Call Number:

Ms. Codex 2181

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

.1 linear_foot (1 volume)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Bessie Fossett record of books, 1923-1924, Ms. Codex 2181, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1923-1924 (inclusive)

Creator:

Fossett, Bessie

Form:

Codices (bound manuscripts) and Reading lists

Abstract:

Bessie Fossett, a young woman who was probably a sophomore in high school in 1923, recorded the books that she read, both for pleasure and for school. For each book read, Fossett wrote a brief abstract of the book, and often, her impressions of the book.

Nothing is known about Bessie Fossett, a young woman who was probably a student in her sophomore year of high school in 1923.

In this volume, written from March 28, 1923, to August 13, 1924, Bessie Fossett recorded the books that she read, both for pleasure and for school. The bulk of the books appear to have been read for pleasure, but on page 13, Fossett lists books that she read from September 11 (presumably 1922) until June 8. These books include: Idylls of the King, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson; Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare; Silas Marner by George Eliot; The Oregon Trail, by Louis Parkman; and the House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

For pleasure, Fossett appears to have read constantly, roughly one to two books per week. For each book read, Fossett wrote a brief abstract of the book, and often, her impressions of the book. Titles listed and described are: Hospital Sketches and Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott; Trumpeter Swan and Dim Lantern, by Temple Bailey; Belle of Bowling Green, by Amelia Barr; Woman Thou Gavest Me, by Hall Caine; White Sister, by Marion Crawford; Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel DeFoe; Betty Zane, Man of the Forest, Last of the Plainsman, Light of Western Stars, To the Last Man, The Border Legion, Wanderer of the Wastelands, and Lone Star Ranger, by Zane Grey; Finding of Jasper Halt, Big Blue Soldier, and The Enchanted Barn, by Grace L. Hill; The Homestead on the Hillside and Other Stories, by Mary G. Holmes; Covered Wagon, by Emerson Hough; Sheik, by E.M. Hull; Three Little Women (series) by Gabrielle Jackson; Valley of the Giants, by Peter B. Kyne; Elinor Belden, by [Lucy C. Lillie]; Hope Chest, by Mark Lee Luther; Girls of the True Blue, by L.T. Meade; Mother, by Katherine Morris; Johnny Nelson, by Clarence E. Mulford; Little Lame Prince, by Miss Mulock; Road to Understanding, by Eleanor Porter; Red Pepper Burns and Red Pepper's Patients, by Grace Richmond; Polly and Eleanor in New York, Polly and Her Friends, and Polly's Business Venture, by Lillian Elizabeth Roy; A Deed Without a Name, by E.D.E.N. Southward; Ben-Hur, by General Lew Wallace; Shade of the Sheltering Tree, by Grace White; and Mine with the Iron Door, by Harold Belle Wright.

Fossett listed her books read in a commercial notebook with a black paper cover and lined pages. On the front cover is a label with printed decorative border and text, "Property of." Pages are blank after p. 38.