Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden is 1961 Children's Literature. It's followed by a 1963 sequel, Little Plum.
Nona Fell grew up in India under The Raj. After her father sends her to England to live with cousins, eight-year-old Nona is overcome with homesickness. Then her great-aunt sends two Japanese dolls which need love and care. She takes it upon herself to build them a Japanese dollhouse.
Tropes
- Answer Cut:Mother: You really must try to be happier, Nona. You're not the only small person to come from far away.
Nona: I'm the only one here.
[the doorbell rings and a postman arrives with the box containing the dolls] - Chekhov's Gun: The dolls come with a letter from Great-Aunt Lucy Dickinson. The letter mentions 3 dolls: Miss Happiness, Miss Flower, and Little Peach. There's only 2 dolls in the package. They eventually follow up about the third doll.
- Commonality Connection: Implied Trope. Mr Twilfit alludes to some childhood experience which is reminiscent of Nona's, but it's not followed up on.Mr Twilfit: When I was a little boy I knew what it was like to be a long way from home.
- Fish out of Water: Nona Fell was born in India to English parents and raised on Coimbatore Tea Estate, near Travancore, South India. Her mother died when she was a baby, so she was brought up by her father and an Ayah, an Indian nurse. At age 8, her father sends her to live with cousins in England. Nona is terribly homesick and has a really hard time adjusting.It had been hot in Coimbatore, the sun had shone almost every day; there had been bright flowers and fruit, kind brown people and lots of animals. Here it was winter and Nona was always cold. Her cousins laughed at her clothes; it was no wonder, for they had been chosen by old Ayah who had no idea what English children wore in England [...] They laughed at the way she spoke English, which was no wonder either, for she talked in a sing-song voice like Ayah. She did not like the food; living in a hot country does not make one hungry and she had not seen porridge, or puddings, or sausages, or buns before, and 'No thank you,' said Nona. She said 'No thank you' too when anyone asked her to go out, for she had never seen so many buses and cars, vans and bicycles; they went so fast it made her dizzy. She said 'No thank you' when her cousins asked her to play; there had been no other English boys and girls in Coimbatore and she had never ridden a bicycle, or roller skated, or played ping-pong, or rounders, or hide and seek, or even card games like Snap or Beggar-my-neighbour.
- Grumpy Old Man: Mr Twilfit who runs the bookshop is a grouchy old man. Before Nona ever meets him, she hears her cousins' stories about him being cross and scary. But he's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold and Nona earns his respect by washing her hands before touching his books. He takes a liking to her, and even lends her books for free because he trusts her to return them undamaged.
- Living Toys: The dolls are conscious and can talk to each other, but are otherwise immobile and can only affect humans by wishing very hard.
- Made in Country X: Nona sets her eyes on Melly's pencil box, with the intention of turning it into a cupboard for her dollhouse. When she gets it, the dolls are delighted to read "Made in Japan" stamped on the back.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Belinda comes to jealously resent how much attention Nona and her dollhouse project command. When the house is finally done, Nona has a sort of ribbon-cutting party where she invites over everyone who helped. Belinda ruins the party by demanding Miss Flower be given to her, per the original letter. At first Belinda fells good about her upset, but by nightfall she's feeling guilty and unable to sleep. Belinda cries, then she gets up, takes Miss Flower to her dollhouse, and tucks her into bed. And after that, Belinda sleeps soundly.
- Plot Parallel: The central plot of the book. Nona was raised in India and has been sent to England. She's feeling very discombobulated and alone in a strange country. She is gifted two Japanese dolls, who are in the same position. She identifies with the dolls, and feels strongly that she needs to make them at home. As she builds a Japanese dollhouse for them, she makes friends and slowly builds a home for herself in England as well.
- Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Nona's desire to be friends with her classmate Melly looks rather like a crush.Mother: You can have friends.
Nona: [tearfully] No I can't.
Mother: Why not?
Nona: There's only one girl I like and she sits next to me.
Mother: [mystified] If you like her why should you mind? Why should you mind?
Nona: She's too pretty and stuck-up to speak to me. - Reverse Psychology: Tom initially has no interest in doing carpentry work to build a dollhouse for his cousin. Mr Twilfit talks about how the project is surely too difficult for him. Tom then does it to prove his skill.
- Shown Their Work: These days, Japanese cultural information is pretty widely available outside of Japan, but this book was published in 1961. The book includes a note thanking "Mr Seo of the Japanese Embassy" for his help.
- TanabataNona: S-something to do with the stars, t-two stars. I think they are the spirits of two people who loved each other long, long ago, a thousand years ago, and were separated. Now they are up in two stars each side of the M-milky Way, and one night each year they can cross and meet.
Anne: Across the Milky Way? How pretty.
Nona: Yes. And on earth that night children — grown-up people as well, but mostly children — write wishes on pieces of coloured paper and tie them outside on the bamboos, all over Japan.
