Books with title Understood Betsy

Dorothy Canfield Fisher's exceptional children's novel Understood Betsy returns in this edition which is complete with the original illustrations. First published in 1916, Understood Betsy depicts the tale of Elizabeth Ann. An orphan, she is raised in the city by her great-aunt Harriet and her cousin Frances. Although the pair are capable in caring for young Elizabeth, their existence is a sheltered one. To Elizabeth's surprise, her mother's family - who live in rural Vermont - find her and offer her a place in their country home. Although Harriet has reservations about the manner in which the Putneys raise children, she duly packs Elizabeth off to stay there. Much of the novel regards Elizabeth's adapting to the countryside - many of the duties which are taken care of for her in the city are expected of her there. However the beauty of the country, and the practical things she learns during her upbringing, are ultimately to her benefit. A classic of the early 20th century, as well as being entertaining for children, Understood Betsy holds significance for illustrating the distinctions between city and country life in the early 20th century USA.

Understood Betsy is a 1916 novel for children by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Originally published in 1917, this novel follows the adventure of Elizabeth Ann, an orphan who leaves a privileged urban lifestyle with her cousin to live with the Putney's on a Vermont farm. Elizabeth Ann, nicknamed Betsy, lives with her father's aunt, Harriet, who expects her to lead a very sheltered life. When she is sent to live with her mother's family, on a farm in Vermont, she is then expected to do many of the chores that Harriet had thought too demanding of a little girl. Betsy discovers her own abilities and gains a new perception of the world around her. Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879 – 1958) was an educational reformer, social activist, and best-selling American author in the early decades of the twentieth century. She strongly supported women's rights, racial equality, and lifelong education. She was named by Eleanor Roosevelt as one of the ten most influential women in the United States.

Understood Betsy is a 1916 novel for children by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Understood Betsy tells of Elizabeth Ann, a 9-year-old orphan who goes from a sheltered existence with relatives in the city, to living on a Vermont farm, the Putneys, whose child-rearing practices had always seemed suspect to Harriet and her daughter. In her new rural life, Elizabeth Ann is nicknamed "Betsy," and finds that many activities that Frances had always thought too demanding for a little girl are considered, by the Putney family, ordinary expectations for a child. Betsy thrives in her new environment, learning to make butter, boil maple syrup, and tend the animals. When Frances announces she is to be married and has come to "save" Elizabeth Ann from the dreaded Putney cousins, she is amazed to discover that the little girl is quite content to stay. Understood Betsy is a wonderful book--one that should be a part of every family library.

Dorothy Canfield Fisher's exceptional children's novel Understood Betsy returns in this new edition, complete with all of the original illustrations. First published in 1916, Understood Betsy depicts the tale of Elizabeth Ann. An orphan, she is raised in the city by her great-aunt Harriet and her cousin Frances. Although the pair are capable in caring for young Elizabeth, their existence is a sheltered one. To Elizabeth's surprise, her mother's family - who live in rural Vermont - find her and offer her a place in their country home. Although Harriet has reservations about the manner in which the Putneys raise children, she duly packs Elizabeth off to stay there. Much of the novel regards Elizabeth's adapting to the countryside - many of the duties which are taken care of for her in the city are expected of her there. However the beauty of the country, and the practical things she learns during her upbringing, are ultimately to her benefit.

Nine-year-old Elizabeth Ann has been raised in the city by loving but overprotective aunts who speak in disapproving whispers of "those horrid Putney cousins." So imagine the child's shock when she's forced to move in with the dreaded country kin. They keep pets in the house! They eat in the kitchen and expect her to walk to school by herself! But little by little, as she helps with the chores around the farm and makes new friends, sickly, self-centered Elizabeth Ann is transformed into confident, independent Betsy. Generations of readers have delighted in Betsy's adventures since the book's original publication in 1917. Author Dorothy Canfield Fisher introduced Americans to the Montessori Method, an educational approach that's reflected in her tale of childhood freedom and self-sufficiency. The New York Times Book Review praised Understood Betsy for being "as satisfying in its evocation of an earlier, simpler way of life as Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books, and psychologically more acute."

For all of her nine years, fragile Elizabeth Ann has heard her Aunt Frances refer in whispers to her "horrid Putney cousins." But when her aunt can no longer care for her, Elizabeth Ann must leave her sheltered life to live in the wilds of Vermont with those distant relatives. In the beginning, Elizabeth Ann is shocked by country living--pets are allowed to sleep in the house and children are expected to do chores! But with country living comes independence and responsibility, and in time, Elizabeth Ann finds herself making friends and enjoying her new family. When the year is up and Aunt Frances comes to get her niece, she finds a healthier, prouder girl with a new name--Betsy--and a new outlook on life.

When this story begins, Elizabeth Ann, who is the heroine of it, was a little girl of nine, who lived with her Great-aunt Harriet in a medium-sized city in a medium-sized State in the middle of this country; and that's all you need to know about the place, for it's not the important thing in the story; and anyhow you know all about it because it was probably very much like the place you live in yourself. Elizabeth Ann's Great-aunt Harriet was a widow who was not very rich or very poor, and she had one daughter, Frances, who gave piano lessons to little girls. They kept a "girl" whose name was Grace and who had asthma dreadfully and wasn't very much of a "girl" at all, being nearer fifty than forty. Aunt Harriet, who was very tender-hearted, kept her chiefly because she couldn't get any other place on account of her coughing so you could hear her all over the house. So now you know the names of all the household. And this is how they looked: Aunt Harriet was very small and thin and old, Grace was very small and thin and middle-aged, Aunt Frances (for Elizabeth Ann called her "Aunt," although she was really, of course, a first-cousin-once-removed) was small and thin and if the light wasn't too strong might be called young, and Elizabeth Ann was very small and thin and little. And yet they all had plenty to eat. I wonder what was the matter with them?

Dorothy Canfield Fisher's exceptional children's novel Understood Betsy returns in this new edition, complete with all of the original illustrations. First published in 1916, Understood Betsy depicts the tale of Elizabeth Ann. An orphan, she is raised in the city by her great-aunt Harriet and her cousin Frances. Although the pair are capable in caring for young Elizabeth, their existence is a sheltered one. To Elizabeth's surprise, her mother's family - who live in rural Vermont - find her and offer her a place in their country home. Although Harriet has reservations about the manner in which the Putneys raise children, she duly packs Elizabeth off to stay there. Much of the novel regards Elizabeth's adapting to the countryside - many of the duties which are taken care of for her in the city are expected of her there. However the beauty of the country, and the practical things she learns during her upbringing, are ultimately to her benefit. A classic of the early 20th century, as well as being entertaining for children, Understood Betsy holds significance for illustrating the distinctions between city and country life in the early 20th century USA.

Thanks to her loving but over-protective guardian aunts, Betsy is a fearful, self-absorbed, nine-year-old hypochondriac. One of the most terrible items on her long list of fears is the horrid cousins her aunts never mention without shuddering. When her aunts are suddenly no longer able to care for her, Betsy is, incredibly, sent to live with those very relatives. Arriving in Vermont alone and full of trepidation, Betsy is immediately invited by her Uncle Henry to drive the carriage. Steering the fearful horses is just the beginning of her adventures in New England -- and independence. By the novel's end, Betsy has become very fond of the rough but affectionate relatives who eat in the kitchen and expect her to wash her own dishes. When she gets a letter from the aunts inviting her to come home, Betsy must make a difficult choice. Understood Betsy has been published in numerous editions worldwide since its 1917 debut, and continues to charm readers with its delightful and surprisingly liberated characters.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. 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 the original work.