The Young Visitors, Or, Mr Salteena's Plan by Daisy Ashford, 1951 edition.

Written by Daisy Ashford. Illustrated by William Pene du Bois. First edition thus, 1951; original published 1919. Doubleday & Co.

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"What a treat is in store for every reader who has not yet encountered The Young Visitors, and what added pleasure awaits this ageless classic of unintentional humor - a romantic novel written by a nine-year-old girl.

"As a child, Daisy Ashford possessed a keen ear for the conversations of her elders, and was avid reader of the Victorian novels of her day. From these sources, and with her own considerable talent, she fashioned the fabulous love story of naively sophisticated Ethel, handsome, wealthy Bernard, and poor Mr. Salteena, the disappointed suitor. Her genuinely delightful combination of childish and adult viewpoints, the unconscious caricature and satire of romance, make this tale still one of the funniest books ever written."

English writer Margaret Mary Julia Devlin (1881 – 1972), a.k.a. Daisy Ashford, was nine years-old when she wrote The Young Visitors, a story of 19th century upper class English society, published in 1919. The success of her first book led George H. Doran and Company to publish Daisy Ashford: Her Book: A Collection of the Remaining Novels in 1920. She invested the proceeds in a farm, and at the age of 38, married James Devlin. They grew flowers and raised four children, and she never wrote again, that anyone knows. She once said, "I like fresh air - and royalties."

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Condition*: Fine/Very Good. Dust Jacket: Moderate shelf wear; light rubbing along fore edges and spine; lightly bumped at corners; lightly faded along spine, front of the jacket; small closed tear at tail of the spine; small moisture stain at tail of the spine, visible from inside; small crease on the front at upper edge; small chips along upper edge; price-clipped; shadow of small label on front flap. Illustrated cover boards. Pages are clean, undamaged, and complete.