A country girl heads to the city in this novel from the author of Little Women: “Louisa May Alcott makes episodic and virtuous narratives engaging” (The Literary Omnivore). When fourteen-year-old Polly Milton visits her friend Fanny Shaw and Fanny’s wealthy family, she is soon overwhelmed by their fast-paced and fashionable urban life. Although she is teased for her country upbringing, Polly nevertheless endears herself to the Shaw family with her modest demeanor and kind heart. Six years later, Polly returns to the city as a music teacher. Though her friendship with Fanny has never waned, she is shocked to learn the Shaws are on the brink of financial ruin. With Polly’s unwavering support, the Shaw family will be guided to a more meaningful life. “People always like to read of kindly self-sacrifice, and sweetness, and purity, and naturalness; and this is what Polly is, and what her character teaches in a friendly and unobtrusive way to everybody about her. The story thus mirrors the reader’s good-will in her well-doing, and that is perhaps what, more than any other thing, makes it so charming and comfortable.” —The Atlantic
