Country cousin Polly, the old-fashioned girl of the title, goes to visit rich Fanny and family in the big city for a couple of months. There she has many different experiences. Some she likes and some she doesn't. that's the first half of the book. The second half takes place six years after. Polly is working in the city giving music lessons, meanwhile Fanny's family suffers a reversal in fortune. Polly helps them out.
The book has a lot more going for it then that. If you like "Little Women" you will like this. It's full of descriptions of the fashions and manners of that bygone age. I find it amusing that the same things that a lot of people criticize now, such as children dressing and acting too grown-up, unwholesome entertainment and use of stimulants, alcohol, gambling, spending money they don't have, being indolent, not caring, are the same things that the author is criticizing in her novel. There is also discussion in the book about a women's role in the world especially when she is single, being and staying happy and useful, and a women's influence.
Continuing on with introducing my boys:
Here's a picture of my Charlie, the $5000 dollar cat. If you want to know the story, it's in my first entry to this blog. Sorry, I can't seem to put a link in correctly yet.
Charlie is a sensitive soul and is often whinny. I sometimes joke that he is saying 'I'm a middle-aged eunuch and will whine if I want too". The vet told me that orange and white cats are similar to natural red heads in that there is no pain tolerance.
Charlie my boy, oh Charlie my boy!
These two cool cats are Ruby Tuesday and Hotrod, Charlie's litter mates who live with Auntie Theresa.
