A Little Girl in Old New York
- Language
- EN
- Format
- EPUB
- Size
- 277 KB
Description
Set in the late 19th century, "A Little Girl in Old New York" by Amanda M. Douglas narrates the experiences of Hannah Ann Underhill, a young girl who moves from her rural home in Yonkers to the rapidly developing city of New York. The novel focuses on her childhood adjustments, highlighting her innocence, family relationships, and her responses to the social changes of the period. The narrative reflects themes common to children’s literature of the era, depicting a child's perspective on a changing urban landscape and the emotional landscape of family life.
The story begins with Hannah Ann and her father discussing their upcoming move, capturing her childlike wonder and the emotional nuances of leaving familiar surroundings. As the plot develops, it portrays her adaptation to city life and her reflections on the transition from rural to urban environments, characteristic of the late 19th-century American social context.
The story begins with Hannah Ann and her father discussing their upcoming move, capturing her childlike wonder and the emotional nuances of leaving familiar surroundings. As the plot develops, it portrays her adaptation to city life and her reflections on the transition from rural to urban environments, characteristic of the late 19th-century American social context.
From the opening pages
"How would you like to go to New York to live, little girl?" The little girl looked up into her father's face to see if he was "making fun." He did sometimes. He was beginning to go down the hill of middle life, a rather stout personage with a fair, florid complexion, brown hair, rough and curly, and a border of beard shaved well away from his mouth. Both beard and hair were getting threads of white in them. His jolly blue eyes were mostly in a twinkle, and his good-natured mouth looked as if he might be laughing at you. She studied him intently. Three months before she had been taken to the city on a visit, and it was a great event. I suspect that her mother did not like being separated from her a whole fortnight. She was such a nice, quiet, well-behaved little girl. Children were trained in those days. Some of them actually took pride in being as nice as possible and obeying the first time they were spoken to, without even asking "Why?" The little girl sat on a stool sewing patchwork. This particular pattern was called a lemon star and had eight diamond-shaped pieces of two colors, filled in with white around the edge, making a square. Her grandmother was coming to "join" it for her, and have it quilted before she was eight years old. She was doing her part with a good will. "To New York?" she repeated very deliberately. Then she went on with her sewing for she had no time to waste. "Yes, Pussy." Her father pinched her cheek softly. The little girl was the most precious thing in the world, he sometimes thought. "What, all of us?" You see she had a mind to understand the case before she committed herself. "Oh, certainly! I don't know as we could leave any one behind." Then he lifted her up in his lap and hugged her, scrubbing her face with his beard which gave her pink cheeks. They both laughed. She held her sewing out with one hand so that the needle should not scratch either of them. "I can't—hardly—tell;" and her face was serious. I want to explain to you that the little girl had not begun with grammar. You may find her making mistakes occasionally. Perhaps the children of to-day do the same thing. "Would we move everything?"…
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