CHARLEY SMITH'S GIRL

by Helen Bevington ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 7, 1965

Child of a broken home, in the days before such things were commonplace in middle class circles, Mrs. Bevington has written her autobiography out of a deep sense of guilt. Her father, Charley Smith, was an ebullient, self-centered Methodist preacher with a penchant for pretty girls which cost him his calling. Her mother was a strait-laced, hard working music teacher, who brought up her daughter with a struggle once she had divorced the adulterous Charley. As she grew older, Mrs. Bevington rejected her ex-father, whom she had loved, and rebelled against her mother, whom she had revered, and it has obviously been bothering her. The book is also a chatty account of life in the small towns of upper New York State in the early part of this century and of childhood memories and fears, such as we all might write. It is a genteel memoir with a faint flavor of Little Women about it (Jo and the author have traits in common) and may appeal to those whose reading tastes are conservative, retrospective and removed from modern times.

Pub Date: June 7, 1965

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1965

Categories: NONFICTION