Daisy Ashford: Her Book

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

25658

Title

Daisy Ashford: Her Book

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

A collection of whimsical, early 20th-century children's stories written by Daisy Ashford at age nine. Featuring the hilarious "The Young Visiters" and the darkly comic "The Jealous Governess," this volume showcases a precocious narrator's unique voice, blending innocent observation with absurdity and unexpected moral complexity.

Summary up to 500 words

Daisy Ashford: Her Book is a unique literary anthology featuring short stories written by Daisy Ashford at the age of nine, alongside contributions from her sister Angela. The collection is framed by a preface from American humorist Irvin S. Cobb, who defends the authenticity of the nine-year-old author against skeptics who claimed an adult hand or Sir James Barrie was responsible. Cobb praises the work's genuine childlike perspective, noting that the stories exude an authoritative genuineness impossible for a professional humorist to replicate. The book opens with "The Young Visiters," a tale of two children navigating love and marriage with baffling logic that delights adult readers. Other stories include "A Short Story of Love and Marriage," which chronicles a couple's disastrous honeymoon in India resulting in the birth of twins mere hours after arrival, and "The True History of Leslie Woodcock," a narrative involving a robbery and a dramatic shift in fortune. The most significant piece, "The Jealous Governess," tells the story of Miss Junick, a governess who, unable to bear the sight of her employer's beautiful baby, plots to steal it. Her plan succeeds, leading to a frantic search. The story reveals a twist ending where the stolen child is identified as the narrator's own brother, Charlie, who had been missing for years. The narrative explores themes of jealousy, the innocence of childhood, and the dark undercurrents of adult behavior viewed through a child's eyes. The text retains original spelling errors and punctuation quirks to preserve the author's youthful voice, creating a charming and historically significant artifact. The collection also includes a story by Angela Ashford, "The Jealous Governess; or The Granted Wish," which details the mechanics of childbirth and the subsequent theft of the infant. Through these tales, the book offers a fascinating glimpse into the development of a young genius, capturing the progression of her observation and imagination from age eight to thirteen.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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data/epubs/pg25658.epub

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Categories

• Short Stories
• Fiction