A tale of evil.... pigeons
Rating:
3 / 5
In 1988, when I was attending the fourth grade, our teacher (name long since forgotten) began reading us a story that has stuck in my mind ever since. Over the years I remembered odd snippets of the story. The old abandoned house. The portraits of beautiful women that moved. The shoe repairing leprechaun in the garden. It was only recently that I decided to track down this story and reread it for myself. You see, my fourth grade teacher never finished "The Wicked Pigeon Ladies In the Garden" (since renamed "The Wicked Wicked Ladies In the Haunted House") and, when last heard from, the heroine of the story was in dire straights.In this tale, a bratty young girl gets the ultimate comeuppance. Having broken into an abandoned old mansion, she quickly finds herself at odds with the horrible inhabitants. When Maureen (the aforementioned girl) steals a bracelet belonging to one of the long lost daughters of the house, she sets off a chain of events that takes her back in time. Along the way, she makes the acquaintance of a leprechaun, who offers her the only way possible back home to her family. So I reread the story in its entirety. Originally published in 1968, I was disappointed to find the writing mediocre. For some reason, author Mary Chase was excellent at making memorable characters and plot points while not being particularly good at writing itself. In this story, seven vain sisters from the Victorian era break their parents' hearts by turning themselves into pigeons and flying away. The leprechaun muses that perhaps a greater good will come of it. Unfortunately, that greater good is apparently the same moral Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" learned. Namely, teaching our heroine that there's no place like home. So ruining the lives of two people is worth one young bratty girl learning a lesson. Mmm hmm. There are other problems as well. I remember being very confused as a child as to the fact that the girl, Maureen, is never helped by the one pigeon lady who she was nice to. And then there's just the writing itself. It's not awful. But any kid who's suddenly thrown into the past is going to catch on pretty quickly that they aren't in the present day. For Maureen, it takes roughly 36 hours. This isn't a terrible story, mind you, but there are better ones out there. Still, there's no arguing with the fact that this book made a huge impression on me when I was young. For the kid interested in mysterious goings on and ladies in beautiful evening gowns, this book is a great read. So sayeth my former 10 year-old self.
New title...same great story!
Rating:
5 / 5
Like millions of others, I read this book for the first time when I was in the Fourth grade and I absolutely fell in love with it. I felt like I had been transported in time and I wished that I could take a journey like Maureen did. (This could account for my love of victorian houses) I checked this book out of the library so many times that the Librarian had to convince me to read any other books. As an adult I went in search of it again only to find it was out of print. I checked amazon.com over and over again, hoping it would be reprinted and to my surprise I found it!!! Only it is no longer called "Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden" it can now be found under the title "The Wicked, Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House". It is the same great story, only it has a new name. Personally, I prefer the original title, but I am happy to have it in my hands once again. Go forth and find it and may your children (or inner child) enjoy it as much as I do.
It is Available
Rating:
5 / 5
I bought a new, hardcover copy of this book from Powells.com, with the title "The Wicked, Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House." The price was approximately $16.00.
|