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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By "wendy4139"
Format:Paperback
What a lovely book. Polly the old-fashioned girl who lives in the country visits her friends in the city. She is quite poor and somehow doesn't quite fit in with the city life of posh clothes and parties. She does, however, treat the family with such love and care and is so keen to help others. She stays for about 6 weeks and then some time later returns to the city to work as a music teacher, and makes friends with like minded people who also want to help others. When her city friends are poor she remains firm friends and supports them, she is even looked on as another member of the family. This is an inspiring book and really made me want to take after Polly and the story ends "happily-ever-after"
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Polly Milton goes to visit her wealthy cousins, Fanny, Tom and Maud Shaw. While there she discovers how differently her parents raised her, and in the long run, what a benefit this was. She is well equipped to deal with her familys money problems later on in life, she is able to use her talents to the full and she is also able to help the Shaw family when they too fall on hard times. Louisa May Alcott portrays a girl cheerfully trying to make the best of every situation, without losing any of the real (and sometimes less than saintly)emotions felt by any young girl just entering adulthood. All in all, a terrific book. And of course theres the requisite romantic happy ending, but I won't give too much away about that!
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Louisa May Alcott is best known for her classic coming-of-age novel "Little Women." But she tackles an entirely different part of growing up in "An Old Fashioned Girl," the story of a country mouse living with a wealthy urban family in late 19th-century America. It gets rather prissy and moralistic in places, but has a measure of earnest charm.
Teenage Polly Milton is arriving in the city (New York?) for the first time, to stay with her uncle and aunt. She immediately sticks out because of her prosaic clothing and lack of chic. Her cousin Fan Shaw (also about fourteen) is already dressed like a young woman, and hangs out with a gang of shallow, trendy girls. On the other hand, Polly befriends old ladies, sings Scottish airs, and reads books on history. Can she fit in? What's more... does she really want to?
Fast forward about five or six years: The Shaw family learns that Polly is returning to the city, intending to give music lessons to help support her brother. Time hasn't really changed Polly -- she's still sweet-natured, morally upright and kind to everyone. But the Shaw family is in serious financial trouble -- and Polly will help out the only way she knows how.
Like "Little Women," this book was written in two halves, which might explain why the second half is so much better than the first. The first isn't bad, but it suffers from too much prissiness. Virtually every story centres on Polly's moral struggles, in a very preachy manner. Her story is far more engaging when she learns confidence and strength, not when she's wavering about peer pressure.
Despite the preachy edge, Alcott's writing withstands the test of time -- strong, descriptive and pleasant.... Read more ›
Teenage Polly Milton is arriving in the city (New York?) for the first time, to stay with her uncle and aunt. She immediately sticks out because of her prosaic clothing and lack of chic. Her cousin Fan Shaw (also about fourteen) is already dressed like a young woman, and hangs out with a gang of shallow, trendy girls. On the other hand, Polly befriends old ladies, sings Scottish airs, and reads books on history. Can she fit in? What's more... does she really want to?
Fast forward about five or six years: The Shaw family learns that Polly is returning to the city, intending to give music lessons to help support her brother. Time hasn't really changed Polly -- she's still sweet-natured, morally upright and kind to everyone. But the Shaw family is in serious financial trouble -- and Polly will help out the only way she knows how.
Like "Little Women," this book was written in two halves, which might explain why the second half is so much better than the first. The first isn't bad, but it suffers from too much prissiness. Virtually every story centres on Polly's moral struggles, in a very preachy manner. Her story is far more engaging when she learns confidence and strength, not when she's wavering about peer pressure.
Despite the preachy edge, Alcott's writing withstands the test of time -- strong, descriptive and pleasant.... Read more ›
By Elizabeth S. Wells
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had this book as a girl and was delighted to find it again. Though written by the author of "Little Women" this is different and more individual. It is the story of a poor girl going to live with her rich relatives. Then the tables are turned and she is able to help them through times of poverty due to bancruptcy. She shares all the little "tricks" to save money and "make do and mend". This is a completely new world to them, but her familiar ground. A really lovely story, beautifully told. The Best of Louisa May Alcott: Little Women, Good Wives, Little Men, Jo's Boys, An Old-Fashioned Girl, Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom (Annotated 7 great books in one)
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
arrived on time and in good condition,there will many hours enjoyable reading for her to come. thank you look forward to shopping with you again
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By classic kid
Format:Paperback
Having read Little Women, Good Wives and Eight Cousins, I was very excited about reading An Old-Fashioned Girl. However, I found it hard to get interested in this book, unlike the page-turning effect of Alcotts other books.
At first, Alcott gets you really excited about the story ahead, but this enthusiasim soon bubbles away to nothing as the droll, boring story line plays out in a rather too stretched space. Perhaps if this book had been shortened, it could have been more interesting and enjoyable.
Three hundred pages seem wasted on the boring recital of Polly's stay with her cousins as nothing INTERESTING actually happens. In most classics, this domestic based style normally fascinates and keeps the pages turning but this time I was falling asleep.
By the time the second half of the book begins, continuing the story three years on, the reader really wants to finish the book and start on something new. If this extra section had to be added, it should have been made into another book.
Sorry, Louisa, but this could have been a good book if the editing was better.
At first, Alcott gets you really excited about the story ahead, but this enthusiasim soon bubbles away to nothing as the droll, boring story line plays out in a rather too stretched space. Perhaps if this book had been shortened, it could have been more interesting and enjoyable.
Three hundred pages seem wasted on the boring recital of Polly's stay with her cousins as nothing INTERESTING actually happens. In most classics, this domestic based style normally fascinates and keeps the pages turning but this time I was falling asleep.
By the time the second half of the book begins, continuing the story three years on, the reader really wants to finish the book and start on something new. If this extra section had to be added, it should have been made into another book.
Sorry, Louisa, but this could have been a good book if the editing was better.
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