The Rectory Children (1897) is a Victorian girls' story by an author whose name -- Mrs. Molesworth -- sounds like a the name of a character in one of her own fairy tales.
Mary Louisa Molesworth wrote everything from adult novels and ghost stories to children's entertainment with a hearty Scottish dose of instruction. The Rectory Children upholds her belief in children's dramas played out in happy surroundings. A new family moves into the old rectory in the quiet little town of Seacove. The neglected port is home to a lonely "little maiden" named Celestina, and the Rev. Vane's three children arrive as just the change Celestina needs. But the girl her age, Bridget, is the opposite of Celestina's sweet nature. "I like to be useful to mother," Celestina says -- to which Mrs. Molesworth adds with all but a cluck of disapproval: "This was a new idea to Bridget." The bad little girl is headed toward a near disaster that will lead her to promise she'll "never be naughty again." Their story exemplifies all that made Mrs. Molesworth a children's favorite in her time. She eased her young readers from silly make-believe to more adult fare with books like The Rectory Children, set in the real world. It's the world at its best, though, where eyes sparkle, love abounds, and "cheerful patience" wins the day. Children earn their place with obedience. And "I don't know that it was altogether a bad thing for them," Mrs. Molesworth throws in like a pinch of salt in the oatmeal.
