Understood Betsy

Originally published in 1916, Dorothy Canfield Fisher was a women's rights activist, educator, wife and mother. Many of her stories contain autobiographical elements, including Understood Betsy, the story of the orphan Elizabeth Ann who lives with Great Aunt Harriet and Aunt Francis.

Although kind, the aunts worry and fuss about little things all the time. At the age of 9, when her aunts can no longer care for her, Elizabeth Ann must leave to go and live with distant relatives on a farm in Vermont. Soon enough she starts making friends, enjoying school and adapting well to her new family.

This book remains a classic of child rearing and an inspirational listen.

Public Domain (P)2020 Museum Audiobooks

Great Story

I've always loved this book, but I wish the narrator knew how to pronounce words like "hearth" and "copse." Her voice and interpretation are very good, but her mispronunciations annoy me so much I don't want to hear her again.