Title: Molly Make-Believe
First published: 1911
Description: Recovering from a long illness, Boston businessman Carl Stanton is unable to accompany his fiancée Cornelia on a mid-winter trip to warm and sunny Jacksonville. Lonely, bored, and disappointed in Cornelia’s lack of affection, Carl decides to answer an advertisement from the Serial-Letter Company, which promises real letters, delivering comfort and entertainment, from imaginary persons. Carl signs up for their love letter program, thinking he might have a bit of fun, and teach his fiancée a lesson in the process.

But he never expects to be so utterly charmed and entertained as he is by his letter writer, “Molly Make-Believe.” As the winter drags on and Cornelia’s letters grow sparse and impersonal, Carl and Molly strike up a lively correspondence, and he finds himself falling in love with her. Carl becomes determined to uncover Molly’s true identity. But will she be everything he imagines her to be? Does she feel what he feels, or is she just playing a part? And what will Cornelia have to say about this when she comes home?

Originally written in 1910 by one of the early twentieth century’s most prolific romantic authors, Molly Make-Believe is a sweet, old-fashioned romance delivered with Eleanor Hallowell Abbott’s sparkling wit and style, and sure to delight fans of classic romance.
Subjects: illness, kindness, recovery, creativity, Lutetia Roman and italio type, Fiction, romance, general, Siblings, fiction, Young women, fiction
Time periods: 1910, Boston