Goody Two : Shoes
Anonymous, Barry
Paperback
(CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, Sept. 1, 2018)
A truly charming story. Very useful for education; a kind of Cinderella but far more useful for children education. I think they will like this book even today. These where the types of stories than a Grandmother would recite to a child. Simple and good read for the children. With this new edition, I wanted to present the original version of 1888, without any change. However it is somewhat noticeable that the text of the book differs from the picture titled "The Orphans" in describing their shoes. The picture shows the brother as having no shoes and Margery as having only one, whereas the text says the brother has two shoes and Margery none at all. (Editor’s notes) The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes is a children's story published by John Newbery in London in 1765. The story popularized the phrase "goody two-shoes", often used to describe an excessively virtuous person, a do-gooder. GOODY TWO-SHOES is a variation of the Cinderella story. The fable tells of Goody Two-Shoes, the nickname of a poor orphan girl named Margery Meanwell, who goes through life with only one shoe. When a rich gentleman gives her a complete pair, she is so happy that she tells everyone that she has "two shoes". Later, Margery becomes a teacher and marries a rich widower. This earning of wealth serves as proof that her virtuousness has been rewarded, a popular theme in children's literature of the era. The Anonymous Author The story was later attributed to the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, though this is disputed. Because Goldsmith frequently wrote for pay, and because of his copious fiction in essays (e.g., The Bee and Citizen of the World), the attribution to Goldsmith is plausible. Washington Irving was one supporter of Goldsmith's authoring the book; he said: "Several quaint little tales introduced in Goldsmith's Essays show that he had a turn for this species of mock history; and the advertisement and title-page bear the stamp of his sly and playful humor." However, the book has also been attributed to Newbery himself and to Giles Jones, a friend of Newbery's. "Booksellers" (publishers) such as Newbery would frequently pay authors for anonymous work, and no certain evidence of attribution has emerged.
LB