Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch [Paperback]

Alice Hegan Rice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2004

" A national bestseller when first published in 1901, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch endures today as one of the most memorable literary creations by a Kentucky author. This immensely popular novel spawned several movies (with such stars as W.C. Fields and Shirley Temple), countless stage productions, radio shows, and even dolls. Alice Hegan Rice spins the memorable tale of a family struggling against all odds in the Cabbage Patch, an old Louisville slum "where ramshackle cottages played hop-scotch over the railroad tracks." This hopeful story follows the Wiggs as they face eviction from their dilapidated house and take in two orphanage fugitives. Out of print for many years, this charming, funny chronicle of hope triumphing over despair is finally available to a new generation of readers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The stories of the Wiggs family are both heart-wrenching and hilarious, filled with Southern dialect and philosophy." -- Kentucky Living

"To miss reading this story is to miss the brightest shade on the palette of Kentucky local color." -- Southsider

"Endures today as one of the most memorable literary creations by a Kentucky author." -- Union Co. (KY) Advocate

About the Author

Alice Hegan Rice (1870-1942) was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky and grew up in Louisville. She was the author of twenty books, including the autobiography The Inky Way.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (February 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813190746
• ISBN-13: 978-0813190747
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,194,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring portrayal of humanely rising to life's challenges!, September 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (Hardcover)

I was first introduced to this story some 33 years ago by my fourth grade teacher, Ms. Elsie Sanders, at Kimberly Elementary School. To this day, I vividly remember the values conveyed through Mrs. Wiggs actions. This is a book that should be read aloud to an audience. It inspires young minds to creatively and compassionately respond to life's challenges, as well as inspiring one to get more involved in reading. I give it two thumbs up!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite children's books, April 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (Hardcover)

This is a gem of a children's book. I highly recommend it for kids over 10 and adults. It's a story about a poor family led by a very eccentric matriarch. The children's adventures will delight young readers. Adults will shed some tears, because the story deals (in a compassionate and hilarious way) with serious themes -- poverty, equality, social responsibility, family ties, loss. Granted, the book will seem old-fashioned today, but everyone I have ever known who has read this book has felt enriched and has kept it on the shelf to revisit periodically.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Potent for "chilluns" - psychologically, poetically, morally, August 1, 2003

By 

Phil Rogers (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (Hardcover)

My mother bought an old copy of this in the mid-fifties and read it to me as a bedtime story. I think I remember her telling me that her mother did the same thing for her back in the early part of the century after moving here from Vienna, Austria.

[Miss] Rice had remarkable writing skills, and also a fertile (and rather profound) imagination. All this is displayed firstly in her recreations of the poor white southern dialect coming out of the mouths of Mrs. Wiggs and her family - the speech cadences are marvelous, and very musical. But there are also the little snatches of poetry and proverbs she composed for the beginning of each chapter, which truly border on the sublime. And the occasional descriptive passages are full of feeling and artistry, clear-sightedness and wisdom.

There are plentiful little seed thoughts, scattered discretely to instruct young people, and not only consciously. Even if one doesn't understand this or that little gem, a child would tend to embrace it, taking it in on some level - each one serves its young patrons well, beginning to work it's little lifelong magic. This is a very deep, free-flowing child psychology, several years before Freud's more cantankerous "discoveries" became widely known and intellectually fashionable.

Much of this "short" story is about the interaction between the poor and the rich, and how each serves to enrich the life of the other. This is done in a well-rounded fashion, never becoming preachy, often with beauteous touches of humor, tenderness, and sadness. Sure the story is in big print, and it's obviously not Henry James, but there's nothing going on here that could ever be termed 'simplistic'.

I guess you could say that back in the old days when literacy was considered more a gift than somewhat of a burden, they really knew how to instruct, as it were.