HIDDEN GEMS

Forshee chronicles the life of pioneering retail leader Margaret Getchell LaForge in this biography for middle-grade readers.

In the 19th century, Margaret Getchell LaForge rose from modest beginnings to become the first female executive in the retail industry. Overcoming challenges at a young age, Margaret endured her father’s abandonment of the family, the death of her brother in infancy, and the near-total loss of vision in one eye. But, as the author notes, Margaret’s community of Nantucket harbored a culture of female empowerment. Shaped by formative experiences characterized by female autonomy, Margaret became a teacher at the age of 16. When her visual impairment resulted in the replacement of her right eye with a glass prosthetic, she sought employment from her cousin R.H. Macy who owned a soon-to-be-famous store in New York. While her attention to detail and skill with numbers enabled her rapid advancement from cash clerk to head bookkeeper, Margaret had bigger dreams. Known to say, “Be everywhere. Do everything. And never fail to astonish the customer,” Margaret offered innovative ideas that have come to shape modern retail, including the diverse selection of goods that characterizes the department store model, wildly creative marketing, and the placing of desired merchandise in the backs of stores. Margaret was even the genesis of the red star logo with which Macy’s is synonymous. Rewarded with a promotion to superintendent and placed in charge of all 200 employees within the store, Margaret became the first woman in America to hold such a leadership role in a retail setting. In this fascinating and thoughtfully written account, the author draws upon source material from the great-great-granddaughter of Margaret Getchell LaForge, lending intimacy to her presentation of this trailblazing leader’s life. Succinct and easy to read, this narrative of resilience is well suited to late-childhood and early-adolescent readers, and it inspires with a real-life example of determination and success. This sweet and uplifting work will make a solid addition to school libraries and family storytimes.

A child-friendly look at a boundary-defying businesswoman.