The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

     Have you ever been to Hannibal, Missouri?  I visited this town many years ago.  I do not remember the setting very well, but after reading "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" I would like to return to the hometown of my favorite American storyteller.
     How many Mark Twain novels or short stories have you read?  I have read "The Prince & the Pauper," "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" and, for the first time, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."  There are many more that are on my Must Read list (for instance, Pudd'nhead Wilson & The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn).  Very American in tone, Twain's novels ring with independence, adventure, and essential scrapes and misadventures that accompany old-fashioned boyhood.
     Tom Sawyer is the mischievous, curly-haired boy from St. Petersburg, Missouri, who is always on the look out for trouble and danger.  The epitome of the independent, self-reliant American spirit of the early 1800s, Tom Sawyer steals our hearts and our attention from the beginning. He is always one step ahead of poor Aunt Polly, who adores him in spite of his naughtiness.  Quick as a jack-rabbit and as clever as a fox, Tom leaps from adventure to adventure. 
     Yes, Tom Sawyer is white-washing the fence as a punishment, but not for long.  Perhaps the neighborhood boys may be "coaxed" into helping him.  Also, there is the swell from St. Louis to be dealt with, not to mention the pretty Becky Thatcher, who is new to St. Petersburg.  But let's not forget the cemetery . . . at midnight!
     In a superstitious endeavor to get rid of warts, Tom Sawyer and his friend, the disreputable Huckleberry Finn, creep into the local cemetery.  However, warts are the last thing on their minds when they witness Injun Joe murder the town doctor and then lay the blame of the horrendous crime at drunk Muff Potter's door. Terrified of the ruthless Injun Joe, Tom and Huck make a pact never to tell a soul what they witnessed.  But when Muff Potter is charged with the murder and faces the hangman's noose, will Tom and Huck decide to tell the truth, even if it means their safety?
     St. Petersburg may be small in size, but it is not lacking in thrills and laughter.  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a perfect read for the spring or summer.  I hope you will decide to pick up this wonderful book and view the world through the imperfect, but strikingly honest, eyes of young Tom Sawyer. 

The Pearl of Orr's Island by Harriet Beecher Stowe

     A Story of the Coast of Maine.  
     Let us travel back in time - to the last days of the eighteenth century through the early days of the nineteenth century, to an island of the New England state Maine.  A young woman waits for the return of her husband, ship-master James Lincoln.  The woman's name is Naomi.  With her father Captain Zephaniah Pennel, she watches the ship draw close to land.  Suddenly, before their very eyes, the boat capsizes and sinks.  James Lincoln drowns.
     The tragedy throws Naomi Lincoln into labor.  That very day she gives birth to a girl, and then joins her husband in death.  Before she dies, Naomi names her daughter Mara, a Biblical name meaning 'bitter.'  Zephaniah and his wife Mary, a humble, God-fearing couple, raise their granddaughter in their small home on Orr's Island.  They are aided by the two spinster sisters Miss Roxy and Miss Ruey Toothacre, who figure prominently in the story.
     Mara is the sunshine of her grandparents' lives.  She is a blessing to them and lessens their ache at having lost both daughter and son-in-law.  She is different from most children.  Even as a very small child, she is quiet, pensive, yet cheerful.  Her dearest friend is Sally Kittridge, the daughter of Captain and Mrs. Kittridge.  They live a short walk away from Mara and her family.  Sally is several years older than Mara, but two enjoy playing together.  Captain Kittridge loves Mara, and he tells the girls wonderful stories - all exaggerated but nonetheless engrossing.  Mrs. Kittridge does not approve of her husband's yarns.  She is practical and serious.
     One night, when Mara is still a very little girl, she has a dream of a woman and a small boy.  The woman gives the boy to Mara and then disappears, leaving her child behind.  The next day, Mara and Sally play in the cove along the sea.  While they are playing, Sally finds a bracelet of hair with a lovely clasp.  Mara has a greater discovery: a woman on the beach, holding a small boy in her arms: Victims of a shipwreck.  The woman is dead, but the boy is alive.  No identification, beyond the bracelet, is found on the woman or her son.
     Zephaniah and Mary Pennel and Mara welcome the orphaned boy into their home.  They name him Moses, after the Biblical patriarch who, like the boy, was "drawn out of water."  The boy and girl become inseparable.  Mara takes the boy under her wing, becoming his guardian angel.  He grows up as Mara's brother and Captain and Mrs. Pennel's son.  He remembers nothing of his earlier life, being too young at the time of the shipwreck and his mother's death.
     The pastor of the parish is Rev. Theophilus Sewell.  He is a bachelor, and he lives with his sister, Miss Emily.  Miss Emily is a sweet lady and she adores her brother.  One evening Rev. Sewell and his sister visit the Pennels'.  Captain Pennel shows the hair bracelet and clasp, with the initials 'D.M,' to him.  It is the only link Moses has to his past.  Miss Emily notes a sudden, mysterious change that comes over her brother as he sees the hair bracelet and clasp.  When they return home, Rev. Sewell avoids her probing questions, and locks himself away in his room.
     Moses grows up into a rebellious, arrogant young man.  He admires Mara, a lovely young lady, but he little respects her, and he treats her unkindly.  He flirts with Sally Kittridge, now an independent, coquettish  young woman.  Mara, loving and loyal, has always loved Moses.  She suffers silently, yet remains true to her first and only love.
     Harriet Beecher Stowe's style in The Pearl of Orr's Island is, at times, conversational in tone.  She writes as a silent observer yet as part of her audience, addressing the reader with a familiar 'we' instead of the distant third person.  This mood is played to brilliance as she draws our attention to certain actions or away from certain moments.
     Although Mara was not one of my favorite characters in the story (until closer to the end), I loved Miss Roxy and Miss Ruey.  If you have seen the BBC mini-series Cranford, starring Eileen Atkins and Judi Dench as Miss Deborah and Miss Mattie Jenkins, you will see a striking resemblence in looks and temperament between these two sisters and Miss Roxy and Miss Ruey.
     My next favorite set of characters is Rev. Sewell and his sister Miss Emily.  Rev. Sewell is a refreshing change from the usual pastor-stereotype one finds in most books and films.  He is a character with depth and a surprising past.  He and Miss Emily have several humorous conversations.  Miss Emily is a kind soul, most likely the funniest character in the entire novel.
     I will warn you that the novel can crawl at times, but the story is intriguing.  At times I wanted to knock some sense into one character, and another time I wanted to shake a different character.  But when you care about the people in a story, you know that the author has beautifully created characters worthy of your attention.  

"The Circular Staircase" by Mary Roberts Rinehart

     The hall.  The living room.  The card room.  The billiard room.  No, I'm not referring to Clue.  I'm referring to Mary Rinehart's exciting 1908 mystery novel "The Circular Staircase:" a well-mapped "Who Done It" mystery with a dash of early Edwardian culture to boot.
     Middle-aged spinster, Miss Rachel Innes, rents a large house, Sunnyside, for a summer of relaxation.  Sunnyside has different plans, though.  She is accompanied by her grown nephew and niece, Halsey and Gertrude, respectively, and her maid, Liddy Allen.  Sunnyside is a mansion, with numerous rooms and a circular staircase.  It is owned by a Mr. Paul Armstrong, the owner of the Trader's Bank.  Miss Innes is not long at Sunnyside before becoming emotionally and physically tangled in the confusing web of a first-rate mystery.
     Shortly after her arrival, Miss Innes and her household is visited in the middle of the night by a mysterious invader, who leaves nothing behind except a cuff-link and a few dents on the circular staircase.  The following night, the son of Paul Armstrong is murdered.  The prime suspects are Gertrude's fiance and Halsey.  The police and a detective, Mr. Jamieson, arrive to unravel the mystery, but it is Miss Innes, the teller of the tale, who is the true heroine of the story.  A plucky woman, with a dry sense of humor, Miss Innes is the perfect protagonist for "The Circular Staircase." 

   

"In His Steps" by Charles M. Sheldon

     Hard times have come to the town of Raymond.  The wealthy take little interest in the plight of the poor and down-trodden.  They avoid the worst part of Raymond, referred to as the Triangle by the locals.  
     A lone man, jobless, wanders the streets of Raymond, searching in vain for help.  Eventually, he arrives at the home of a local pastor, Henry Maxwell.  Rev. Maxwell, preoccupied with composing his Sunday sermon, speaks briefly with the man.  He is sorry about the man's unfortunate condition, but he has no job to offer the man.  
     The next day, Sunday, the wealthy members of Rev. Maxwell's church arrive to listen to the well-written sermon and enjoy the lovely voice of Rachel Winslow, a singer in the church choir.
     As the sermon begins, a man, the same man who had been desperately seeking help, stands.  He comes slowly down the aisle, towards the front of the church.  Addressing the congregation, he asks, "What do you Christians mean by following the steps of Jesus? . . . Of course I don't expect you people can prevent everyone from dying of starvation, lack of proper nourishment, and tenement air, but what does following Jesus mean?" (Sheldon, 17 & 18)
     This plain, honest question challenges Rev. Maxwell and, for the better or worse, affects the entire town of Raymond.  Although this story was written over a hundred years ago, the questions the man asks challenges both Christians and non-Christians today.  "What does it mean to be a Christian?"  "How should Christians approach the social ills and troubles of the world?"   "If they did, what would be the consequences in our cities, our society?"

                                                            Matthew 16:24-25  


Sheldon, Charles M.  In His Steps.  23rd ed.  United States of America:  Spire Books a division of Baker Book House Co., 1999.  Paperback.

"Yankee Doodle Boy" by Joseph Plumb Martin

     War!  War with England, the Mother Country.  After the fatal confrontation between British soldiers and New England Patriots in Lexington on April 19, 1775, the original thirteen colonies embarked on an eight year journey, fighting against incredible odds to secure their independence from the world's strongest empire.      
     Whenever you think of the Revolutionary War, what faces and names come to mind?  George Washington?  Benjamin Franklin?  Thomas Jefferson?  Our textbooks tell us of the brave and daring deeds of these great men: of the important documents they wrote, the delicate negotiations they accomplished, the battles they won.  We read of the Continental Army as one large mass of volunteers led by famous and infamous generals.  We remember the generals, but what about the men they led to defeat or victory?  What of their stories? 
    Probably unknown by name to the average person, Joseph Plumb Martin is one of those people who fought for our liberties.  He was only fifteen years old when he signed up to fight the Redcoats in 1776.  He grew up in the Continental army, serving his country until the war ended in 1783.  This Connecticut Yankee experienced the terror of battle and the boredom of camp life.  Martin froze and starved at Valley Forge and witnessed the defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown.  He died in Maine in 1850, but he left to posterity an invaluable account of his service in the Continental Army.  
     His autobiography, published in 1830, was originally entitled "A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier, Interspersed with Anecdotes of Incidents That Occurred Within His Own Observation."  Rather a mouthful, isn't it?  I have never read the original; instead, I have read an edited version of Martin's remarkable story.  "Yankee Doodle Boy" was edited by George F. Scheer in 1964.  It is an excellent story, well edited by Mr. Scheer.  The story of Joseph Plumb Martin takes us behind the scenes of the War for Independence, reminding us that, powdered wigs aside, these colonials were very much like you and me.
     As time passes, dulling our senses as it is prone to do, it is vital that we refresh our frail memories and recall the story of the birth of our nation and men and women and their ideals and beliefs that shaped our country - people like Joseph Plumb Martin.

                                                        God bless the U. S. A.


Information about this edition and Joseph Plumb Martin was paraphrased from this source:
 Scheer, George F.  Yankee Doodle Boy.  Ed. George F. Scheer.  New York: William R. Scott, Inc., 1964.  Paperback 

"Hours with Girls" by Mrs. Margaret E. Sangster

     I cannot take the credit for discovering this treasure.  My mother found it one day and thought it might interest me greatly.  It once belonged to my great-grandmother, Dora Lackner.  On the page leaf, in lovely, old-fashioned penmanship, is written 'Presented to Dora Lackner for learning Beatitudes  Sept. 29, 1900.' 
     "Hours with Girls" grants readers a unique chance to understand the culture and the ideals that shaped the young women of the late Victorian era.  Mrs. Sangster gives advice on such varied topics as dress, leisure time, friends, admirers, faith, and individuality.  Although some of the advice is a little out dated (such as the number of dresses a young lady should have), the majority of wise counsel is relevant to the twenty-first century young lady (such as time management).
     This small book sheds new light on a woman's role in Victorian America.  Mrs. Sangster encouraged girls not to be idle or simply wait to be married.  " . . . do not regard marriage as the only thing worth living for," she says.  "A happy marriage is indeed the crown of a woman's life, but many women live in a large, noble, and useful way, blessing all around them, and yet are never married."
     "Hours with Girls", published in 1881, is a wonderful and relatively easy read.  If you have read Jane Austen, this book will be a breeze!  
     Chapter topics include:  Self-Control, On Paying Your Way, Hospitality, Courage, Reading the Bible, Being Yourself, and Economy and Extravagance.