Thanks to her loving but over-protective guardian aunts, Betsy is a fearful, self-absorbed, nine-year-old hypochondriac. One of the most terrible items on her long list of fears is the horrid cousins her aunts never mention without shuddering. When her aunts are suddenly no longer able to care for her, Betsy is, incredibly, sent to live with those very relatives. Arriving in Vermont alone and full of trepidation, Betsy is immediately invited by her Uncle Henry to drive the carriage. Steering the fearful horses is just the beginning of her adventures in New England -- and independence. By the novel's end, Betsy has become very fond of the rough but affectionate relatives who eat in the kitchen and expect her to wash her own dishes. When she gets a letter from the aunts inviting her to come home, Betsy must make a difficult choice. Understood Betsy has been published in numerous editions worldwide since its 1917 debut, and continues to charm readers with its delightful and surprisingly liberated characters.

Named by Eleanor Roosevelt as one of America's ten most influential women, DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER (1879 - 1958) brought the Montessori Method of child rearing to America, presided over the country's first adult education program, and for 25 years influenced American literary tastes as a member of the Book-of-the-Month Club selection committee. A committed social activist and educational reformer, the popular Arlington, Vermont writer produced 22 works of fiction, including Seasoned Timber and 18 nonfiction books on a wide range of subjects.