Home-Maker
by Dorothy Canfield, Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Category: Fiction

2020 Reprint of the 1924 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition and not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. The novel describes the problems of a family in which husband and wife are oppressed and frustrated by the roles that they are expected to play. Evangeline Knapp is the ideal housekeeper, while her husband Lester is a poet and a dreamer. Suddenly, through a nearly fatal accident, their roles are reversed; Lester is confined to home in a wheelchair and his wife must work to support the family. "This 1924 novel... deals in a seemingly contemporary with the issue of how a married couple can feel oppressed and frustrated by the roles they are expected to play and what happens when these roles are reversed." -- Philadelphia Inquirer. "What if a husband likes to keep house and is good at it? What if a wife wants to have a job? In the early part of the 20th century, switching roles was an unthinkable solution, but the author uses the frame of a serious accident to set up the situation in this book. "The Home-Maker" is a great commentary on gender roles and Fisher is a keen observer of human nature, so the characters are wonderful. However, the real reason to read this book is something additional. It contains some of the very best writing I have ever seen on the unfolding of a child's character and the responsibility of a parent. The scenes with the children are charming and appealing, but they are also intensely insightful. Fisher had strong views on the need for children to grow up strong and independent, and she found few obligations more serious that than of parents who must carefully accord respect to their children, while nurturing their children's nature to the fullest. She makes her serious point in the framework of an irresistible tale of a loving father and mother who just happen to be miscast in their family roles. Don't miss this one if you want a great book about what children need from adults. And don't miss Steven and the egg-beater."-Amazon Reviewer.