Old Mortality, Part One, 1885-1902 Summary

Miranda and Maria are two little girls living in Kentucky around the beginning of the Twentieth Century. They are fascinated by romantic and poetic stories, especially the tragic life of their Aunt Amy.

Miranda and Maria are always surrounded by their extended family and they love to listen to the adults reminisce about times gone by. The girls desperately hope that someday they will be beautiful like many of their cousins, dancing all night and flirting with beaux. The family trains the girls in how to appreciate the elegant, refined styles of true Southern gentility, so that they will not disgrace the family. For example, the girls need to speak perfect Latin so that they can be as eloquent as John Wilkes Booth crying "Sic semper tyrannus" after he shot Abraham Lincoln. Whenever Miranda's relations...