Tish: The Chronicle of Her Escapades and Excursions

Those expecting The Circular Staircase or The Man in Lower Ten are bound to be quite disappointed. Not only because Tish is a comic novel rather than a mystery, like most of Mary Roberts Rinehart's other novels, but because Tish is so dated in so many ways.

I struggled mightily with how many stars to give Tish. On the one hand, anyone younger than 35 or 40 would be appalled by Tish: Its characters casually use racial epithets and its African-Americans and servants are walking stereotypes. In addition, Rinehart portrays middle-aged women as mulish and foolish -- and in constant need of their nephew Charlie Sands to save them from their gullibility and stupidity. My own daughters would loathe this book.

Older readers might be more willing show more to overlook the racism, sexism and ageism and chuckle along with the predicaments in which the main character, Leticia "Tish" Carberry, embroils her two spinster friends, Aggie and Lizzie. But the situations are wholly predictable, with Tish falling for some obvious flim-flam and her nephew saving the day. Tish doesn't hold up nearly as well as the more appealing and humorous Jean Webster's Daddy Long Legs, which dates from the same era. Rather than come off as opinionated and spunky like Judy Abbot, Tish just seems pig-headed and dim-witted.

Granted, Tish was published in 1916, and Rinehart can't be held to our current standards of morality or sophistication; Even so, I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel, More Tish, even though it's free in the Kindle format. show less

These stories from the 1910s are amusing for the most part although they do display some of the racist attitudes of the times (regarding all people of color) which I found particularly bothersome in the second story "Like a Wolf in the Fold".

The 3 main characters - Tish Carberry, Aggie Pilkington, and the narrator Lizzie (I don't recall her last name) - are women "of a certain age" who, while being members of good standing in their church, still manage to defy convention and get into all sorts of adventures. In one of the best stories in the collection, "The Simple Life", the 3 live off the land in the Maine woods! Surprisingly (or not, if you are familiar with Tish) that is the easy part - they manage to get mixed up with bootleggers show more and assist in a romance as well. show less

For a while I was considering giving this two stars as I felt like the author reused plots, and that this volume lacked the charm of the first book. There was also noticeable racism, which of course reflect the society of the time, but was absent in the first book. However the final story lifted the rating for me and ended the book on a good note. Many thanks to the Librivox narrator for her terrific reading.

These stories from the 1910s are amusing for the most part although they do display some of the racist attitudes of the times (regarding all people of color) which I found particularly bothersome in the second story "Like a Wolf in the Fold".

The 3 main characters - Tish Carberry, Aggie Pilkington, and the narrator Lizzie (I don't recall her last name) - are women "of a certain age" who, while being members of good standing in their church, still manage to defy convention and get into all sorts of adventures. In one of the best stories in the collection, "The Simple Life", the 3 live off the land in the Maine woods! Surprisingly (or not, if you are familiar with Tish) that is the easy part - they manage to get mixed up with bootleggers show more and assist in a romance as well. show less

Three middle aged ladies have fun and adventures (outrageous ones). Set in the days of WWI. Very amusingly written.