The Bountiful Lady

A comfortable bed and a clean nightgown seem almost impossible to Mary Brown after the hardships of William Street. The hungry orphan wakes in unfamiliar surroundings, where Sister Agatha tends to her and introduces her to fairy tales. Cinderella gives Mary a way to explain this unexpected care: she decides that a fairy godmother must have brought her there. Her questions about the people around her turn everyday kindness into a source of wonder.

Thomas Cobb's children's story moves between Mary's changing circumstances and smaller tales shared along the way. One concerns Bertha's dolls and Samuel, a terrier whose unusual behavior explains why new dolls keep disappearing. The contrast between Mary's early deprivation and her growing experience of comfort gives the story its emotional focus. Readers of older children's fiction can find both playful animal incidents and a child's attempt to understand affection, generosity and safety.