Summary
Summary of Dorothy's Triumph
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Home holds promises and worries
Dorothy Calvert returns from school eager to see Aunt Betty and the household that has welcomed her as family. Her childhood friend Jim has his own ambition: to learn electricity and earn his living as an apprentice. Dorothy promises him room for a laboratory.
Yet home is not free from worry. Ephraim says something about the property troubles Aunt Betty, and Dorothy remembers earlier money losses. Against that uneasiness comes a hopeful surprise: a violin teacher has been chosen to help fulfill Uncle Seth's wish for her.
Key idea 2
A teacher hears her promise
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Key idea 3
The holiday becomes a shared adventure
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Key idea 4
A frightened boy finds protection
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Key idea 5
Practice opens a public door
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Key idea 6
Love lies behind the bargain
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Key idea 7
A stalled yacht threatens her chance
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Key idea 8
Confidence grows through work and friendship
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Key idea 9
Ambition leaves room for affection
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
Readers who love warm tales of girlhood, friendship and music, and anyone curious about early motoring, camp life and the stage as people knew them over a century ago.
What this book is
Dorothy's Triumph is a novel for young readers by Evelyn Raymond, who died in 1910. It belongs to a series about Dorothy Calvert, a Maryland girl who once did not know her own family and now lives in comfort at her great-aunt's old estate. This volume follows her from a train ride home from school, through a camping trip, to the doors of a New York concert hall.
The heart of the book is a talent and a wish. Dorothy wants to be a violinist, and her late Uncle Seth wanted the same for her. A kindly German teacher, a theatrical manager, a runaway boy found on a mountain, and a houseful of loyal servants all play a part in her road. Along the way you meet early motorcars, a trout stream, a Christmas feast with a burning log, and a yacht that will not start.
Under the cheerful scenes runs a quiet worry about money and the future of the family home. You get a warm picture of friendship, family loyalty and ambition in the years before 1910, told in short scenes that move quickly. Let us begin where Dorothy does, on the train, humming a song about her home state.
In this summary
- 1Dorothy comes home to a worried auntFree
- 2A gentle master tests her playing
- 3A motorcar, a party, and Camp Breck
- 4A cry in the night brings Len
- 5Fish, a cave, and a moonlit ride
- 6Lessons, discipline and a first concert
- 7Christmas at Bellvieu and a hard bargain
- 8New York, a yacht, and a night at anchor
- 9Ambition, loyalty and a light touch
Key point 1 of 9
Dorothy comes home to a worried aunt
The story opens on a train racing through Maryland toward Baltimore. Dorothy Calvert is coming home from the school at Oak Knowe in Canada, where she has spent nine months. With her are Jim Barlow, a friend from her childhood on the Hudson, and Ephraim, the old servant of her great-aunt, Mrs. Betty Calvert. Dorothy hums a song about Maryland, and Jim surprises her by saying he now feels the state is his own.
As the miles pass, we learn how Dorothy came to be here. She was left as a baby with an aunt who did not want the trouble, and she grew up with foster parents, Mother Martha and Father John. Later Aunt Betty met her, grew fond of her, and welcomed her as family at a house called Deerhurst. Dorothy still calls her good fortune too strange to be true. She also tells Jim about her school friends, including a proud English girl named Gwendolyn, who first disliked her and later became a close friend after each girl saved the other from danger.
Jim has a plan of his own. He wants to learn electricity from the ground up and means to begin as an apprentice in Baltimore, earning his own living. Dorothy believes he will succeed, since the word fail is not in his vocabulary. Dr. Sterling, a geologist who once took Jim under his wing, has given him this advice, and Jim has asked for his books and equipment to be sent on to Bellvieu. Dorothy promises him a big room where he can build a laboratory.
Ephraim brings a worry into the talk. He says Aunt Betty is not the woman she was, and that something about the old place troubles her. Dorothy remembers that money was lost the summer before, and that the city and certain firms have wanted Bellvieu for years. She longs to comfort her aunt at once, though she knows a boy and a girl can do little against a matter of many thousands of dollars. This quiet fear runs under the whole book.
At the station the Calvert carriage waits, driven by Metty, a boy who has served at Bellvieu all his life. He tells Dorothy the house has been dull without her. Aunt Betty stands on the steps and folds her in her arms, saying Dorothy has grown and broadened. Then she hints at a surprise. Uncle Seth, a dear friend who has died, wished Dorothy to become a great musician, and a violin teacher is already chosen. A vacation in the western mountains, to be made by automobile, is planned as well.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
What does Herr Deichenberg teach Dorothy about becoming a great violinist?
Right. “The Herr says great violinists are made by constant application and by doing what seems impossible.”Not quite. “The Herr says great violinists are made by constant application and by doing what seems impossible.”
Why does Len Haley run away?
Right. “An orphan, he lived with his uncle James Haley near the village of Armsdale and was worked from before dawn until night, then beaten when he rebelled.”Not quite. “An orphan, he lived with his uncle James Haley near the village of Armsdale and was worked from before dawn until night, then beaten when he rebelled.”
What feeling lies behind Aunt Betty's resistance to Dorothy's career?
Right. “Aunt Betty's resistance came from fear of losing the girl just when she had found her.”Not quite. “Aunt Betty's resistance came from fear of losing the girl just when she had found her.”
Questions about Dorothy's Triumph
What is Dorothy's Triumph about?
It follows Dorothy Calvert, a young Maryland girl who studies the violin with a German master. A camping trip, a rescued boy and a New York engagement test her talent and her loyalty to her great-aunt.
Who is Herr Deichenberg in Dorothy's Triumph?
He is Dorothy's music teacher, a gray-haired German who came to America after the Civil War. He is exacting in lessons, kindly in manner, and he arranges her first concerts and her introduction to a manager.
Is Dorothy's Triumph part of a series?
Yes. It is one volume in the Dorothy Calvert series by Evelyn Raymond. Earlier adventures are mentioned briefly, so new readers can follow the story easily, and the last page points ahead to a further volume.
When was Dorothy's Triumph written and is it a true story?
It is fiction by Evelyn Raymond, who died in 1910, so it comes from the years before that. Its early motorcars, barouches and stage concerts give a lively picture of everyday life in that period.
Is Dorothy's Triumph easy to read?
It is told in short, lively scenes with plenty of conversation and clear, friendly language. Chapters are brief, the humor is gentle, and the camping trip, car rides and concerts keep the story moving.
