Daily Book Excerpt: YA/Children’s books:
Against the Odds: Tales of Achievement
This is an example of one of the more plot-driven stories in the collection. It was published in 1903, I think, so it has more of a utilitarian feel to it than her later stories, which she could write just because she felt like it, being under no financial pressure. But still – there are some moments which have the true Lucy Maud stamp – it makes reading all of these stories really worthwhile, moments like these.
Clifford and Patty Baxter are brother and sister (adults). Only their mother is living – and she is a weak woman, weakened by too much hard work, and too much going it alone. They struggle to get by – and there is much anxiety. Lucy Maud writes about those folks as well – not just ancestral families with huge houses and a lot of pride (the Murrays). She writes about penny-pinching working girls who live in little flats, and have to scrimp and save. Clifford is in training with a local newspaper. No pay in the position – but it is expected that his internship as a journalist will lead to a salaried position. He’s a reporter. Patty, the sister, is a homemaker at heart. She has no skills, and would like nothing more than to have the free time to cook, clean, sew, keep a nice house, etc. But during the course of this story, she is forced, by circumstances, to come out into the world … and, naturally, it ends up working out very well for them. Clifford has a very important assignment for the newspaper – he has to go interview some big railroad magnate. Of course Lucy Maud puts the fire under the situation, upping the stakes. I can’t remember exactly what the stakes are but it’s something along the lines of: If Clifford doesn’t interview this guy on this one particular day, then the moment will be lost. Maybe the guy is leaving town, who knows. So it’s VERY important. Not just for the story – but for Clifford’s future at the newspaper. If he can come through with this interview – then he will be added to the newspaper staff. And not sure what happens – but I do know that Clifford, who was out of town on some other story, missed his train – and wouldn’t be able to get home until the next day – but that would be too late. He would miss his appointment to interview the railroad magnate. All will be lost! They NEED that potential income from the newspaper job – Clifford must not blow it! What should they do??? Well, little shy homemaker Patty makes a choice. A bold choice. She – who has no experience (with writing, journalism, or interviewing) will go and interview Railroad Man in Clifford’s place. Patty doesn’t even know the ISSUES behind the situation – like: why he needs to be interviewed, what questions to ask, what are the issues on the table … but she figures that just showing up and feeling her way would be better than canceling outright.
So she picks up pen and paper and goes to meet the man at the appointed time.
Naturally, it all works out in the end. Not only does Clifford keep his job – but Patty’s interview ends up being such a scoop that the newspaper offers HER a job as well. happy ending!
But here is the excerpt with the interview. I like how Lucy Maud draws character in quick bold strokes. They are immediately recognizable. And, in my opinion, even in a superficial story like this one – they have the breath of life. Like when Mr. Reefer suddenly looks at Patty – and recognizes her. Not like he knows her from somewhere – but that he SEES her. It’s a beautiful moment.
Against the Odds: Tales of Achievement
Patty had just time to seat herself at the table, spread out her paper imposingly, and assume a businesslike air when Mr. Reefer came in. He was a tall, handsome old man with white hair, jet-black eyes, and a mouth that made Patty hope she wouldn’t stumble on any questions he wouldn’t want to answer. Patty knew she would waste her breath if she did. A man with a mouth like that would never tell anything he didn’t want to tell.
“Good afternoon. What can I do for you, madam?” inquired Mr. Reefer with the air and tone of a man who means to be courteous, but has no time or information to waste.
Patty was almost overcome by the “Madam”. For a moment, she quailed. She couldn’t ask that masculine sphinx questions! Then the thought of her mother’s pale, careworn face flashed across her mind, and all her courage came back with an inspiriting rush. She bent forward to look eagerly into Mr. Reefer’s carved, granite face, and said with a frank smile:
“I have come to interview you on behalf of the Chronicle about the railroad bill. It was my brother who had the assignment, but he has missed his train and I ahve come in his place because, you see, it is so important to us. So much depends on this assignment. Perhaps Mr. Harmer will give Clifford a permanent place on the staff if he turns in a good article about you. He is only a handyman now. I just couldn’t let him miss the chance – he might never have another. And it means so much to us and Mother.”
“Are you a member of the Chronicle staff yourself?” inquired Mr. Reefer with a shade more geniality in his tone.
“Oh, no! I’ve nothing to do with it, so you won’t mind my being inexperienced, will you? I don’t know just what I should ask you, so won’t you please just tell me everything about the bill, and Mr. Harmer can cut out what doesn’t matter?”
Mr. Reefer looked at Patty for a few moments with a face about as expressive as a graven image. Perhaps he was thinking about the bill, and perhaps he was thinking what a bright, vivid, pluckky little girl this was with her waiting pencil and her air that strove to be businesslike, and only succeeded in being eager and hopeful and anxious.
“I’m not used to being interviewed myself,” he said slowly, “so I don’t know very much about it. We’re both green hands together, I imagine. But I’d like to help you out, so I don’t mind telling you what I think about this bill, and its bearing on certain important interests.”
Mr. Reefer proceeded to tell her, and Patty’s pencil flew as she scribbled down his terse, pithy sentences. She found herself asking questions too, and enjoying it. For the first time, Patty thought she might rather like politics if she understood them – and they did not seem so hard to understand when a man like Mr. Reefer explained them. Patty was in full possession of his opinion on the famous railroad bill in all its aspects.
“There now, I’m talked out,” said Mr. Reefer. “You can tell your news editor that you know as much about the railroad bill as Andrew Reefer knows. I hope you’ll succeed in pleasing him, and that your brother will get the position he wants. But he shouldn’t have missed that train. You tell him that. Boys with important things to do mustn’t miss trains. Perhaps it’s just as well he did in this case though, but tell him not to let it happen again.”
