8 h 10 minAudiobook11 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when three spirited American women bring their habits, curiosity and quick humour to Ireland?
Penelope Hamilton keeps a lively diary as she and her companions explore Irish towns and countryside. In Penelope's Irish Experiences, Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin turns ordinary travel into small comic scenes. Scenery, inns and local people give Penelope plenty to notice, and her sharp eye makes the journey as much about people as places.
The three women share a friendship, but their differences help shape the fun. American habits meet Irish ways, and these confident visitors see much to enjoy and remark upon. This is Ireland through the eyes of tourists of their era: a light travel novel where cheerful curiosity, little portraits and the manners of the time matter more than a driving plot.
What you’ll discover
- A lively travelling companion See the journey through Penelope's quick eye, warm curiosity and love of fun.
- Friendship on the road Enjoy three spirited women whose shared travels bring their differences into comic focus.
- Ireland through visitors' eyes Follow the travellers through towns, countryside and inns, noticing the people they meet.
- Small scenes, gentle laughter Find the comedy in ordinary travel as American habits encounter Irish ways.
- The charm of an era Step into a travel diary that reflects the manners and assumptions of its time.
Who will love it
Readers who love comic travel writing, Irish songs and fairy lore, warm female friendships, and a gentle romance with matchmakers in the wings. It suits anyone planning an armchair tour of Ireland.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Three friends arrive in Dublin
- A derelict on the wool sacks
- Benella Dusenberry joins the party
- Dublin, a Queen and a castle dinner
- Waterford, the Blackwater and Cromwell's bed
- Cork, Dr. La Touche and Kerry
- North to Antrim, Derry and Donegal
- Connemara rain, coach tourists and fairies
- Royal Meath, the Old Hall and Aunt David's garden
Who’s who
- Penelope BeresfordA married painter who tells the story, loves legends, and cannot resist arranging other people's romances.
- Salemina PeabodyA gentle, silver-haired spinster from Salem who rescues strangers and hides a youthful romance in Ireland.
- Francesca MonroeA lively young beauty engaged to a Scottish minister, quick with teasing and fond of mad plans.
- Benella DusenberryA frail but determined New England girl who attaches herself as maid and proves surprisingly capable.
- Dr. Gerald La ToucheA gentle Irish scholar and widower with two untidy children, who needs a push to say what he feels.
- Broona and JackeenThe scholar's small daughter and son, charming and unruly, who cling at once to Salemina.
- HimselfPenelope's absent husband, William Beresford, a man who cannot refuse anyone in need.
- Ronald MacdonaldFrancesca's Scottish minister, whose letters she treasures and whose parish keeps him in the Highlands.
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 8 h 10 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 11 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Penelopes irische Erlebnisse
by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin · 1901
Three American women in Ireland take in a fainting stranger from Salem and wander on to Meath.
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In short
Penelope's Irish Experiences is the third book in Kate Douglas Wiggin's comic travel series, which follows three American women across Britain. It is told in the first person by Penelope Beresford, a painter and new wife.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Three friends arrive in Dublin
The story opens at O'Carolan's Private Hotel in Dublin. Penelope notes how odd it is that she, Salemina and Francesca are in Ireland together. She jokes that they are characters in a series, with England as volume one, Scotland as volume two and Ireland as volume three.
Penelope's husband, called Himself, has gone back to America. He is a man who cannot refuse anyone in need, and a cousin's widow and a dead friend's orphan have called him home. Francesca's Scottish minister, Ronald Macdonald, cannot leave his new parish in the Highlands. So the three women settle by a peat fire with the table set for three.
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What is Penelope's Irish Experiences about?
It follows three American women, Penelope, Francesca and Salemina, as they tour Ireland and take in a stranded girl from Salem. The book mixes comic mishaps, legends and songs with a gentle matchmaking plot.
Do I need to read the earlier Penelope books first?
No. The narrator explains who the three friends are and how they came to travel together. The earlier books on England and Scotland add background, but this volume stands comfortably on its own.
Who is Benella Dusenberry?
Benella is a young woman from Salem, Massachusetts, who collapses on Salemina's trunk at the Dublin dock. She insists on becoming the travelers' maid and turns into a hard-working, outspoken companion.
The author
Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin
1856–1923 · American children's writer
Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin (1856–1923) was an American writer and teacher. She was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Maine. She later lived in San Francisco, where she worked in kindergarten education. Her books include Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903) and Penelope’s Irish Experiences (1901). She died in England.
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