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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Prudy wants to be trusted with a grown-up job. Her love of mischief has other plans.
In Sophie May’s Prudy Keeping House, Prudy Parlin takes on the role of housekeeper. She is small, talkative, and full of ideas, with a lively wish to be useful. But wanting responsibility and carrying it out are different things, especially when play keeps pulling her toward trouble.
The world around Prudy is full of everyday household work: sweeping, dusting, setting tables, and watching over meals. Sophie May turns this familiar ground into short scenes of gentle humor and small lessons. Her kindly, chatty voice brings you close to a child who longs to be treated as grown up.
What you’ll discover
- A lively little housekeeper Meet Prudy, whose busy imagination makes the wish to help both warm and funny.
- Work seen through play See how grown-up household duties take on fresh interest through a small girl’s eyes.
- Mischief meets responsibility Follow the tug between Prudy’s playful nature and her longing to earn trust.
- A home full of detail Step into nineteenth-century American family life through familiar tasks and small domestic moments.
- Gentle lessons and laughter Enjoy simple words, short scenes, and humor that leaves room for a child’s mistakes.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy gentle family comedy, lively children who say what they think, Christmas settings, and small mistakes that teach big lessons.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Trust gives the children a household
- Dotty finds excuses for her pride
- The cookbook cannot replace practice
- Patience needs kindness in return
- A secret spoils Dotty's Christmas
- Owning faults lightens a troubled heart
- Real kindness matters more than appearances
- Pretending lets real feelings come through
- Small mistakes become lessons through kindness
Who’s who
- Prudy ParlinA sweet, shy girl who plays Mother Hubbard and wants to prove she can cook and keep the peace.
- Dotty DimplePrudy's sister, quick, proud, and sharp-tongued, who wants the best part in every game and struggles with her conscience.
- Horace CliffordA confident, joking boy who plays Dr. Moonshine and looks after his tiny sister Fly.
- Fly CliffordHorace's little sister, nicknamed Flyaway, who asks surprising questions and cannot stay put.
- Aunt MadgeMrs. Allen, a kind and generous aunt who trusts the children and cares for a blind girl.
- Mrs. FixfaxThe motherly housekeeper who watches over the children and hides her laughter at their games.
- Mrs. PragoffA gracious, elegant friend of the family who invites the children to church, dinner, and a party.
- Maria BrooksA patient blind girl who hopes a doctor can help her see.
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Prudy Keeping House in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Prudy Keeping House
by Sophie May · 1870
At a New York mansion, four visiting children get a stove, cookbook and housekeeping room as servants watch nearby.
Easy readUnder 2 hours to read20 languages
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“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
In short
Four children stand at a bay window in a New York mansion, watching snow fall just before Christmas, when a telegram arrives. Uncle Augustus is ill at a hotel in Trenton, and Aunt Madge must go to him.
Prudy Keeping House at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 35 min1 h 15 min fast, 1 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 22,900 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1870by Sophie May
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Telegram Hands Four Children a House
Prudy, Dotty, Horace, and little Fly watch snowflakes from the bay window of Mrs. Allen's parlor. Then Nathaniel, the solemn waiter, brings in a telegram. Uncle Augustus has one of his old attacks at a hotel in Trenton and asks his wife to come.
The girls do not react kindly. Dotty says her uncle cannot have Auntie because she has company, and Horace corrects her. This small moment sets a pattern for the book. The girls mean well but speak before they think, and the author teases them for it with a light hand.
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Details
- First published
- 1870
- Language
- English
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
May, Sophie. Prudy Keeping House. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/prudy-keeping-house.
May, S. (2026). Prudy keeping house. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prudy-keeping-house (Original work published 1870)
May, Sophie. Prudy Keeping House. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prudy-keeping-house.
@book{may2026prudy,
author = {May, Sophie},
title = {Prudy Keeping House},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prudy-keeping-house},
note = {First published 1870}
}
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What is Prudy Keeping House about?
Four children are left in a New York mansion at Christmas when their aunt is called away. They play at housekeeping, cook badly, get into small scrapes, and learn about pride, patience, and honesty along the way.
Who are the main characters in Prudy Keeping House?
The story centers on Prudy Parlin, her sister Dotty Dimple, their cousin Horace Clifford, and his little sister Fly. Aunt Madge, Mrs. Fixfax, Mrs. Pragoff, and the blind girl Maria Brooks play key roles.
Is Prudy Keeping House part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Sophie May's Little Prudy stories about the Parlin family. It follows the children on a visit to New York, and the final line points ahead to the next book, Aunt Madge's Story.
More by Sophie May
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