Penelope's English Experiences

Kate Douglas Wiggin

Jan 2005 · Cosimo, Inc.

About this ebook

I get on charmingly with the English nobility and sufficiently well with the gentry, but the upper servants strike terror to my soul. There is something awe-inspiring to me about an English butler.-from Chapter IIPenelope Hamilton is a young American lady, genteelly poor, abroad in England with her friends Francesca, who is young and flighty, and Salemina, a sophisticated gentlewoman. Together they explore the British way of life, from the bustling Saturday-night street markets and the polite fiction of privacy courting couples enjoy on park strolls to elegant balls at which young ladies make their social debuts to the cheery innkeepers who take the travelers under their wing.First published in 1900, this is a long-forgotten classic from one of the most beloved authors of young adult fiction... the kind that adults enjoy even more than children do. Brew a pot of tea and settle in for a delightful read.American author and educator KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN (1856-1923) was born in Philadelphia. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 but is perhaps best known as the author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903).

About the author

Kate Douglas Wiggin was born Sept. 28, 1856, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wiggin attended a district school in Philadelphia and for short periods the Gorham Female Seminary in Maine, the Morison Academy in Maryland, and the Abbott Academy in Massachusetts. In 1873 she moved with her family to California. In San Francisco, in 1877, after the death of her stepfather, Kate became involved in the "free kindergarten" movement after attending a kindergarten training class at the Pacific Model Training School for Kindergartners. She opened the first free kindergarten in California, Silver Street Free Kindergarten, and worked there until the late 1880's. Wiggin organized the first free kindergartens on the Pacific coast in 1878 and with her sister established a training school for kindergarten teachers. Kate wrote and privately published her first book, The Birds' Christmas Carol, in order to raise money for her school in San Francisco. The book helped Kate begin her career in publishing, translation, and travel. As part of her teaching career she wrote The Story of Patsy, published in 1883. The most popular among her many later works for children were The Birds¿ Christmas Carol published in 1887, Timothy¿s Quest published in 1890, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm published in 1903, and Mother Carey¿s Chickens published in 1911. Wiggin is best known for Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm which was later made into a film starring Shirley Temple. Other works include The Diary of a Goose Girl, Rose O' the River, The Flag-Raising, The Old Peabody Pew, and books of the Penelope series, including Penelope's English Experiences, Penelope's Experiences in Scotland, Penelope's Irish Experiences, and Penelope's Postscripts. In 1904, Bowdoin College presented Wiggin with an honorary degree, only the second such degree the College had ever granted to a woman. Kate Wiggin died on August 24th, 1923 at Harrow, Middlesex, England.