Two Little Pilgrims' Progress: A Story of the City Beautiful

Frances Hodgson Burnett, the mastermind behind The Secret Garden, returns to the terrain of childhood resilience and hope. In this 1895 novel, orphaned twins Meg and Robin endure a gray existence under their neglectful Aunt Matilda, finding唯一 refuge in the Straw Parlor, a secret hideaway atop a straw stack in the barn where they read, dream, and plan their escape. When word spreads of the extraordinary "City Beautiful" rising in Chicago for the 1893 World's Fair, their diffuse yearning for something more sharpens into purpose: they will earn their own money and make the journey themselves. What unfolds is a plucky adventure that captures something essential about the fierce dignity of children who refuse to be diminished by circumstance. This is a story about the audacious belief that wonder exists beyond your boundaries, and the quiet heroism of reaching for it.