Synopses & Reviews
"Historical fiction buffs, especially those interested in the womens suffrage movement, will enjoy sharing the eye-opening experiences of Mable Riley." — PUBLISHERS WEEKLYIts the year 1901, and fourteen-year-old aspiring writer Mable Riley is on her way to fulfilling her dreams, or so she hopes. After moving with her sister to a faraway town, Mable meets a real writer, one who wears daring fashions, unnerves the townsfolk by sharing her opinions, and has a few shocking secrets as well. Designed as a vintage journal, MABLE RILEY follows a feisty girl as she finds her own voice in a time when women struggled for independence — a charmingly told tale that is as funny as it is inspiring.
Synopsis
In 1901, fourteen-year-old Mable Riley dreams of being a writer and having adventures while stuck in Perth County, Ontario, assisting her sister in teaching school and secretly becoming friends with a neighbor who holds scandalous opinions on women's rights.Fourteen-year-old Mable Riley dreams of being a writer and having adventures while in Perth County, Ontario, aiding her sister in teaching school and becoming friends with a neighbor with scandalous opinions on women's rights.
Synopsis
It is 1901 and Mable Riley dreams of adventure and of becoming a writer. When her older sister leaves home to become a schoolmistress in the small town of Stratford, Ontario, Mable is sent along too. Mable hopes her new world will be full of peril and romance. But life at the Goodhand Farm (where the sisters board), is as humdrum as the one she's left behind.
Then Mable encounters the mysterious Mrs. Rattle, a peculiar widow with a taste for upsetting the townspeople with her strange opinions. Mrs. Rattle is a "real writer, and Mable eagerly accepts her invitation to a meeting of the Ladies Reading Society. But the ladies are not discussing books at all, and Mable may soon have more peril than she'd bargained for!
Composed of the letters Mable sends home, the poems she writes for her classmates, and chapters from her own work-in-progress, "Mable Riley is the funny, inspiring, (and reliable) record of a young girl finding her voice, and the courage to make it heard.
About the Author
Marthe Jocelyn is an award-winning author and illustrator who worked for many years as a toy designer before turning her hand to writing. She has written six novels, including the critically acclaimed works of historical fiction,
Mable Riley and
Earthly Astonishments. Jocelyn has also written a nonfiction account of the Foundling Hospital in London, England, entitled
, A Home for Foundlings. She has created eight picture books, one of which,
Hannahs Collections, was shortlisted for a Governor Generals Literary Award for Illustration. Jocelyn has also edited two collections of short stories. Marthe Jocelyn divides her time between New York and Stratford, Ontario.
From the Hardcover edition.