More Tish

In Short

Mary Roberts Rinehart’s More Tish presents three linked episodic novellas following Letitia "Tish" Carberry and her long-suffering friends, Aggie and Lizzie. Driven by impulse, misguided moral crusades, and an unshakeable self-reliance, Tish repeatedly drags her circle into chaotic entanglements—from backwoods wilderness expeditions and domestic draft-dodging interventions to the frontlines of World War I France. Written with warm satire and narrated by the pragmatic, long-suffering Lizzie, the book’s enduring charm lies in its affectionate portrait of female solidarity and the hilarious clash between proper Victorian decorum and absurd, high-stakes misadventure.

The Story

The book traces three major chapters in the ongoing adventures of Letitia Carberry and her inner circle. The narrative begins when Aggie spots a newspaper advertisement seeking a gentle female donkey named Modestine. Inspired by a reading of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travels with a Donkey, Tish decides to emulate the journey by embarking on a rustic trek into the mountains, bringing along Aggie, Lizzie, and the stubborn animal. Seeking to escape civilization, they pitch camp near Thunder Cloud Mountain, only to find their wilderness retreat upended when they encounter a series of strangers carrying weapons.

Tish enthusiastically shelters a young man with a sprained ankle who claims to be a government agent named "Felt-hat Muldoon," hunting for train robbers. In reality, their guest is part of the outlaw gang itself. Demonstrating her typical blend of high-handed authority and misplaced logic, Tish orchestrates a series of intricate ruses—including disguising the fugitive as Aggie to smuggle him past rival gunmen, and plotting an ambush outside their mountain cave. Though her schemes rarely yield the anticipated results, Tish's utter confidence carries the trio through the initial wilderness ordeal.

Returning home, Tish turns her formidable energies toward domestic matters and the onset of the First World War. Concerned for her nephew Charlie Sands, Tish becomes obsessed with military readiness and conscription laws. Her efforts to enforce registration lead her to intervene in the romantic life of Mr. Culver, a young man she suspects of trying to dodge the draft through an ill-timed marriage. Tish commandeers an automobile, drives across open fields, leaps creeks, and flings garden vegetables at intruders, eventually blockading Culver and his bride-to-be in an isolated farmhouse. Through sheer obstinacy, Tish forces the young man to register as a single man, oblivious to the chaos and traffic multi-car chases left in her wake.

As the war in Europe intensifies, Tish refuses to remain a spectator. Resolving to drive an ambulance near the front lines, she tests her private automobile’s endurance by driving it over a precipice, then ships out for France alongside Aggie and Lizzie. In France, Tish operates with total independence, unbothered by military protocol or official chains of command. When she learns that Charlie Sands has been captured by enemy forces and is held in the occupied French town of V——, she leads a private rescue mission into No Man's Land. Armed with a basket of live hand grenades and accompanied by an unlucky American officer trying to impress a Y.M.C.A. volunteer, Tish infiltrates the town.

Through a mixture of audacity, terrifying resolve, and total confusion among the enemy command, Tish single-handedly cornered the German garrison in a beer cellar, rescued her pinochle-playing nephew, and inadvertently captured the entire town before the official Allied advance arrived. The trio returns home decorated with the Croix de Guerre, their bond unbroken despite the sheer absurdity of their triumphs.

How It Unfolds

The trek begins Aggie spots a newspaper advertisement for a donkey named Modestine, prompting Tish to organize an unscripted walking trip into the mountains inspired by literature. The women pack minimal supplies, take turns leading the recalcitrant animal, and quickly wander off the beaten track toward Thunder Cloud Mountain.

Sheltering an outlaw After taking refuge in a cave during a heavy storm, the trio encounters an injured man claiming to be a federal detective pursuing train robbers. Tish aggressively ministers to his swollen ankle, unaware he is actually one of the outlaws, and devises an absurd plan to disguise him in Aggie's clothes to help him escape.

Draft day interference Back home as war looms, Tish becomes determined to police the local conscription board and target suspected slackers. Spotting Mr. Culver at the marriage license bureau, she kidnaps his fiancée in a high-speed car chase across farmland, scattering tacks to disable pursuing vehicles.

Preparing for France Convinced her personal vehicle has the only engine reliable enough for frontline service, Tish tests her automobile by driving it off a dark embankment with her friends inside. Shortly after receiving no objection from General Pershing, she arranges for the three of them to travel to Europe as independent relief workers.

Infiltrating No Man's Land Upon discovering that her nephew Charlie Sands has been captured and is playing pinochle in an occupied village, Tish gathers a basket of hand grenades and marches into the night between the trenches. Along the way, Aggie falls into a flooded shell hole containing surprised soldiers, while Tish marches forward undeterred.

The battle for V—— Reaching the French town, Tish isolates the enemy officers and drives the garrison into a cellar using small arms and grenades. Meanwhile, Aggie gets stranded at the top of a church tower near the weather vane, hanging from a cut rope ladder until the town is fully liberated.

The People

• Letitia "Tish" Carberry is an indomitable, middle-aged woman of independent means and relentless initiative. She wants to master every new idea or duty that captures her imagination—whether it is primitive camping, enforcing draft registration, or participating directly in foreign wars. Nothing stands in her way for long; obstacles are met with immediate, unyielding action. By the end of the narrative, she transitions from a small-town eccentric to an internationally decorated war heroine, though her fundamental personality remains entirely unchanged.
• Aggie is Tish's fragile, highly emotional companion, who suffers from chronic hay fever and relies on a firm grip on her upper dental plate. She wants comfort, peace, and traditional propriety, but her deep devotion to Tish constantly pulls her into physical peril. Through every ordeal—from falling off donkeys to hanging off church towers under sniper fire—she endures through sheer loyal compliance.
• Lizzie, the narrator, is the pragmatic, sensible anchor of the trio. She wants to avoid physical harm, legal trouble, and public embarrassment, frequently offering stern warnings that Tish ignores. Though constantly complaining about Tish’s dangerous antics, Lizzie remains stubbornly loyal, ensuring the group stays fed, patched up, and supplied with medicinal blackberry cordial.
• Charlie Sands, Tish’s long-suffering nephew, is a journalist who alternates between worrying over his aunt’s wild initiatives and trying to manage the fallout. He wants order and safety for his relative, but repeatedly finds himself outmaneuvered by her formidable will.

In Its Own Voice

"'Travels with a Donkey,'" Aggie replied. "Stevenson's 'Travels with a Donkey.' It isn't safe to read anything aloud to Tish any more. The older she gets the worse she is. She thinks that what any one else has done she can go and do."

Aggie explains to Lizzie how Tish was inspired to buy a donkey and head into the wilderness after hearing a classic book read aloud during a bout of neuralgia.

"I must say," he said, glaring at us each in turn, "that it is the most disgraceful thing I have ever seen." His eyes stopped at Tish, and traveled over her. "Where is your clothing?" he demanded, fiercely.

A furious young man confronts the ladies after Tish drives her automobile over a creek and crashes into a haystack during a wild cross-country pursuit.

"A prisoner!" she said. "A nephew of mine has allowed himself to be captured by the Germans? It is incredible!"

Tish reacts with profound outrage upon learning that her nephew Charlie Sands has been taken prisoner of war in France.

What It's Really About

Beneath its energetic comedic surface, More Tish explores the boundless capability and autonomy of unmarried, middle-aged women in early twentieth-century America. The novel challenges contemporary societal assumptions about aging and female domesticity by placing its elderly heroines in situations typically reserved for young, masculine adventure fiction.

Rinehart uses Tish’s supreme confidence to satirize formal authority, military bureaucracy, and societal conventions. Whether dealing with armed outlaws, small-town police, or foreign armies, Tish treats established institutions with casual disregard, operating under her own strict moral code. The book is ultimately a tribute to deep-seated female friendship; despite constant terror, physical discomfort, and absurd dangers, Aggie and Lizzie never abandon Tish, demonstrating a profound solidarity disguised as comedic complaint.

Why Read It Today

More Tish remains a crisp, genuinely funny broad comedy that delivers sharp observational humor without slipping into cynicism. Mary Roberts Rinehart’s prose flows easily, anchored by Lizzie’s deadpan, practical narration, which acts as the perfect foil to Tish’s manic grandiosity. Readers who enjoy classic American humor, episodic misadventures, or stories featuring eccentric, unconventionally brave women will find much to admire.

Modern readers should be prepared for a few period artifacts. The stories reflect the era of their original publication surrounding World War I, incorporating early twentieth-century cultural references, dated slang, and the cheerful jingoism typical of wartime American popular literature. The plots are intentionally episodic and improbable, relying on farce and coincidence rather than intricate realism. Yet, the heart of the book—the unshakeable bond between three middle-aged women taking on the world on their own terms—feels surprisingly fresh. More Tish offers an entertaining, heartwarming escape that celebrates female agency with timeless warmth and razor-sharp wit.