering if the author of Pollyanna had read and liked this book; there is also a definite odour of Anne of Green Gables about it.
I've downloaded all of the author's books to sample; unfortunately so far "People Like That" seems to be an excuse for the author to ride her particular sociological hobbyhorse.
February 16, 2019
Told from the viewpoint of a little girl, the narrator of this LibriVox audiobook truly made me believe I was listening to a little girl speaking. I enjoyed the book so much more, based on Jan MacGillivray’s voice than if I had read the words on the page.
The title character is a precocious, delightful, wise child - whose lot in life has caused her to be very compassionate, where many others would turn to self-pity and meanness.
Just a delightful book that I throughly enjoyed!
The title character is a precocious, delightful, wise child - whose lot in life has caused her to be very compassionate, where many others would turn to self-pity and meanness.
Just a delightful book that I throughly enjoyed!
December 6, 2020
I do love this book!
I listened to it again this week and was struck by how, in the midst of an entertaining and very engaging book, Bosher is able to deal so naturally with themes of repentance and reconciliation.
I wish that more of her books were available as audios. (I'm at a stage of life where I need to move more and have to limit the amount of time I sit with a book.)
I listened to it again this week and was struck by how, in the midst of an entertaining and very engaging book, Bosher is able to deal so naturally with themes of repentance and reconciliation.
I wish that more of her books were available as audios. (I'm at a stage of life where I need to move more and have to limit the amount of time I sit with a book.)
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July 10, 2019Diary of a young Virginian orphan. Published in 1910
May 29, 2023
That was fun. A nice little romp through an "orphan asylum". Mary Cary seemed to verge on multiple personality disorder in the nicest possible way. The "orphan asylum" is not comfortable but it isn't demonized to the Dickensian extreme. This is somewhere between 'Anne of Green Gables', 'Little Orphan Annie' and 'The Little Princess' but Mary Cary is someone special. Short, cute, funny and predictably HEA.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews