Category: Free Reads

Novels and short stories you can read for free, written by Isabella Alden and other authors of her time.

Free Read: The Little Red Shop

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Some of Isabella Alden’s most beloved stories are about resourceful young people who, with God’s help, make a better life for themselves and others.

That was the premise at the heart of her novels about the Bryant family (in Miss Dee Dunmore Bryant and Twenty Minutes Late) and in The Man of the House.

Harriet Lothrop (writing under the pen name of Margaret Sidney) used the same premise for her novels. In her best-selling series of books about the Pepper children, the five siblings—Ben, Polly, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie—comprised a poor but stalwart family struggling to stay together. And at the heart of each story was the children’s desire to help their mother, whom they affectionately called “Mamsie.”

A black and white head-and-shoulders illustration of Harriet Lothrop (aka Margaret Sidney) about age 40. Her hair is worn in the style at the time in a but high on the back of her head, with short bangs across her forehead. She wears pince-nez glasses. The bodice of her clothing has a wide collar and braiding down the front. Above the collar she wears a white scarf that covers her throad.
A sketch of Margaret Sidney with her signature; from an article about the author in Good Housekeeping magazine, December 12, 1885.

Harriet once explained in an interview why there was no father in any of the stories:

“My judgment told me that I must eliminate Mr. Pepper, because the whole motif “to help mother” would be lost if the man lived. It hurt me most dreadfully. He was a most estimable man, and I loved my own father so much, it seemed the most wicked thing to do. I went around for days quite droopy and guilty.

She used the same “fatherless family” device when she later wrote stories about the Brimmer children. In this two-book series, older brothers Jack and Cornelius are determined to earn money to help their widowed mother and younger siblings. In the process, they find their principles challenged at every turn, even as they learn valuable lessons.

Book cover showing an illustration of a small red building with yellow shutters on the window and a blue roof set between green trees.

Tired of seeing their mother struggle to support them, brothers Jack and Cornelius—with some help from little sister Rosalie—decide to go into business, and open a little shop in the old tool shed behind their house. At first business is slow, but just as the brothers begin to doubt they will ever make the shop a success, one of their town’s most influential citizens takes notice of the boys’ efforts. Soon the brothers have more business than they can handle, and an entirely new set of problems to solve.

The Little Red Shop is a charming story written with older children and teens in mind.

You can read The Little Red Shop for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device.

Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version youc an read, print, and share with friends.

Remember: March is Margaret Sidney month!

Join us next week for another story by Margaret Sidney you can read for free!

Did you miss last week’s Margaret Sidney free read? Click here to read it.

A Month of Margaret Sidney!

Published on by Isabella Alden2 Comments

Publishing The Pansy magazine was more than just a family affair for Isabella Alden. Writers outside her family circle also contributed poems, biographies, science articles, and other content for the magazine issues. One of those contributors was Harriet Lothrop, who wrote children’s fiction under the pen name of Margaret Sidney.

Black and white photo of Margaret Sidney from the 1890s. She has dark hair worn in the style of the period in a curly knot on top of her head. She wears pince nex glasses. Her gown has a modest scoop neckline surrounded by deep rows of ruffles. Around her throat is tied a wide black ribbon from which a jeweled cross is hung.
Margaret Sidney about 1895, image from the New York Public Library

Harriet’s books were incredibly popular, especially the Five Little Peppers—a series she wrote about brothers and sisters in the fictional Pepper family. Daniel Lothrop, the publisher of the Pepper books, also published Isabella’s books, as well as The Pansy magazine.

Black and white photo of Daniel Lothrop. His hair is neatly cut with touches of grey at his temples and above his ears. He has a very full beard and mustache, which also have touches of grey. He wears a high-collar shirtfront with a thin black bow tie, a vest and suit coat with wide lapels.
Daniel Lothrop

Mr. Lothrop was immediately charmed by Harriet’s Pepper books. In fact, he was so impressed, he asked to personally meet Harriet. One thing lead to another, and they eventually married!

Embossed hard cover of the book, The Stories Polly Pepper Told. The cover is in green with gold embossed letters and figures of children. Decorative embellishments of vines and patterns are printed in brown.
An 1899 cover of one of the Pepper books, The Stories Polly Pepper Told

Together they became a powerhouse in the publishing and literary communities. They purchased Wayside, the Concord, Massachusetts home that previously belonged to American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. There Harriet continued to write her stories and novels; and Daniel enjoyed his weekends there as respite from the hustle and bustle of downtown Boston where his publishing house was located. 

Black and white photo of Wayside, a three-story home with clapboard siding and shutters at the windows. On the left side of the home is a Victorian trimmed veranda that circles around to the side of the house. A first floor bay window has a balcony above it that is accessed through french shuttered doors. A split rail fence, covered in a flowering vine, separates the front lawn from the sidewalk.
Wayside, as it appeared in 1908.

As individuals, Isabella Alden and Harriet Lothrop could not be more different. Isabella lived a rather quiet life, supporting her husband’s ministry, raising her son, writing her books, teaching at Chautauqua, and giving talks and readings of her stories at churches across the country.

By comparison, Harriet loved a good party. She was a leading force in Concord society. When her daughter Margaret turned nine years old, Harriet, in typical style, threw an all-day celebration. She invited children and adults from around the area to join the birthday celebration.

The highlight of the event was when the children formed a circle around a large artificial rose that had been set up on the lawn. And when the rose petals parted and spread, they revealed little Margaret setting in the center of the rose. Here’s an illustration that appeared in a magazine that printed an account of the event.

Harriet was definitely an imaginative hostess, and knew how to throw a party to please children and adults!

The same was true of her stories. Although Harriet was best known for her children’s books, she also wrote novels for teens and young adults.

One such novel was How Tom and Dorothy Made and Kept a Christian Home.

Cover image for novel, How Tom and Dorothy Made and Kept a Christian Home.

Newlyweds Tom and Dorothy Foster have a bright future together, but very little money. They’ve pledged to spend their earnings for God’s good, but it seems each new day brings new temptations. Will they be able to keep the promises they made to God and to each other?

You can read How Tom and Dorothy Made and Kept a Christian Home for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device. Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.

We’re celebrating Margaret Sidney all month long!

Join us next week for another story by Margaret Sidney you can read for free!

Free Read: Mrs. Raynor’s New Nurse-Maid

Published on by Isabella Alden2 Comments

This month’s free read is a charming short story from the pen of Isabella’s sister, Marcia Livingston (who also happens to be the mother of author Grace Livingston Hill).

Written in 1886, the story is about the difficulties a young mother faces in trying to find the right person to help care for her baby. And while it’s entertaining, the story also gives us some hints of what it was like to be a middle-class mother in those days, and the many rules women had to live by.

Helen Raynor is in need of a nurse-maid to help care for her precious little newborn. But so far, every nurse she employed proved incompetent or ill-tempered. Poor Helen is near desperation when she suddenly recalls an old family servant who might be perfect for the job. Will Helen be able to convince her husband she has made the right decision?

You can read “Mrs. Raynor’s New Nurse-Maid” for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device.

Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.

Free Read: What If I Had!

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Isabella often wrote stories about what happens when someone chooses to do the right thing, even at the cost of personal sacrifice. This month’s free read is a short story that reflects that theme.

It’s New Year’s Day and Stephen Watson plans to spend it with a friend—until his employer insists Stephen work instead. Poor Stephen can barely contain his disappointment; and when he tells a stranger his troubles, he learns a valuable lesson in charity.

You can read “What If I Had!” for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device.

Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.

Free Read: A Ten-Dollar Christmas

Published on by Isabella Alden4 Comments

This month’s free read is a short story Isabella wrote in 1891 about the joy of giving at Christmas time:

Book cover for A Ten-Dollar Christmas. A woman stands with two children, dressed inc oats and hats, stand on the street looking into a shop window. The window display shows dolls, toys, a Santa Clause coming out of a chimney, a vase of flowers on a table, and a framed print in front of a Christmas tree decorated with toys.

It’s the worst Christmas ever for wealthy Adele Chester. Her mother and father are in Europe, and Adele has been left behind to stay with her Aunt Martha … on a farm! Her parents sent her money to spend, but where would she spend it? And on what? Then a little girl named Janey enters her life, and suddenly Adele’s Christmas takes on a whole new meaning.

You can read “A Ten-Dollar Christmas” for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, kindle or other electronic device. Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.

Free Read: An Eventful Thanksgiving

Published on by Isabella Alden2 Comments

This month’s free read is a short story Isabella wrote about a very unusual Thanksgiving dinner.

Cover of An Eventful Thanksgiving

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When Mrs. Wykoff learns her vagabond son has died in a tragic accident, her grief knows no bounds. She plans to honor his memory by hosting a Thanksgiving dinner with his closest friends, but her lovingly-made plans may be disrupted by a stunning revelation.

You can read “And Eventful Thanksgiving” for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device. Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.

New Free Read: The Trained Nurse

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Many of Isabella’s stories feature characters on the lookout for opportunities to share the Gospel. In this month’s free read, a sensible teenager does exactly that.

Miss Winnie Holden is just beginning her career in nursing, but she is committed to healing her patients’ souls as well as their bodies. But when the doctor orders Winnie keep her elderly patient from becoming excited in any way, she wonders how she will ever be able to learn whether the dear man she’s been caring for is a Christian.

You can read “The Trained Nurse” for Free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device. Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.

Free Read: An Hour with Miss Streator

Published on by Isabella Alden4 Comments

Isabella she was an acknowledged expert in developing Sunday-school lesson plans for young children.

At Chautauqua Institution she taught classes for Sunday-school teachers; and because she was “an advanced thinker,” she encouraged teachers to employ modern devices—such as slates and blackboards—to keep their youngest students engaged and eager to learn.

Some of her teaching methods are revealed in this month’s free read, “An Hour with Miss Streator,” an 1884 short story about a young Sunday-school teacher who has more influence over the hearts and souls of her young students than she will ever know.

Book cover showing a classroom of young children. A young woman bends down to speak to a little boy and little girl who stand at the head of the class.

In Miss Streator’s Sunday-school class every child is welcome, even the trouble-makers that have been ejected from other classrooms! Although she’s not a trained Sunday-school teacher, Miss Streator is earnest and determined to teach her young students about salvation. Will her innovative methods help her succeed?

You can read “An Hour with Miss Streator” for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device. Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.

You can read more about Isabella’s efforts to educate Sunday-school teachers by clicking here.

Free Read: Philip Kendall’s Fire

Published on by Isabella Alden4 Comments

This month’s free read is a short story Isabella wrote in 1916 about the power of faith.

Philip Kendall dreams of going to college, but he has no way to pay for it. His only hope is to convince his long-estranged—and extremely parsimonious—aunt and uncle to lend him the money.

You can read “Philip Kendall’s Fire” for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device. Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can rad, print, and share with friends.

Free Read: A Christian Endeavor Picnic

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This month’s Free Read is a short story Isabella wrote about the Christian Endeavor movement and the opportunities its members had to influence others for Christ.

While on vacation, Dorothea Conklin is determined to invite the local teens to her Christian Endeavor prayer meeting, even if her friends oppose her plan. Somehow she must find a way to convince her friends—and the local teens—that there’s room for everyone at an Endeavor prayer meeting.

Sharp-eyed readers might recognize the name of one of the characters in the story: Eurie Shipley. Why does it sound familiar?

Because Isabella introduced Eurie Harrison and Flossie Shipley in her 1875 novel, Four Girls at Chautauqua.

Perhaps when she wrote “A Christian Endeavor Picnic” in 1896, she meant to imply that Eurie Shipley was somehow a relative of those two beloved characters from twenty years before. What do you think?

You can read “A Christian Endeavor Picnic” for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device. Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.