> I experience a similar phenomenon on a much smaller scale when I read the diaries of Henry "Plupy" Shute. The first is "The Real Diary of a Real Boy." It is a book published in 1902, now out of print but readily found at antiquarian book fairs (at least in this area), which is basically the diary of the misadventures of a kid in 1860s Exeter, New Hampshire. So the introduction goes, the guy was going through some old childhood things, found his old diaries, and published them. I suspect they're probably doctored a bit, but they're hilarious and also drive home how much cooler it must have been to be a kid back then, when kids could get themselves into ridiculous amounts of trouble but somehow never really seriously hurt anything or got hurt themselves -- unlike today, where a kid with a sparkler gets lots of paranoid people into court. It's basically the 19th century version of Radebur, actually -- the spelling is that good. Except the guy grows up to be a judge, whereas Radebur does not grow up at all.

I hate to sort of hijack a very interesting thread, but Sam, could you please give some more info about these books? I was just recently remembering a great series of books I used to read as a kid that sound very similar to what you're describing.

I don't remember the title or the author, but I know there were quite a few, and they were about a kid growing up in the 1800s (though I thought it was at the turn of the century), and I believe they were told in first person. If this isn't the same series, I would love it if perhaps anyone could tell me what I'm thinking of.

Some specifics I do remember: the kid had a sort of scheming older brother who was a real Tom Sawyer-type, the parents used to give the silent treatment as punishment and a particularly weird thing where when one of them got sick, the mom made them all get sick.

Ring any bells?

Stephen