Background
Benary-Isbert was born in Saarbrücken, in the Rhine Province of the Kingdom of Prussia, and raised in Frankfurt am Main, part of the German Empire but outside the Kingdom.
(Margot Benary-Isbert Seventeen-year-old Paula has just le...)
Margot Benary-Isbert Seventeen-year-old Paula has just left behind convent boarding school - to go home. She hasn't been back home for more than two years, and isn't quite prepared for her five rambunctious brothers, two eccentric maiden aunts, bibliophile uncle, and 89 year-old Babbett, not to mention the demands laid on her by energetic Mama. Her father, Judge Eisenberth, at first seems to be the only one who understands her frustration. Even Adolf, her favorite brother, cannot fathom why she longs to go back to the convent and become a nun. Paula - and Adolf, who is going through his own trials - must face their problems and learn how to deal with everyday dilemmas as a part of the growing-up process. Set in 19th century Germany, this book is not only excellent as a "coming-of-age" story, but sheds a fascinating light on the everyday life and customs of the Rhineland.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1883937337/?tag=2022091-20
(Very nice old copy. Hartcourt Brace and Co. first edition...)
Very nice old copy. Hartcourt Brace and Co. first edition. Red boards with some scuffing. Dust Jacket shows average wear. No internal markings. Thank you for your purchase.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0152692363/?tag=2022091-20
Benary-Isbert was born in Saarbrücken, in the Rhine Province of the Kingdom of Prussia, and raised in Frankfurt am Main, part of the German Empire but outside the Kingdom.
She attended the College Saint Carolus and the University of Frankfurt briefly and worked as a secretary at the Museum of Ethnology and Anthropology in Frankfurt from 1910 to 1917.
She enjoyed telling stories and a schoolteacher recommended writing them up as fiction rather than sounding like lies. Her first story was published when she was 19. They moved to a farm house in Erfurt where William ran the family business.
Margot raised Great Danes for a time.
During the War Margot raised animals for food. Erfurt was captured by the United States. Army in April but it became part of the Soviet Zone of Occupation and the Benary-Isberts moved to near Göttingen, not far but in the British Zone that later became West Germany.
They shared an apartment with two other families, where Margot wrote Die Arche Noah (The Ark). Many of her books featured post-war Germany and a common theme was the capability of people, especially children, "to rise above almost impossible odds to build new lives for themselves".
The Benary-Isberts moved to the United States. in 1952, first to Chicago and later to Santa Barbara, California.
Margot became an American citizen in 1957 and worked as a writer until her death in 1979.
(Life in the old cathedral town of Vogelsang had gone on p...)
(Margot Benary-Isbert Seventeen-year-old Paula has just le...)
(Very nice old copy. Hartcourt Brace and Co. first edition...)