Girls together

"Girls together" by Amy Ella Blanchard is a novel written in the late 19th century. It follows cousins Theo Nelson and Val Le Moyne as they come of age under the steady guidance of Aunt Janet, moving from a college-town circle to a modest, art-tinged New York life with friends, studies, and tentative romances. The focus is domestic, warm, and moral without preachiness, centering on friendship, self-reliance, and character. Key figures include Theo’s brother Archie, his loyal chum Jack Allen, their lively friend Nannie Talcott, and the kindly Colonel Smith. The opening of the story begins amid commencement gaiety, with Theo and Val celebrating Archie and Jack’s graduation before Archie accepts a law opportunity in New York and Jack hurries there to face uneasy family business. Back in Roseville, Aunt Janet tactfully steers Gilbert Rogers away from the fast, flirtatious Fly Crawford, while Theo yearns to study in New York; Aunt Janet soon resolves the problem by moving the household there. Theo and Nannie first sample “Bohemia” in a comical boarding-house search, then land a cheerful studio aerie where the boys visit, the hammock collapses, and small adventures turn into shared rituals. Once settled, Theo works at her music, Val studies, Nannie paints at the League, and a playful French class with Madame Ribeau becomes their Friday highlight. Trouble enters when Felix Parkhurst’s languid sentimentality confuses Theo; Val’s teasing flirtations expose his shallowness, Aunt Janet reproves Val’s tactic, and Theo steadies herself.

Girls together, by Amy Ella Blanchard. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78824.