11 h 46 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 11 h 46 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Can a country girl stay true to herself in a house where the right dress seems to matter most?
Fourteen-year-old Polly Milton leaves her loving country family to visit Fanny Shaw in the city. Fanny worries about clothes, parties and what people think. Polly has little money, but plenty of good humor. In the wealthy Shaw household, her plain ways draw attention, and Tom Shaw’s teasing tests her resolve.
Louisa May Alcott makes this meeting of country and city a warm, gently funny story about growing up. Polly finds a kindred spirit in Grandma, Madam Shaw, while Fanny’s fashionable circle pulls her toward dresses and admirers. Beneath the visits and parties lies a question: how do you belong without giving up what matters to you?
What you’ll discover
- A girl who stands firm Meet a cheerful heroine whose kindness and plain habits challenge a household devoted to appearances.
- Friendship beyond fine clothes Watch Polly and Fanny discover what their different homes and values can teach each other.
- A grandmother worth knowing Spend time with Madam Shaw, whose firm opinions make Polly feel less alone.
- Mischief meets honest friendship Follow Tom’s teasing encounters with Polly, where good humor and firmness answer his rudeness.
- Simple values under pressure Explore modesty, family loyalty and honest work in a world drawn to fashion and show.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy warm family stories, spirited girls, mischievous brothers, grandmothers with tales to tell, and quiet lessons about kindness, work and friendship.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Polly arrives among curls and pranks
- Fashion and fun clash in the city
- Small kindnesses win a household
- Scrapes, a journal and honest apologies
- Grandma's stories and a goodbye party
- Six years on: work, dignity and helping others
- Brotherly kindness and quiet promises
- Kindness, pleasure and temptation
- What the story is really about
Who’s who
- Polly MiltonA cheerful, honest country girl who sticks to her plain ways and later earns her living by teaching music in the city.
- Tom ShawFanny's red-haired brother, a teasing, warm-hearted boy who grows into a young man under Polly's influence.
- Fanny ShawPolly's fashionable friend, who is bored with city life and slowly learns to care about others.
- Grandma (Madam Shaw)The kind old lady who loves old customs, tells wonderful stories and sees Polly's worth from the start.
- Mr. ShawA busy businessman who finds Polly's company warms his house and who faces misfortune with honor.
- Miss MillsPolly's landlady, a plain, generous woman who teaches her the wisest way to help the poor.
- Mr. SydneyA polite and thoughtful young man who admires Polly's good manners and later finds his own happiness.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 46 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 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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An Old-Fashioned Girl
by Louisa May Alcott · 1870
Polly, a country girl in plain wool, walks into a fashionable city household and changes every heart in it.
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In short
What happens when a country girl in plain wool steps into a house of curls, panniers and bronze boots? Louisa May Alcott answers in An Old-Fashioned Girl.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Polly arrives among curls and pranks
Polly Milton, fourteen, comes to the Shaw house for a visit. Fanny, her friend, is dressed in sashes and puffs, and Fanny's brother Tom, red-haired and fond of peanuts, is sent to meet the train. He fails to find her at first, then fools her with a story about a drunken coachman.
Polly joins the household at dinner. Mr. Shaw is busy, Mrs. Shaw is nervous, little Maud screams for amusement, and old Madam Shaw peers at the newcomer over her glasses. That evening Polly sings old Scottish tunes for Madam, who says she has not seen a real little girl in years.
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What is An Old-Fashioned Girl about?
It follows Polly Milton, a country girl who visits a rich city family, the Shaws, and shows them the value of honesty and kindness. Years later she returns to earn her own living and faces new tests.
Who is Polly in An Old-Fashioned Girl?
Polly Milton is a minister's daughter from a small country town. She is warm, honest and hardworking, and she keeps to her plain ways even when city girls laugh at her.
When was An Old-Fashioned Girl written?
Alcott writes the first part in 1869, then carries Polly's story forward by six or seven years when readers ask for more.
The author
Louisa May Alcott
1832–1888 · American novelist
Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) was an American novelist born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She lived mainly in Massachusetts, including Boston and Concord. She wrote Little Women, published in two parts in 1868 and 1869, An Old-Fashioned Girl in 1870, Little Men in 1871, and Work: A Story of Experience in 1873.
More by Louisa May Alcott
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