New Bed-Time Stories

"New Bed-Time Stories" by Louise Chandler Moulton is a collection of fictional short stories written during the late 19th century. The collection features various narratives that explore themes of compassion, childhood innocence, and human connection, likely aimed at both children and adults. The characters seem to embody relatable aspects of life, often intertwining the fates of children with the challenges faced by adults in their lives. The opening of this collection introduces various characters, notably Miss Endell, who has just settled into her new London lodgings. The narrative subtly unfolds her interactions with Johnny, a mute, orphaned child whose backstory is revealed through his touching relationship with Miss Endell as she finds herself drawn to the boy's plight. The storytelling captures a gradual development of their bond, highlighting themes of kindness and the impact of compassion on both the giver and the receiver. The opening sets the stage for a heartwarming exploration of human connections, especially how those connections can transform lives. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Louise Chandler Moulton was an American poet, story-writer and critic. Contributing poems and stories of power and grace to the leading magazines, Harper's Magazine, The Atlantic, The Galaxy, the first Scribner's, she also published a half-dozen very successful books for children, Bedtime Stories, Firelight Stories, Stories Told at Twilight, and others that were considered popular in their day. She collected a few of her many adult tales into volumes, Miss Eyre of Boston and Some Women's Hearts. It is in Boston that she did the greater part of her work, including her books of travel, Random Rambles and Lazy Tours, published her four volumes of poetry, and edited and prefaced biographies, A Last Harvest and Garden Secrets, and the Collected Poems of Philip Bourke Marston, as well as a selection from Arthur O'Shaughnessy's verses.