What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
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Behind the Scenes in the Schoolroom
SOLVED: Adult Fiction
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SOLVED. Victorian novel about a governess [s]
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Amanda
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Dec 28, 2011 03:52PM
Hi all. For years, I've been trying to remember the name of a book I read as as child in the 1970s. It was a Victorian novel, written for adults. The story is set in Victorian London and centers on a governess who goes to work for a rich family. I have to include plot spoilers, here--sorry about that. I believe the father was in politics (perhaps a member of Parliament) and the mother had a drinking problem and neglects the children and her husband. The father and the governess fell in love, but cannot marry because of the wife. I think there were two children in the family, perhaps three, one of whom was a baby boy referred to as Little Fellow. A couple of events I remember: the mother neglects the baby and he falls very ill (and perhaps dies); the mother dies in a fall down a flight of stairs while drunk. The father and the governess marry after the wife dies and have their own "Little Fellow." Oh, also, there was a quote in the book (I think by Tennyson) that every nursery should have a child rising two years and a kitten rising two months. My edition of the book was hardback, with cobalt blue covers; I don't think there were any illustrations. This has been driving me mad for years, so if anyone can help, I would really appreciate it. All my online searches have yielded nothing; I'm about to throw myself upon the mercy of my librarian friends. My father doesn't remember this book in our house at all, but I know I didn't make it up! I appreciate any thoughts at all--thanks much.
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You know what? I think I may have found the title and author: "Behind the Scenes in a Schoolroom: Being the Experiences of a Young Governess" by Florence Montgomery. After much dredging of my memory, I remembered that "scenes" was in the title. So I did a search and this title came up. I think that's it. Of course, there are no copies available in the known universe, so I can't even tell if that's actually the book, but the author's name and title seem right to me. She has a Wikipedia entry and was known for being a "pious" author, so that fits with my memory of the book's tone.
There is, I believe a copy of it at marelibri. I don't know if it's an original edition or a photostat though.
Amanda, Well come back and let us know if you can confirm that's the book. Thanks.
Thanks, Lisa. According to WorldCat, there are four copies within 200 miles of my location so I'm going to try for interlibrary loan. Would love to reread this book.
You can read it online--yep, the whole thing--on Google Books (it's out of copyright):http://books.google.com/books?id=T5ox...
Amanda wrote: "Hi all. For years, I've been trying to remember the name of a book I read as as child in the 1970s. It was a Victorian novel, written for adults. The story is set in Victorian London and centers on..."Hi, This sounds so much like the plot of an old Bette Davis movie, called "All This and Heaven Too." It's based on a novel by Rachel Field, which, according to Amazon, has recently been reissued. You can read an excerpt of the book there. Do let me know if this is the book you've been looking for.
Jacqueline
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I believe this is the book. I skimmed it. The governess falls in love not with the father, but with the adult son (the brother of the children she's caring for). The father is in Parliament and the adult son runs for and is admitted to Parliament. The mother is dissolute somehow and dies and her "wasted life" is referred to at the end. The baby is referred to as "little fellow" or "little lad." And at the end she looks down into the crib of her own "little lad."
Interestingly there's also some dialogue which I'm guessing "The Sound of Music" ripped off directly:
"...I was feeling broken hearted at the idea of leaving - the children."
"Only the children?" he said, in a tone of dejection.
