Marion Harland's Complete Etiquette A Young People's Guide to Every Social Occasion

"Marion Harland's Complete Etiquette" by Marion Harland and Virginia Van de Water is a guidebook on social manners and etiquette written in the early 20th century. This comprehensive volume serves as a young people's guide to navigating social occasions, covering a wide range of topics from sending invitations to proper dining behavior. The book aims to equip readers with the knowledge of expected conduct in various social situations to foster grace and confidence. The opening of the guide introduces the importance of invitations in social gatherings, outlining the etiquette surrounding sending, receiving, and responding to them. It emphasizes the necessity for both senders and recipients to adhere to proper forms and manners, addressing several types of invitations, such as formal teas and evening receptions. The chapter lays a strong foundation for understanding social obligations and proper responses, illustrating how good etiquette can enhance social interactions and reflect personal character. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Mary Virginia Terhune, also known by her penname Marion Harland, was an American author who was prolific and bestselling in both fiction and non-fiction genres. Born in Amelia County, Virginia, she began her career writing articles at the age of 14, using various pennames until 1853, when she settled on Marion Harland. Her first novel Alone was published in 1854 and became an "emphatic success" following its second printing the next year. For fifteen years she was a prolific writer of best-selling women's novels, classified then as "plantation fiction", as well as writing numerous serial works, short stories, and essays for magazines.