Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a children’s novel written by Kate Douglas Wiggin, published in 1903. A perpetual favorite and considered a classic of American children’s literature, the book also captures a period in American history that is long past, making it a charming bit of time travel for modern readers.

The story opens with Rebecca Randall bouncing along in a stagecoach as she travels to live with her Aunt Miranda and Aunt Jane in Riverboro, wearing a starched dress and a straw hat. As the stagecoach bounces, Rebecca finds it difficult to keep her seat and her balance. She has been sent to live with her aunts in the wake of her father’s death a few years before, as her mother struggles to take care of her and her six siblings and pay the mortgage on her farm. Rebecca joins the driver, Mr. Cobb, at the front of the coach and strikes up a conversation, revealing that the goal is for her two aunts to educate her so she can assist her mother with supporting the rest of the family. She also knows that her aunts had preferred her older sister Hannah, because of her household skills, but Rebecca’s mother kept Hannah for the same reason.

Rebecca likes to make up songs and poems and stories; in fact, she made up the name Sunnybrook for her family’s farm despite it being a very inaccurate name. When she arrives at her aunts’ home, Aunt Miranda is immediately unimpressed with her. Miranda finds her imaginative and dreamy nature to be too much like her father, who struggled to hold employment and who Miranda thinks wasn’t good enough for her sister, Rebecca’s mother. She announces that she will train Rebecca to be a proper lady and a credit to the Sawyer side of the family. Aunt Jane is much softer and nicer, and is an ally for Rebecca.



Rebecca settles in and finds the Sawyer house to be very orderly and lifeless. She begins taking lessons from Jane in how to sew, cook, and manage the house. While Jane praises Rebecca’s efforts, Miranda is never satisfied, and always seems to disapprove of Rebecca’s efforts. She declares that she is ‛all Randall and no Sawyer.’ Miranda never hesitates to note the things Rebecca does wrong, such as leaving a door open or coming up the wrong stairs. Rebecca, who often acts without thinking, gives her stern aunt plenty of reasons to complain.

Rebecca remains friendly with Mr. Cobb, who is always happy to see her, and meets his wife Sarah, who is equally smitten. Rebecca attends the local school and immediately becomes best friends with Emma Jane Perkins. She also meets her nemesis, a girl named Millie Smellie who she immediately takes a dislike to.

At school a contest is announced: The students will sell soap in an effort to win a lamp for a poor family that needs all the help it can get. Emma and Rebecca go forth together to sell soap, and knock on the door of a local woman. The door is answered by Adam Ladd, a young businessman from the city who is visiting the woman, his aunt. He is charmed by Rebecca, who nicknames him Mr. Aladdin because of the connection to the lamp. Adam sees in Rebecca an intelligence he wishes to see fostered, and he takes an interest in her education.



Rebecca slowly becomes one of the most popular girls in town. She is unusual, and says surprising things, but this is balanced by her charm and evident good heart—she always means well, and so even when she causes accidental distress, or ruins her dress, everyone knows she did not mean to cause harm intentionally.

With Adam’s help, Rebecca excels at school. She gains the opportunity to attend high school in Wareham, and as she approaches the age of eighteen, she aspires to become a teacher, and even applies for a position in Augusta. Her Aunt Miranda begins to show signs of approval and affection in her old age, being less strict and less critical of Rebecca as she grows into a lovely young woman.

Just then, however, she hears news that her mother has had an accident and Rebecca must return to Sunnybrook to look after things. While back home, Rebecca is saddened to hear that Aunt Miranda has passed away, but amazed to learn that Miranda left her the house in her will, and that a railroad company is already making an offer to purchase the land. This will give the Randall family enough money to pay off their mortgage and live a comfortable life. Rebecca is amazed and delighted and the books ends with her exclaiming excitedly ‛God bless aunt Miranda; God bless the brick house that was; God bless the brick house that is to be!’