Nancy of Paradise Cottage

251 pp. Mrs. Prescott and pretty, luxury-loving Alma would rather get at the nice things more quickly; and in the poor circumstances of the little family, it is Nancy who has to struggle to keep off the rocks on which the impractical optimism of her mother and sister threaten to land them. It is after the disastrous results of Mrs. Prescott's efforts to give her daughters advantages and pleasures that are far beyond the scope of their small fortune, that Nancy finally persuades her mother and Alma to her own levelheaded point of view; and then, as if by magic, the "nice, unexpected things" begin to happen.