Polly and Her Friends Abroad

In Short

When the newly rich Alexander family embarks on a European journey to land a titled husband for their daughter Dodo, they join forces with American interior decoration students Polly Brewster and Eleanor Maynard. Guided by their art teacher, the sprawling party navigates the continent by motorcar, balancing high-minded antique hunting with comical social dodging. The group survives natural disasters, questionable fortune hunters, and domestic disagreements across Great Britain, France, and Italy. The novel endures as a lighthearted snapshot of early twentieth-century American travel, combining youthful ambition, period tastes, and a distinct period charm.

The Story

The journey begins aboard a transatlantic steamer, where interior decoration students Polly Brewster and Eleanor Maynard encounter Mrs. Margaret Alexander and her daughter, Dodo. Mrs. Alexander, flush with new Western wealth, is determined to tour Europe to procure a titled husband for Dodo. Dodo, however, has no interest in foreign nobility or forced matches and longs for a sensible life. Sensing her distress, Polly and Eleanor promise to help Dodo evade her mother’s ambitious schemes.

Upon arriving in England, the group connects with Sir James and Lady Osgood. Mrs. Alexander attempts to force a romance between Dodo and Sir James’s son, Jimmy, but the young man instead becomes absurdly infatuated with Polly, who soundly rejects his theatrical advances. Meanwhile, the party arranges a two-car motor tour across Great Britain. Guided by their instructor, Mr. Fabian, the students view the journey as a working study of historic architecture and interior design, stopping frequently at rustic shops and cottages to purchase antique furniture, old china, and traditional crafts. These frequent stops exasperate the speed-loving younger travelers and alienate Mrs. Alexander, who cares little for historic artifacts.

After navigating the roads of England and Scotland, the travelers cross over to the Continent, moving through Belgium, France, Switzerland, and Italy. Their grand tour is marked by constant mishaps and dramatic disruptions. While traversing the Alps, the party narrowly escapes a terrifying avalanche under a protective rocky cliff. In Italy, they become entangled in local intrigue involving a suspicious Count, and they later endure a violent earthquake near Rome that ruins Mrs. Alexander’s costly wardrobe and leaves Mr. Alexander’s car jammed in a newly formed crevice.

Throughout these ordeals, Mr. Alexander—a unpretentious former miner who prefers his old tobacco pipe to high society—secretly aids the young people. He uncovers dishonest schemes, including a plan to fleece an innocent young woman at Monte Carlo, and consistently undermines his wife’s social-climbing efforts. By the time the tour reaches its conclusion in Paris, Mrs. Alexander’s grand ambitions have completely collapsed. Mr. Alexander puts his foot down, announcing an immediate return to Denver. Liberated from her mother's pressure, Dodo decides to enroll in interior decoration alongside Polly and Eleanor, turning a chaotic vacation into the start of an independent career.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins On an ocean liner bound for Europe, interior decoration students Polly and Eleanor meet the ostentatious Mrs. Alexander and her down-to-earth daughter, Dodo. Learning that Mrs. Alexander intends to buy her daughter a foreign title, the girls resolve to protect Dodo from her mother's schemes.

Motoring through Britain The travelers join Sir James Osgood's family and assemble a two-car caravan to tour the English countryside. While Mr. Fabian guides the art students through a series of impromptu antique purchases at roadside cottages, Jimmy Osgood unsuccessfully attempts to court a dismissive Polly.

Continental trials Crossing into Europe, the party drives through Belgium and Switzerland, where they survive a hair-raising avalanche on an Alpine pass. Moving south into Italy, Mr. Alexander uncovers a deceptive plot in Venice involving an enigmatic Count and a case of mistaken identities.

Disaster and rescue A sudden earthquake near Rome damages their vehicles and destroys Mrs. Alexander’s prized possessions, forcing the group to repair their car on a dark, ruptured road. Later, in Monte Carlo, Mr. Alexander intervenes to save a stranded young traveler from a predatory gambling trap.

Homeward bound Reaching Paris after touring historic Norman sights, Mr. Alexander rejects his wife’s lingering social ambitions and announces their immediate return to America. Dodo successfully claims her independence, choosing to pursue a career in interior design with her new friends.

The People

• Polly Brewster, an enthusiastic and practical student of interior decoration from Pebbly Pit. She approaches European travel as a serious educational opportunity, remaining entirely unimpressed by aristocratic titles or unwanted romantic attention.
• Eleanor Maynard, Polly's loyal school chum from Chicago. She possesses a flair for dramatic advice and readily joins Polly in plotting to shield Dodo from maternal pressure.
• Dorothy "Dodo" Alexander, the unpretentious daughter of newly rich parents. Uninterested in high society or titled suitors, she desires a sensible, self-directed life and ultimately decides to study design.
• Mrs. Margaret "Maggie" Alexander, Dodo's mother, a boastful woman covered in diamonds. She views Europe purely as a market where her wealth can buy social standing and a noble husband for her daughter.
• Mr. Ebeneezer Alexander, Dodo's cheerful, unrefined father. He quietly resists his wife’s pretensions, loves his old tobacco pipe, and uses his sharp common sense to pull the young travelers out of genuine trouble.
• Mr. Fabian, the patient art instructor who guides the students through European museums, historic cottages, and period furniture aesthetics with earnest lectures.
• Jimmy Osgood, an impetuous young English motorist who pursues Polly with exaggerated melodramatics, only to be repeatedly rebuffed.

In Its Own Voice

“May I come with you?” asked Dodo, eagerly.

After escaping her mother’s overbearing presence on the ship deck, Dodo gratefully joins the art students to examine historical salon furniture.

“E’en hear’n say you folks like odd bits of old stuff. Coom with me and see my shaup daown in the lane.”

A local elderly shopkeeper intercepts the touring party near Bristol, inviting the eager American collectors into his thatched-roof shop.

“Maggie says she’s goin’ right on to Paris, whether you-all do so or not; and if I let her go there alone, she’ll buy her head off with fine clothes...”

Exhausted by endless historical churches and domestic squabbles, Mr. Alexander explains to Mr. Fabian why he must escort his wife directly to Paris.

What It's Really About

Beneath its light travelogue structure, the novel contrasts authentic personal taste with hollow social ambition. Mrs. Alexander views Europe as a mere catalogue of status symbols, measuring success by titles, high-end motorcars, and expensive dresses. In contrast, Polly, Eleanor, and Mr. Fabian value history, craftsmanship, and the sincere study of design. The narrative explicitly links true artistic appreciation to character, arguing that an eye for beauty requires honesty and practical good sense rather than wealth. Dodo’s journey from a passive victim of her mother's matrimonial plotting to an aspiring decorator reflects an early twentieth-century ideal of female independence, where education and productive work offer a far more satisfying path than an empty title.

Why Read It Today

This period juvenile novel offers an amusing, uncensored look at the early era of automotive tourism and the classic American-in-Europe trope. Readers who enjoy light historical fiction will appreciate the detailed descriptions of 1920s road travel, antique collecting, and period interior design instruction. The prose is fast-paced, driven by spirited dialogue and a steady succession of minor catastrophes, from speeding fines to Alpine rockslides.

Modern readers should be prepared for the story's episodic nature and distinct period elements. The plot occasionally halts so Mr. Fabian can deliver didactic lectures on furniture design and Christian Science-adjacent philosophy, while the dialogue relies heavily on heavy-handed regional dialects and conventional period attitudes. Additionally, Mrs. Alexander operates as a somewhat broad caricature of the uncultured nouveau riche. Yet the warm camaraderie among the young women and the wry, plain-spoken heroism of Mr. Alexander give the book a genuine heart. It remains a breezy, enjoyable portrait of youthful optimism exploring the Old World.