Olive Higgins Prouty
4/5 stars
Bobbie, General Manager is a charming novel written in 1913. It begins when Bobbie is 16 years old, and gives vignettes of her life during the next several years. It was Prouty's first novel, and is a not as finely written as Now, Voyager (1941), but the plot is enjoyable and the characters engaging.
The best part of the book, though, is the picture it gives of the life of an upper middle class family during America's Gilded Age. The customs, manners, daily routines, and clothing descriptions are fascinating to read. It is, of course, dated, with concerns that seem silly today and marital advice that might appear laughable to a modern woman, but this added to the atmosphere of the novel.
Overall, while not stellar, Bobbie, General Manager was a delightful read and I plan to start the companion volume (about her sister) in the very near future
