The antithesis to Jane Eyre's Mrs. Reed

August 17, 2020 1:39 AM

Homeschooling with Aunt Lil in the Summer of '68. A boy becomes an orphan. 6 years later, he’s failing all subjects and doodling women’s fashions. His childless, widowed aunt responds to this not with anger and judgment, but love and acceptance.
posted by invisible ink (12 comments total)

Lovely story. Not quite an orphan, but effectively.
posted by bookbook at 2:00 AM on August 17, 2020

I had to give up my subscription to the New Yorker and it's small gems like this that really make me miss it sometimes.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 3:01 AM on August 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

This was lovely. Thanks for posting it.
posted by eirias at 3:19 AM on August 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

With school starting today, I wish for all the strength, patience, and grace of Aunt Lil to run through my veins while my kid does her schooling all online for the foreseeable future.
posted by NoMich at 4:41 AM on August 17, 2020 [5 favorites]

Now, I want to hear the rest of the story....

Nice piece.
posted by mightshould at 5:21 AM on August 17, 2020

I took summer-school classes in an office building next door to Ohrbach’s department store...

In 1968, Ohrbach’s was providing the costumes for Dark Shadows.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:45 AM on August 17, 2020 [4 favorites]

May everyone have such an aunt in their lives!
posted by tavella at 8:33 AM on August 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

May everyone have such an aunt - but also, the fact that there are good schools, where kids can learn, but only for a select few, runs all through this piece.
posted by corb at 9:38 AM on August 17, 2020 [3 favorites]

Hey Phlegmco(tm), as a previous subscriber, you may already know that the New Yorker's running a print+digital access, $12 for 3 months rate, and a digital-only, $6 for 3 months rate. (The catch is to set cancellation reminders for those last few weeks, to avoid the auto-renewal charge -- which I hope will work for me, as I opted in from a previous-subscriber email lure.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:38 AM on August 17, 2020

and nypl has access to cardholders
posted by brujita at 12:19 PM on August 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

> Now, I want to hear the rest of the story....

It's the stinger at the end, right? "Charles Busch is a Tony-nominated playwright, novelist, actor, cabaret artist, and drag performer."

"Local boy makes good."
posted by Rat Spatula at 12:57 PM on August 17, 2020 [3 favorites]

Mod note: few comments removed - don't start a homeschooling derail, just rtfa?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:24 PM on August 17, 2020