Synopsis
Day in and day out the dutiful mousewife works alongside her mousehusband in the house of Miss Barbara Wilkinson. It is a nice house and the mousewife is for the most part happy collecting crumbs and preparing a nest for her future mouse-babies—yet she yearns for something more. But what? Her husband, for one, can’t imagine. “I think about cheese,” he advises her. “Why don’t you think about cheese?” Then an odd and exotic new creature, a turtledove, is brought into the house and placed in a gilded cage. A friendship develops as the dove tells the mousewife about things no house mouse has ever imagined, blue skies, tumbling clouds, tall trees, and far horizons, the memory of which haunt the dove in her captivity. The dove’s tales fill the mousewife with wonder and inspire her to take daring action. Rumer Godden’s lovely fable about unexpected friendship and bittersweet love was inspired by a story Dorothy Wordsworth wrote for her brother, William, and is accompanied by stunning pen-and-ink drawings by William Pène du Bois.
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About the Author
Rumer Godden (1907–1998) grew up in India, where her father ran a steamship company. When her husband left her penniless in Calcutta with two daughters to raise, she started to write books to pay off her many debts. She wrote more than sixty books for adults and young adults, including The Doll’s House, Impunity Jane, The Greengage Summer, and An Episode of Sparrows (also published by The New York Review Children’s Collection).
William Pène du Bois (1916–1993) was born in New Jersey to a family of artists and educated mostly in France. A founding editor of The Paris Review, Pène du Bois wrote some twenty-five books, many of which he also illustrated, including The Twenty-One Balloons, winner of the 1948 Newbery Medal.
Review
"Rumer Godden's The Mousewife, first illustrated in 1951 and reissued by The New York Review Children's Collection, is a gentle fable of liberation that the prolific British novelist and biographer, who died in 1998, wrote after escaping a loveless first marriage...Disarmingly illustrated by William Pene du Bois, this little book makes a case for empathy and daring: Why creep when you can fly?" --O, The Oprah Magazine
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The Mousewife
Published by
Dutton Juvenile (edition First Edition), 1971
ISBN 10: 0670050555
ISBN 13: 9780670050550
Used
Paperback
First Edition
Seller: BooksRun, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Fair. First Edition. The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way. Seller Inventory # 0670050555-7-1
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The Mousewife
Seller: Hawking Books, Edgewood, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Condition: Acceptable. Ex-library book with usual markings. Missing dust jacket. Meets the acceptable condition guidelines. Has wear. Five star seller - Buy with confidence! Seller Inventory # X0670050555X4
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The Mousewife
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0670050555I5N00
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The Mousewife
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Seller Inventory # T06A-05671
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The Mousewife [1st Edition]
Published by
Viking Press / Viking Seafarer Edition, NY, 1971
ISBN 10: 0670050555
ISBN 13: 9780670050550
Used
Soft cover
First Edition
Seller: Monroe Bridge Books, MABA Member, Houlton, ME, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Soft cover. Condition: Good+. Du Bois, William Pene (illustrator). 1st Edition. 47pp, bound in stiff paper covers, with the binding and hinges tight, illustrated throughout. Covers rubbed with light soiling, interior pages are age toned. Seller Inventory # 010897
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the MOUSEWIFE *
Published by
Viking Press, * * * * *, 1971
ISBN 10: 0670050555
ISBN 13: 9780670050550
Used
Soft cover
First Edition
Seller: L. Michael, North Hollywood, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. William PENE du BOIS, Illustrated by. (illustrator). 1st Edition. B00K: Very Good/ $58.75 0670050555 the MOUSEWIFE GODDEN, Rummer William PENE du BOIS, Illustrated by. Viking Press 1971 1sT Edition, 2nD Printing S/c Sun Browning On A 0ff~White Spine, Title In Black Letters, Soft Cover B00K: Very Good/ Condition, Shelf, Edge And Wear. 43 Numbered Pages Printed On Tan Paper, Browning On Edges, In Very Good/Fine/ Condition That Are Lightly Viewed, Clean And Tight To The Spine. Three 0ff~White Spots On Front Cover. D/j: None. No Odors, No Book Plate, No Writing, No Names, No Rippling, Not Stuck Together, Not X~Library. = Description Applies To This B00K, Only, Which Is Hard To Find, And Will Be = Packaged And Shipped Carefully, To Avoid Shipping Damage And Will Make It, An Excellent Addition To Your Own Personal Library Collection, Or As A Gift For The Collector / Reader. WORLD WIDE SHIPPING, AVAILABLE. Seller Inventory # 014383
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The Mousewife
Seller: GoldBooks, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # 19M37_24_0670050555
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The Mousewife
Seller: SHIMEDIA, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Satisfaction Guaranteed or your money back. Seller Inventory # 0670050555