Understood Betsy
Dorothy Canfield, Ada C. Williamson
Hardcover
(New York: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, 1928, Jan. 1, 1928)
"Dorothy Canfield Fisher (February 17, 1879 – November 9, 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.[1] In addition to bringing the Montessori method of child-rearing to the United States, she presided over the country's first adult education program, and shaped literary tastes by serving as a member of the Book of the Month Club selection committee from 1925 to 1951." "The story tells of Elizabeth Ann, a 9-year-old orphan who goes from a sheltered existence with her father's aunt Harriet and cousin Frances in the city, to living on a Vermont farm with her mother's family, the Putneys, whose child-rearing practices had always seemed suspect to Harriet and her daughter. In her new rural life, Elizabeth Ann comes to be nicknamed "Betsy," and to find that many activities that Frances had always thought too demanding for a little girl are considered, by the Putney family, routine activities for a child: walking to school alone, cooking, and having household duties to perform." 1916 novel issued under Ms. Canfield Fisher's maiden name. [date from Wikipedia articles]