Lenora Mattingly Weber

Lenora Mattingly Weber (1895-1971) was best known for her mid-20th century girls book series, especially those about independent girls such as Beany Malone and Katie Rose Belford. Weber was an industrious widow with six children, who also had a lesser-known career as a magazine columnist. From 1946 to 1967, Weber wrote "Mid Pleasures and Problems" for Extension, a monthly Catholic magazine in the mold of the Saturday Evening Post. In her columns, she commented on the social issues of a large swathe of the 20th Century. In the 1940s, she described post-World War II life; in the 1950s she ruminated on the pros and cons of working mothers; and in the 1960s, she addressed Catholicism after Vatican II as well as racism and segregation. Her fans have brought her girls series books back into print, spurring a mini-Weber renaissance of her fiction. However, the 266 columns she wrote for Extension magazine have remained all but lost. Until now. This collection, curated and edited by Betsy Edgerton, contains 50 of Weber's best columns and showcases her most personal writing.

The Beany Malone Series and The Katie Rose & Stacy Belford Series by Lenora Mattingly Weber. All 22 Books of each Weber series. The Beany Malone Series: Meet the Malones; Beany Malone; Leave It to Beany Beany and the Beckoning Road; Beany Has a Secret Life; Make a Wish for Me, Happy Birthday, Dear Beany; The More the Merrier; A Bright Star Falls; Welcome Stranger; Pick a New Dream; Tarry Awhile; Something Borrowed, Something Blue; Come Back, Wherever You Are. The Katie Rose & Stacy Belford Series: Don't Call Me Katie Rose; Winds of March; A New and Different Summer; I Met a Boy I Used to Know; Angel in Heavy Shoes; How Long Is Always; Hello My Love, Goodbye; Sometimes a Stranger. The Malones of Denver, Colorado are a warm open-hearted family with a welcoming home, open to friends and all others in need of physical and emotional nourishment. The series has the warmth and sense of solidarity intrinsic of wartimes and the post-war era. When the series opens, the Malone children are motherless. The father, Martie Malone, is often absent due to his duties as editor of the Denver Call. Three of the four Malone children, Mary Fred, Johnny and Beany, live at home. The Malones live on Barberry Street in a large, wide-bosomed gray stone home. Their surrounding neighbors are Mrs. Morrison Adams (known as Mrs. Socially-Prominent Adams) in her red brick home with immaculate white trim and frilly curtains in the windows, and the imposing and stately home of the Judge Buell family. One of the wonderful aspects of this series is in watching Beany and her family encounter struggles and triumphs that we have all experienced. The Katie Rose Belford/Stacy Belford series is a story of a large family in Denver. Rose Belford (formerly Rose O'Byrne from the farming town of Bannon) supports her six children by playing the piano at a club named Guido's Gay Nineties Club.

The Gypsy Bridle is a novel written by Lenora Mattingly Weber. The story follows the lives of two women, one an American and the other a gypsy, who become unlikely friends. The American woman, Ellen, is a young widow who has recently inherited a large estate in England. She becomes fascinated with the gypsy culture and begins to learn their ways. The gypsy woman, Zara, is a skilled horse trainer who is hired by Ellen to train her horses. As their friendship grows, they both face challenges from their respective communities. Ellen's family and friends disapprove of her association with the gypsies, while Zara's own people are suspicious of her friendship with an outsider. The two women must navigate these obstacles while also dealing with personal struggles. The Gypsy Bridle is a heartwarming tale of friendship, acceptance, and the power of love to overcome cultural differences. This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.