Description
Twelve-year-old Laura and her three younger siblings live in rural Victoria, Australia. Their father has died, and their mother supports the family through sewing and embroidery. With financial support from her godmother, Laura is sent to the prestigious Ladies’ College, a girls’ boarding school in the state’s capital city of Melbourne. There, she is exposed to the prejudice of her wealthier and more worldly peers, and learns to be ashamed of her homespun background, especially of her mother’s “working with her hands.” What kind of wisdom will she gain in her new environment, whose reigning values are appearance and conformity?
The Getting of Wisdom is a coming-of-age novel that depicts the material and moral...