Queen Hildegarde

When Hildegarde's parents sail for India, they ship their unmanageable daughter to the one place they think might humble her: a remote New England farm belonging to distant relatives she's never met. The city girl, who counts among her possessions a pearl ring and memories of opera boxes, arrives prepared to hate every moment. The farm has no streets, no shops, no society. How could anyone survive such exile?But Uncle Rube is kinder than expected, Aunt Jane gentler, and the hired hand Joe speaks in a dry wit that slowly wins her over. There's Grizzle the dog, who becomes her fierce companion, and adventures that test her courage: a barn fire, a dramatic rescue, the rough magic of seasons passing. Richards, who won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, writes with sharp eyes and an unsentimental heart. This is the story of a girl who discovers she is braver and more capable than her pampered life ever allowed her to know. The transformation feels earned, not announced. A child learning that happiness isn't found in velvet and crystal but in the courage to become someone worth knowing.