PENELOPE BAILEY TAKES THE STAGE

In 1889, 11-years-old Penny Bailey of Berkeley, Calif. is determined to become an actress. Her dreams are put on hold, however, when she must spend several months with her very Victorian and theater-hating aunt in San Francisco. She has various adventures, many of them unpleasant thanks to her humorless aunt, Phyllis, and her two snobbish daughters. On the few occasions when she escapes from them, she does meet exciting people involved in theater. One group, obviously based on young Isadora Duncan’s family, shows her what freedom and artistry are despite their genteel poverty. When they are on the scene, the book is lively and proceeds apace; when they are not, it drags with intrusive details that the author inserts, perhaps to expand the setting. Characterization is lifeless and the snobby and mean actions of her cousins are annoying, as is the meanness of her aunt. Would close out of town. (author’s note, sources) (Fiction. 9-12)