Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown

Last updated
Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown
BetsyAndTacyGoDowntown.jpg
First edition
Author Maud Hart Lovelace
Illustrator Lois Lenski
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Betsy-Tacy
Release number
4
Genre Children's fiction
Set inDeep Valley, Minnesota (1904)
Publisher Thomas Y. Crowell Co., HarperCollins
Publication date
1943
Media typePrint
Pages180
ISBN 0-690-13450-9
813.52
Preceded by Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill (1942) 
Followed by Heaven to Betsy (1945) 

Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown (1943) is the fourth volume in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. The book, along with the entire Betsy-Tacy and Deep Valley series, was republished in 2000 by HarperTrophy with a new cover art illustrated by Michael Koelsch. [1]

Plot

In this volume in the series, horseless carriages arrive in Deep Valley for the first time when Mr. Poppy, the owner of the Opera House, buys an automobile. Betsy's friend Tib is his first passenger along with his wife due simply to her having the boldness to ask for a ride. Although the girls' classmate Winona Root is initially jealous of Tib over this experience, she soon gets over it and invites Betsy, Tacy, and Tib to their first real theatrical experience, a dramatized version of Uncle Tom's Cabin at the Opera House. Betsy befriends the lonely Mrs. Poppy, who welcomes the chance to share the little girls' affection after having lost her only daughter in the years before moving to town. Through this friendship, the girls not only enjoy parties at the Poppy Hotel, but also participate in a theatrical production of Rip Van Winkle that lets Mrs. Poppy reunite Betsy's mother, Mrs. Ray, with her long-lost brother.

Betsy and her friends also discover the temptations of dime novels, prompting Betsy to try her hand at writing her own. Eventually, Betsy shares her secret writings with her mother, who successfully encourages her to write fiction of more elevated character. Betsy's parents decide that in order to foster a love of classic literature and make Betsy a better writer, she will be allowed to go alone to the new Carnegie library every two weeks, with spending money for a special mid-day treat to let her stay all day.

Related Research Articles

<i>Tess of the dUrbervilles</i> 1891 novel by Thomas Hardy

Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British illustrated newspaper The Graphic in 1891, then in book form in three volumes in 1891, and as a single volume in 1892. Although now considered a major novel of the 19th century, Tess of the d'Urbervilles received mixed reviews when it first appeared, in part because it challenged the sexual morals of late Victorian England. Tess was portrayed as a fighter for her rights and for the rights of others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Brady</span> American actress (1892–1939)

Alice Brady was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked until six months before her death from cancer in 1939. Her films include My Man Godfrey (1936), in which she plays the flighty mother of Carole Lombard's character, and In Old Chicago (1937) for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betsy Palmer</span> American actress (1926–2015)

Betsy Palmer was an American actress known for her many film and Broadway roles, television guest-starring appearances, as a panelist on the game show I've Got a Secret, and later for playing the antagonist and mother of Jason Voorhees, Pamela Voorhees, in the first Friday the 13th film (1980).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maud Hart Lovelace</span> American writer

Maud Hart Lovelace was an American writer best known for the Betsy-Tacy series.

The Betsy-Tacy books are a series of semi-autobiographical novels by American novelist and short-story writer Maud Hart Lovelace (1892-1980), which were originally published between 1940 and 1955 by the Thomas Y. Crowell Co. The books are now published by HarperCollins. The first four books were illustrated by Lois Lenski and the remainder by Vera Neville.

<i>Betsy-Tacy</i> (novel)

Betsy-Tacy (1940) is the first volume in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace.

<i>Betsys Wedding</i> (novel)

Betsy's Wedding (1955) is the tenth and final book in the Betsy-Tacy series written by Maud Hart Lovelace. Set in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the book tells the story of the early married life of the main character, Betsy Ray, and her high-school sweetheart, Joe. The characters of Tacy Kelly and Tib Muller also recur in this novel, as they did in all the novels covering the high-school years. The book, along with the entire Betsy-Tacy and Deep Valley series, was republished in 2000 by HarperTrophy with a new cover art illustrated by Michael Koelsch.

<i>Betsy-Tacy and Tib</i>

Betsy-Tacy and Tib (1941) is the second volume in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. The book, along with the entire Betsy-Tacy and Deep Valley series, was republished in 2000 by HarperTrophy with a new cover art illustrated by Michael Koelsch.

<i>Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill</i>

Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill (1942) is the third volume in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. The book, along with the entire Betsy-Tacy and Deep Valley series, was republished in 2000 by HarperTrophy with a new cover art illustrated by Michael Koelsch.

<i>Heaven to Betsy</i>

Heaven to Betsy (1945) is the fifth volume in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. Heaven to Betsy, describing Betsy's first year in high school, is written for an older age group than the earlier Betsy-Tacy books. The book, along with the entire Betsy-Tacy and Deep Valley series, was republished in 2000 by HarperTrophy with a new cover art illustrated by Michael Koelsch.

<i>Betsy in Spite of Herself</i>

Betsy in Spite of Herself (1946) is the sixth volume in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. The book, along with the entire Betsy-Tacy and Deep Valley series, was republished in 2000 by HarperTrophy with a new cover art illustrated by Michael Koelsch.

<i>Betsy Was a Junior</i>

Betsy Was a Junior (1947) is the seventh volume in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. The story spans the title character's junior, or eleventh grade, year in high school. The book, along with the entire Betsy-Tacy and Deep Valley series, was republished in 2000 by HarperTrophy with a new cover art illustrated by Michael Koelsch.

<i>Betsy and Joe</i>

Betsy and Joe (1948) is the eighth volume in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. This installment spans the title characters' senior, or twelfth grade, year in high school. The book, along with the entire Betsy-Tacy and Deep Valley series, was republished in 2000 by HarperTrophy with a new cover art illustrated by Michael Koelsch.

<i>Betsy and the Great World</i>

Betsy and the Great World (1952) is the ninth volume in the Betsy-Tacy series of children's fiction by Maud Hart Lovelace. The book, along with the entire Betsy-Tacy and Deep Valley series, was republished in 2000 by HarperTrophy with a new cover art illustrated by Michael Koelsch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doris Kenyon</span> American actress

Doris Margaret Kenyon was an American actress of motion pictures and television.

Night World is a series of nine young adult fantasy novels by American author L. J. Smith. In the series, vampires, witches, werewolves, and shape-shifters live among humans without their knowledge, making up a secret society known as the Night World. The society enforces two fundamental laws to prevent discovery: never allow humans to gain knowledge of the Night World's existence, and never fall in love with a human.

<i>Room for One More</i> (film) 1952 film directed by Norman Taurog

Room for One More is a 1952 American family comedy-drama film directed by Norman Taurog, produced by Henry Blanke, and starring Cary Grant and Betsy Drake. The screenplay, written by Jack Rose and Melville Shavelson, was based on the 1950 autobiography of the same name by Anna Perrott Rose.

<i>Betsys Kindergarten Adventures</i> 2000s Saturday morning cartoon

Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures is an American animated television series intended for young children. The show aired from January 12, 2008 to September 27, 2009 on PBS Kids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Peterson</span> American actress

Bergetta "Dorothy" Peterson was an American actress. She began her acting career on Broadway before appearing in more than eighty Hollywood films.

The Mother-Daughter Book Club is a series of children's novels written by Heather Vogel Frederick. The books center around the lives of five different preteens, and eventually teenage girls who become best friends because of the book club that their mothers start. The girls live in a slightly fictionalized Concord, Massachusetts.

References

  1. "Internet Archive Search: "michael koelsch"". Internet Archive . Archived from the original on 2021-06-28. Retrieved June 19, 2020.