Hello my lovely readers, I have finally dug myself out of the snow. It has been a crazy week involving a lot of snow, a lot of station time, and not a whole lot of blog rambling, my most humble apologies. I did however manage to squeeze in all kinds of reading time, which besides making me a very happy shut in, makes it possible for me to ramble my little brains out for a couple of posts. I was also in a very nostalgic mood so I found a couple of books from back in my first library days to keep me company.
Peppermints in the Parlor is a middle grade book I recall rechecking out several times. It was always a wee bit confusing to me, but it had a spunky girl and a mean old lady and that was one of my favorite story lines growing up. Without further ado and SPOILERS AHEAD on with the rambling.
Emily Luccock has lost both her parents in a tragic boating accident and she is being sent to live with her Aunt and Uncle Twice, so called because her aunt is her mothers sister, and her uncle is her fathers brother, and when they married they became Emily's Aunt and Uncle twice over. Though sad at her parents passing, Emily is excited to live with her aunt and uncle, recalling the wonderful times she had at Sugar Hill Hall, the parties, the beauty and splendor, the love of her aunt and uncle. Emily arrives on a foggy evening in San Francisco and instead of being greeted by her glorious aunt and uncle, is forced to wait for hours until she is picked up. At first Emily does now recognize her aunt, who has gone from a famous beauty, to a washed out, tired and scared woman. Aunt Twice tells Emily that she must do exactly as she is told no matter how hard. When they finally get to Sugar Hill Hall, Emily is horrified to see it in the hands of a snake like woman by the name of Mrs. Meeching who makes it very clear that she considers Emily no more then a common scullery maid. In the front parlor is a huge bowl of Emily's favorite treat, shiny, red and white peppermints. She is informed under no circumstances is she to ever take one. Aunt Twice takes Emily through the house, which has lost most of its splendor, through the industrial kitchen to the cellars where she is given a tiny
room, more like a cell really. Aunt Twice tells Emily that she is a prisoner in her own home forced to work to keep somebody alive. She will not give Emily any other details and begs her not to ask questions. Emily is then handed over to Tilly, the rough young maid who is thrilled to finally have somebody beneath her. Tilly goes back and forth between being Emily's friend, and being mean. Emily's first task is to help Tilly with supper, which consists of a thin grey soup and moldy bread lumps. These are given to the dozen or so old people who live in the mansion now. Mrs. Meeching has turned Sugar Hill Hall into a old folks home. The residents are silent and barely pick at their unappetizing food. Emily notices that one resident is missing and is informed that the resident had stolen a peppermint and is now locked in the Room of Remembrance for punishment. After the residents are fed Tilly and Emily go back to their own portion of soup and moldy bread, forced to watch as Aunt Twice prepares a huge feast of the most lucious foods for Mrs. Meeching and her cohort Mrs. Plumly, the grandmother like, knitting one of the pair. Emily also meets Kipper, a fishermans son who while doing the occasional odd job for the Hall does what he can to help Emily. Eventually Emily decides that since she can't help her self or her aunt, she will help the old people. She starts slipping them fish oil so that they have appetites enough to eat the disgusting food, forcing Mrs.
Meeching to get them fresh food. Emily and Kipper smuggle a kitten up to the old folks, along with some hobby supplies. This helps to awaken the older folks, and Emily learns just how feisty they can be. Mrs. Plumly has taken a couple opportunities to smuggle Emily to her rooms and feed her tea and cakes, she tells Emily that she too is a prisoner in the Hall, albeit a luckier one then Emily or her Aunt. These visits continue as Emily continues to help the old people. One horrible day Emily, Kipper and the old folks are all caught and Emily is sent to the Room of Remembrance. Kipper finds a way to unlock her cell and they discover a trapdoor and tunnel that leads to a seedy tavern. Their they discover that it is actually the sweet Mrs. Plumly who is in charge, slipping Emily truth serum in her tea to discover what she is up too. They also discover that the old folks home is just a front for a smuggling operation. Emily is summoned to Kippers house to hear the confession of an old sea captain who says he framed her Uncle Twice for a murder and used it as blackmail to get the Sugar Hill Hall. It is all resolved, Mrs. Meeching and Mrs. Plumly are arrested after they are trapped by peppermint pelting old folk, and Aunt and Uncle Twice are reunited. The family and the old folks, Tilly and Kipper all get their happy ending.
When I was in elementary and middle school, I had a thing for books about poor orphan girls and cruel mistresses that kept them locked up and enslaved, I am not sure why this trope appealed to me so much, but there you have it. This book like I said was full on nostalgia for me, I remember reading it back when I was 8 or 9 and loving it. The heroine is great because she does not start all spit and fire, and in fact has to dig pretty deep to keep herself from cracking. I loved that when she realized that she could not immediately help herself or her aunt that she decided to help the old folks instead. Her initial reaction was always one of kindness, which seems to be lacking in some of the newer books. I liked for the most part how the older people were portrayed, at first beaten down by the cruel Mrs. Meeching, but they themselves rallied and
became individuals again. I liked how they reminded Emily that they too were people, with talents and lives. I love love love the character of Tilly, she is probably one of the more realistic characters in this fairly straight forward trope tale. She is constantly torn between wanting Emily as a friend, and trying to be a good person as far as she knows how and doing her best to get ahead in the world. She is glad to finally not be the low man on the totem pole and give Emily all the crap jobs, while enjoying the slim perks of what she considers more senior jobs. She eventually proves herself a faithful, if somewhat rough friend and finds a place with Emily and her family. Kipper acts at the semi-plausible way for Emily to solver her problems, that along with a gold coin gets her all the supplies she needs to make this story possible, I also love that every other sentence out of his mouth starts with "As Pa always says". The ending is still a bit confusing for me, seeming to add characters and circumstances that appear out of nowhere to try and make sense of Uncle Twice's disappearance and the reasoning behind Aunt Twice's servitude. Overall the book is pretty straight forward, sticking with a formula that works, while adding some great characters and just enough creepiness to keep you turning the pages. This is a quick read for most of us and is completely suitable for the 9 and up crowd. I give it 7 out of 10 peppermints.
What books do you remember rereading as a kid? Do you find it hard to track down these books? Are you ever disappointed when you reread your childhood favorites? Is it funny that a grown woman is reading children's books and loving them?
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