Our Philadelphia

"Our Philadelphia" by Elizabeth Robins Pennell is a memoir-like account written in the early 20th century. The text explores the author’s deep attachment to Philadelphia, reflecting on her own childhood experiences in the city as well as the historical and cultural context of its neighborhoods. The narrative is infused with personal impressions and nostalgic memories, as Pennell articulates her affection for the city and its transformation over time. The opening of the book establishes the author’s connection to Philadelphia, claiming her birthright while acknowledging the mixed feelings about the city’s indifferent attitude towards its citizens' affections. In a reflective tone, she recalls her upbringing in Philadelphia, emphasizing its charm, beauty, and the subtleties of daily life that shaped her identity. Pennell conveys a longing for a Philadelphia that is becoming a fading memory, highlighting the contrast between the past and the present while setting the stage for her subsequent recollections of childhood adventures, familial bonds, and the intimate details of life in a city she dearly loves. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Elizabeth Robins Pennell was an American writer who, for most of her adult life, made her home in London. A researcher summed her up in a work published in 2000 as "an adventurous, accomplished, self-assured, well-known columnist, biographer, cookbook collector, and art critic"; in addition, she wrote travelogues, mainly of European cycling voyages, and memoirs, centred on her London salon. Her biographies included the first in almost a century of the proto-feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, one of her uncle the folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland, and one of her friend the painter Whistler. In recent years, her art criticism has come under scrutiny, and her food criticism has been reprinted.