Book Review: The Good Master

[osprey_archer]

I technically didn’t need to reread Kate Seredy’s The Good Master for my Newbery project, as I already read it as a child and liked it so much that it survived repeated cullings of my childhood book collection… but I didn’t actually remember anything about it, aside from the vague sense that “This might be a good book for my Problem of Tomboys post.”

And how. The book begins when Jancsi’s Cousin Kate arrives on the train from Budapest. Over the course of the next few chapters, Kate:

- throws a temper tantrum when she realizes she’ll have to ride in a horse cart rather than a proper taxi;
- pushes Jancsi and his father off the cart, takes hold of the reins, and whip the horses home while standing in the cart like a charioteer in Ben Hur;
- climbs into the rafters to eat sausages (which are stored in the rafters);
- cuts her skirt with a pair of shears so Jansci can give her a riding lesson;
- and then, at the end of the first riding lesson, screams like a banshee just for the fun of seeing Jancsi’s horse try to buck him off.

After this, Kate becomes slightly less of a danger to life and limb, but not less of a tomboy. In fact, after the skirt cutting incident, Jancsi’s mother dresses Cousin Kate in Jancsi’s cast-off clothing (which Kate has already anathemized as looking like girl’s clothes, with those wide pleated trousers). If she’s going to run wild, might as well have the proper clothes for it!

In general, if you wish to read about children behaving badly for no particularly good reason, the 1930s are a fruitful decade in which to look.

Comments

[sanguinity]

Oh! Oh! I forgot this is a book that exists! And I think I even have a copy of it, too, hooray!

[osprey_archer]

Oh, amazing! So happy I could help reconnect you to this book!

[ellenmillion]

I remember LOVING this book. I vividly recall the scene where she dresses up in seventeen skirts. "Which one do I wear?" "All of them!" And Jancsi's mother is wearing even more.

[ellenmillion]

And I loved the illustrations SO much.

[osprey_archer]

Yes, Jancsi's mother has 36 skirts! HOW do you get that many skirts around one waist...

[house_wren]

Oh! Oh! I remember liking this book very much. I read it repeatedly until we moved house. The new library did not have it, and over time I forgot the story, recalling only the cover with the black background and the red heart.
Thanks for your post.

[osprey_archer]

Oh, I'm so glad that this post could bring this book back to you!

[msilverstar]

I remember liking it too, kindof a wish-fulfillment thing. And all the stuff about Hungary was great!

[osprey_archer]

Who among us does NOT want to charge around the Hungarian plains riding a horse named Milky?

[lokifan]

This sounds delightful!

[osprey_archer]

Yes, it's lots of fun!