Mable Riley: A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril, and Romance

By Marthe Jocelyn and Ishbel Ross

Book Overview

"Historical fiction buffs, especially those interested in the women s suffrage movement, will enjoy sharing the eye-opening experiences of Mable Riley." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY It s the year 1901, and fourteen-year-old aspiring writer Mable Riley is on her way to fulfilling her dreams, or so she hopes. After moving with her sister to a faraway town, Mable meets a real writer, one who wears daring fashions, unnerves the townsfolk by sharing her opinions, and has a few shocking secrets as well. Designed as a vintage journal, MABLE RILEY follows a feisty girl as she finds her own voice in a time when women struggled for independence a charmingly told tale that is as funny as it is inspiring."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0763632872
• ISBN13: 9780763632878
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Candlewick
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.7" x 0.8" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Four-and-a-half Stars (if only such a rating existed!)

Mable Riley, a bundle of original energy, has recently moved to a small community in Canada, in 1901. As the story opens, and much to Mable's delight, she leaves her "crowded" house to accompany her sister on what Mable hopes will be a true adventure. The lively story includes hard work, nosy neighbors, pesky boys, a hint of romance, and a friendship with the local "trouble making" spinster. The story includes passages of Mable's own writings - the melodramatic tale she is posting back to her old schoolmates in segments. I liked the "real" story more, but found the whole book a great escape on a rainy day.

Mable Ri;ey

1901, Stratford, Ontario. Mable Riley has been sent off with her sister, Viola, to accompany her to her first teaching post. Mable hopes for excitement and romance, and despite the drag of daily chores and sibling rivalry, finds adventure when she befriends the eccentric Mrs. Rattle and her Ladies Reading Society. For bloomer-clad Mrs. Rattle is a real writer and her reading group are actually (gasp!) suffragists! Women's rights, a mill strike, and Mable's first kiss are all told through Mable's diary, letters home, and the poems she writes for Viola's classes. Comparisons to Anne of Green Gables are inevitable and deserved. Fun, irreverent, and anything but didactic.