Penelope's ProgressPaperback, 1 November 2005

We buy our tea of the Pettybaw grocer, some of our cups are cracked, the teapot is of earthenware, Miss Grieve disapproves of all social tea-fuddles and shows it plainly when she brings in the tray, and the room is so small that some of us overflow into the hall or the garden; it matters not; there is some fatal charm in our humble hospitality. -from Chapter XX Penelope Hamilton is a young American lady abroad in Scotland with her friends Francesca, who is "aggressively American," and Salemina, "a citizen of the world." Together they endure the damp chill of Edinburgh, attend an aristocrat's birthday feast, are presented at the Scottish court, explore the countryside, and immerse themselves in the society of small-town Scottish life. Romance and marriage may also find themselves in the offing. First published in 1898, this is a long-forgotten classic from one of the most beloved authors of young adult fiction... the kind that adults enjoy even more than children do. Brew a pot of tea and settle in for a delightful read. American author and educator KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN (1856-1923) was born in Philadelphia. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 but is perhaps best known as the author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903).