
BOUNCING BET
ILLUSTRATIONS
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
In a sleepy village of South Paulding, a lanky young man named Tommy Finnemore drops into the grand, yet oddly unwelcoming, home of Humphrey Meadowcroft. Meadowcroft, a dignified widower confined to a wheelchair, greets Tommy with a mix of curiosity and gentle humor, inviting him to share the odd tricks and experiments that fill his days. Their conversation quickly reveals a world of quirky inventions—like making an omelet in a silk hat—and a friendship that feels both new and oddly familiar.
The title character, Bouncing Bet, lingers just out of sight—her name whispered whenever Tommy talks about his magic, hinting at a deeper bond that fuels his daring stunts. As Tommy bounces from chair to chair, testing his latest contrivances, the village watches with a blend of amusement and suspicion, setting the stage for a series of light‑hearted yet poignant encounters. Listeners are invited to follow Tommy’s earnest attempts to bring wonder to a place where everyday life feels a little too ordinary.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (321K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
United States: Chas. Scribner's Sons, 1921.
Credits
D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (The New York Public Library's Digital Collections)
Release date
2023-05-12
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
b. 1875
Known for warm, lively stories for young readers, this early 20th-century author wrote books such as The January Girl, Fireweed, and Bouncing Bet. Her work has remained visible through library catalogs and public-domain collections, where new generations can still discover it.
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