Tag: antique books

Sam’s Mission: A Story of Jubilee Year, by Beatrice Marshall

This lovely little children’s book published in 1892 is set in Long Leatham, England, at the time of Jubilee Day, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne. Sam is a young boy about eight or nine years old who one day goes to church and hears a traveling missionary say that … Continue reading Sam’s Mission: A Story of Jubilee Year, by Beatrice Marshall →

The Real Diary of a Real Boy by Henry A. Shute

As previously posted, I love diaries, and I found many diaries online, including Mark Twain’s “discoveries” of Adam’s Diary and Eve’s Diary.  Then I looked at an actual diary from 1771, written by Anna Green Winslow of Boston, noticing that, in many respects, what was important to this 12-year-old girl in the 18th century is … Continue reading The Real Diary of a Real Boy by Henry A. Shute →

Diary of Anna Green Winslow, a Boston School Girl of 1771

In previous posts, I wrote about my absolute joy in reading Extracts from Adam’s Diary and Eve’s Diary.  Reading (and even re-reading) some parts of these made me laugh almost to exhaustion. Other parts were serious and surprisingly tender compared to the other books I’ve read by Mark Twain. At Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org) I also … Continue reading Diary of Anna Green Winslow, a Boston School Girl of 1771 →

Diaries from Hundreds—even Thousands—of Years Ago

I love diaries, and have written in various forms of journals since I was about 10 years old.  I enjoy reading them almost as much as writing them, and find reliving first hand experiences (yes, even my own) fascinating, educational and often humorous and inspiring.   At Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org) I found many diaries available … Continue reading Diaries from Hundreds—even Thousands—of Years Ago →

Review of The Little Hunchback Zia by Frances Hodgson Burnett

“And it came to pass nigh upon nineteen hundred and sixteen years ago” This begins Frances Hodgson Burnett’s little book published in 1916 about a rejected, deformed orphan boy who is sent to beg for the cruel woman who keeps him. One day, hiding in the brush near the road to Bethlehem, he watches a … Continue reading Review of The Little Hunchback Zia by Frances Hodgson Burnett →

Discovering Out of Town Book Stores

While on holiday visiting relatives in the Denver area, I decided to check the yellow pages for used bookstores, just in case I had some time to visit them. And I lucked out and got to go to three of them! The Bookworm in Boulder, Colorado This bookstore came highly recommended by a friend of … Continue reading Discovering Out of Town Book Stores →

Review of Looking Backward 2000 – 1887, Part 3

Romance, 1887-style!  Or…was it 2000-style? In the introduction to the 1915 printing of this book published in 1887, Sylvester Baxter describes the novel as “the ingenious device by which a man of the 19th century is transferred to the end of the 20th”, and notes that in the decade that followed its publication, the world … Continue reading Review of Looking Backward 2000 – 1887, Part 3 →

Review of Looking Backward 2000 – 1887, Part 2

In a recent post I began describing this 1887 book written by Edward Bellamy. Here is more about the author. The first page leaves no doubt as to why he wrote this book . “We ask to put forth just our strength, our human strength, All starting fairly, all equipped alike. But when full roused, … Continue reading Review of Looking Backward 2000 – 1887, Part 2 →