Borrowed feathersRuth LambOmniClassics · Literature
Borrowed feathers
Ruth LambA neglected daughter's honest warmth challenges her family's costly performance of social importance.
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About the book
Annette Clifford has been left to manage the house while her mother and sister enjoy a fashionable seaside stay. Their appearance of prosperity depends on economies and work that Annette must absorb at home. When her affectionate godmother arrives unexpectedly, the girl's lively welcome makes clear how little her own kindness depends on an impressive household establishment. Mrs. Worsley notices both the burden and the difference between genuine hospitality and display, opening the possibility of a welcome change in Annette's summer. Ruth Lamb develops the contrast into a romantic story in which borrowed adornment can communicate something its wearer never intended. The domestic humor and misunderstandings keep the moral question concrete: how much trouble follows when social appearances are allowed to speak in place of truth.
- Appearance and sincerity
- Domestic labor
- Affection and misunderstanding
Why read it
The opening visit exposes the hidden work behind a family's pretensions through affectionate, sharply observed conversation.
English story from The Girl's Own Annual, volume VII, 1886 summer extra