Showing results by author "Pansy" in All Categories

Stephen Mitchell is a young man struggling to find his place in the world. He dreads the endless hours spent on the family farm, which he loathes, and feels unqualified for most jobs in town due to his limited formal education. As a loner, he grapples with self-consciousness and awkwardness, making it difficult for him to connect with boys his age or even approach a young lady. However, fate intervenes when he attends a lecture at the Chautauqua camp meeting. For the first time, Stephen feels a spark of inspiration to take a small step toward self-improvement. That single step sets off a chain...

Continuing the charming tales of the Ried family, younger sister Julia now embarks on her own journey of overcoming temptation, making tough choices, and finding her way on the path to true faith and love. Facing exceptional and difficult situations with her family, Julia sets out at a young age to find ways to support herself and her ailing mother.

Dell Bronson arrives in Lewiston unsure of what awaits her, but with a strong sense of her identity and of her duty to help her estranged father. However, as she finds herself at great odds with her father, his alcoholism, and the town’s stubborn refusal to give up their ways, she begins to question her mission. It is then that she must remember who her true Father is and how to live out of obedience, rather than understanding, as she awaits God’s plan for her life and for this seemingly hopeless town.

Seventh book in the Chautauqua Girls series. Written by Isabella Alden under the pseudonym “Pansy.” Erskine, Ruth's son (a 5-year-old at the end of Judge Burnham’s Daughters) is now a grown man, and Ruth is 50-something. He brings home an American wife from Paris, a woman who seems to want to tear apart mother and son. But Irene has some big secrets to hide. (Summary by TriciaG) Previous book in series: Workers Together, or, An Endless Chain Next book in series: Four Mothers at Chautauqua

Short stories and sketches all relating in some way to temperance and advocating for prohibition. Each story looks at a different facet of the issue. It is presumably children's literature, but most of it would not be understood by the younger set. I recommend pre-teens and older for these stories. - Summary by TriciaG

Rebecca Harlowe is a young woman who strives to apply Christ's instructions in the Bible to her daily life and relationships. In this book we witness some of her successes and failures and the effect of her example on those around her. (Summary by BookAngel7)

Two stories about young people. "Gertrude's Diary" is written by a young girl. She and her three friends have given to them Bible verses each month, and they journal about how well their lives measure up to the verses. In "The Cube", a society is formed of 27 cousins and friends, who perform plays for each other to guess what event in history the scenes are portraying. - Summary by TriciaG

Third book in the Chautauqua Girls series. Written by Isabella Alden under the pseudonym Pansy.Ruth's father brings home a wife and daughter, after 18 years, that Ruth had never known about. Suddenly she is no longer the queen of her home. And what's worse, the new mother and sister are rude and antagonistic. How will Ruth bear this cross? (Summary by Tricia G) Previous book in series: The Chautauqua Girls at Home Next book in series: Ester Ried Yet Speaking

A tale of human choices and lost opportunities, and how one's choices affect so many other lives, for good or ill. A borrowed watch. A selfish younger brother. An engagement and flirtation. A trip to the city to replace the watch turns David Ransom's life in a whole new direction. - Summary by TriciaG

Now that the railroad has come through, Christie Tucker's parents have decided to save enough for her to go to her well-to-do Uncle Daniel for a one-day visit, on Christmas, which is also Christie's birthday. It's her first trip away from home -- and on the cars! Of course, the trip doesn't turn out exactly as expected. That one day, and how Christie lived it, has consequences that keep coming! Addressed by the author to girls, it is still a pleasant story for adults, too. (Summary by TriciaG)

>Fifth in the Chautauqua Girls series. Ruth Erskine Burnham has helped raise her husband's two daughters, but all have rejected her faith and values. The constant pressure to compromise has weakened her walk and made her life miserable. Her one comfort is her sickly 5 year old son. Will she return to the strong faith of her young womanhood, and will her family finally follow? (Summary by Tricia G) Previous book in series: Ester Ried Yet Speaking Next book in series: Workers Together, or, An Endless Chain

Dell Bronson has been reared in Boston by her refined uncle and aunt until, at age 18, she is called home by her father, a coarse tavern owner in Lewiston. As a daughter of the heavenly King, she strives to honor her heavenly Father by wooing her earthly father to Christ and away from rum. Set in the era of the temperance movement of the 1800's. Authored by Isabella M. Alden under the pen name "Pansy." Third in the Ester Ried series. (Summary by TriciaG)Previous book in series: Julia RiedNext book in series: Wise and Otherwise

Two short stories about young people who find themselves in difficult circumstances, written in 1880. Next Things relates of two brothers, recently orphaned. They cannot live together anymore, so one goes to a wealthy home on the edge of town, and the other goes to work in a grocer's shop. Each takes their mother's advice to find the next thing to do, and do it. In Dorrie's Day we have a grown-up little girl who gets lost on a train, and relates the family's search for her and her own adventures. Both of the stories contain a temperance theme. - Summary by TriciaG

Two short stories by Pansy. In "What She Said and What She Meant," Mrs. Marks detests gossip and avoids it as much as she can. But what she does say is vague and suggestive. It is taken, added to, and passed on by others, so that it is no longer what she meant, and threatens to ruin people's reputations and lives in the process. In "People Who Haven't Time and Can't Afford It," Mrs. Leymon is awakened to the needs of the abject poor in her town and works out how to help them. But will she find anyone able and willing to give of their time and money to help her with the scheme? (Summary by ...

Short stories for the young and young-at-heart. Included are a family with an overly-strict father and free-spirited daughter; a series of "just happened" circumstances (orchestrated by God, of course); a reminiscence of two poor medical students; a moral dilemma placed before a minister; and a few short pieces about various children, each with its moral lesson. (Summary by TriciaG)Note that "Dr. Deane's Way" ends abruptly, with the feeling that it's an incomplete story. There are, in fact, only the four chapters.

Stephen Mitchell is a young man without a place in the world. He hates farming, although he works endless hours on the poor family farm. He isn't qualified for many jobs in town since he's had very little formal schooling. And he is a loner because he’s too self-conscious and awkward to speak to other boys his age, let alone a young lady. But Providence puts Stephen in the middle of a lecture at the Chautauqua camp meeting. For the first time in his life, Stephen is inspired to take one small step toward improving himself. And that single small step soon begets another. - Summary by TriciaG

The Cameron family tries to keep up in society despite their more limited finances, by "making a dollar look to [their] friends as though it was ten dollars," much to the harried father's embarrassment and potential ruin. In addition to the financial stress, the youngest daughter has been "bringing up herself," such that she's on the road to moral peril. This story follows the life of the family as they walk the tightrope between social acceptability and financial stability, moral failure and strength through the guidance of Jesus Christ. - Summary by TriciaG

What would have happened if Christ hadn't come to Israel 2000 years ago, but had come to North America at the end of the 19th Century? This story makes that assumption and paints a picture of what it might have looked like - how different members of society might have reacted. The story follows David Holman, an invalid young man at the opening of the story. - Summary by TriciaGNote: the text source linked is missing the last 4 pages of the story. The missing portion was recorded from this text: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/...

Fiction, or fact? The narrator asserts it's fact. The narrator is an author, whom her little nieces call "Auntie Belle". There's also an "Auntie Dule" (proper name Julia), Grandpa and Grandma, Mama and Papa, and eventually an Uncle Ross (Isabella Alden's husband, Gustavus Rossenberg Alden). The book is made up of vignettes of the funny sayings or doings of little Minnie and little Gracie, and how these lead to Grandpa's wise lessons for both the little ones and the adults. - Summary by TriciaG

Esther Ried Randall tries to live up to her parents' expectations and the name she's been given, but her religion is a chore. Will she learn the lesson of faith that Ester did? Fifth and final book in the Ester Ried series. Authored by Isabella M. Alden under the pen name “Pansy.” (Summary written by Tricia G)