Written by Kathy Dohak
Heaven To Betsy & Betsy In Spite Of Herself
by Maud Hart Lovelace
Surreys, corsets, Merry Widow hats, petticoats and waists-What in the world do these have in common with today’s teens? A lot!
Betsy Ray is a teen in the year 1906, the year these things were popular. She lives in a small town in Minnesota and dreams of visiting the big world someday. She wants to be a writer and her older sister, Julia, wants to be a singer. They attend DeepValley High School and take subjects such as math, history and English. Boys, parties and food are important issues, as well as hairdos and makeup and what to wear. Skating parties and picnics, exams and essays are part of life, with the emphasis being on friends and boys.
Maud Hart Lovelace wrote these books and many others about Betsy and her friends, Tib and Tacy in the 1940s and 1950s. They are based on her life and are filled with interesting characters and culture of that era. What is so striking is that even though the fashions and technology are vastly different from today’s modern teen, the issues and challenges in being a teenager are so similar.
These books are so fun to read. Anyone who is a history buff or “Meet Me In St. Louis” fan will thoroughly enjoy these stories. For you modern, hip girls, these books will be inspiring and very relatable in spite of the year. They are simply timeless. Harper Collins Publishing has put them in their Perennial Modern Classics division and includes forwards from such prominent authors as Meg Cabot, Laura Lippman and Anna Quindlen. There are also original illustrations included by Vera Neville, which are absolutely delightful.
A side note here: These books are published together in one volume, so you get two for the price of one. Stay tuned for the next volume to be reviewed.
Tags: 1940s books, Betsy Ray, books on boys, corsets, Lovelace, Maud Hart Lovelace, Meet Me in St. Louis, Meg Cabot, petticoats
