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Loading... Meet the Maitlands (1978)by Noel Streatfeild
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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There's humour in the story as well, and misunderstandings; I was amused by Violet, the precocious 14-year-old who falsifies a reference in order to become a governess, and concerned for Priscilla, mother of five, who is frail and regularly ill (presumably with tuberculosis). Most of all, though, I found her son John getting under my skin; at ten his father wants him to go to boarding school, but John is a gentle, sensitive boy who loves to sit and dream, and who would be devastated by the harshness of the preparatory schools of his era.
So there's a bit of social history, a lot of 'ordinary' family life of the era, and a few of the author's opinions about education and the importance of treating each child as a unique individual. But most of all I enjoyed the people and the story - started one day, I could hardly put it down, and finished it this morning. Not that it's a long book (about 120 pages in all) - but I was only intending to read a chapter or two at bedtime over a week or so.
Definitely recommended to anyone who enjoys children's fiction of this genre. ( )