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Alice Munro
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The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose Paperback – May 7, 1991

by Alice Munro (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 362 ratings
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“An exhilarating collection” (The New York Times Book Review) of ten blended stories from Nobel Prize–winning author Alice Munro

“The rich texture of its narrative and the author’s graceful style make [The Beggar Maid] a considerable accomplishment.”—Joyce Carol Oates, Ms.
 
In this vibrant series of interweaving stories, Alice Munro recreates the evolving bond—one that is both constricting and empowering—between two women in the course of almost forty years. One is Flo, practical, suspicious of other people’s airs, at times dismayingly vulgar. The other is Rose, Flo’s stepdaughter, a clumsy, shy girl who somehow—in spite of Flo’s ridicule and ghastly warnings—leaves the small town she grew up in to achieve her own equivocal success in the larger world.
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  1. Print length
    210 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
  4. Publication date
    May 7, 1991
  5. Dimensions
    5.17 x 0.59 x 7.96 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780679732716
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0679732716
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Whether Alice Munro’s The Beggar Maid is a collection of stories or a new kind of novel I’m not quite sure, but whatever it is, it’s wonderful. The psychological precision . . . is a delight, and the startling twists—the unexpected leaps in time, the transformation of familiar characters—they make the book what books ought to be, a little wild, a little mysterious.”—John Gardner

“The stories are absolutely wonderful-every word she writes is interesting.”—Alice Adams

“The best stories of the year.”—The Nation

From the Inside Flap

es of interweaving stories, Munro recreates the evolving bond between two women in the course of almost forty years. One is Flo, practical, suspicious of other people's airs, at times dismayingly vulgar. the other is Rose, Flo's stepdaughter, a clumsy, shy girl who somehow leaves the small town she grew up in to achieve her own equivocal success in the larger world.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0679732713
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group; Reissue edition (May 7, 1991)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 210 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780679732716
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679732716
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.17 x 0.59 x 7.96 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 362 ratings

About the author

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Alice Munro

Alice Munro

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Alice Munro grew up in Wingham, Ontario, and attended the University of Western Ontario. She has published eleven previous books.During her distinguished career she has been the recipient of many awards and prizes, including the W.H. Smith Prize, the National Book Circle Critics Award, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction, the Lannan Literary Award, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and the Rea Award for the Short Story. In Canada, she has won the Governor General's Award, the Giller Prize, the Trillium Book Award, and the Libris Award.Alice Munro and her husband divide their time between Clinton, Ontario, and Comox, British Columbia.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
362 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the stories engaging, insightful, and comforting. They praise the writing quality as great, beautifully linked, and clear. Readers describe the book as good, wonderful, and superb. They also say the characters are realistic and easy to identify with.

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Storytelling qualityWriting qualityReadabilityBelievable charactersPacing
16 customers mention "Storytelling quality"14 positive2 negative

Customers find the stories engaging, insightful, and detailed. They say the stories work better together than apart, giving a broad perspective on the lives. Readers also mention the stories are crisp, pack a lot of emotion without being overly sentimental, and are exhilarating.

"...The Beggar Maid in particular is so complexly emotional, and draw's Rose's character so brutally-but-sympathetically, that I was in complete awe of..." Read more

"...Her stories are crisp, pack a lot of emotion without being overly sentimental...." Read more

"Part of the story were interesting, but never amounted to anything.What happened to the Daughter? I kept waiting for things to tie together." Read more

"...The story was enjoyable and kept my attention. Well written but possibly the main character could have been more closely related to the book title." Read more

14 customers mention "Writing quality"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality great, readable, and masterful. They also appreciate the beautifully linked words and clear drawings.

"...This is early Alice Munro, but still great writing...." Read more

"...She is a brilliant writer who uses the simplest of words with extremely far reaching effect." Read more

"...Munro is an extremely talented writer, one who tells the woes of life but ends up on a positive note - to me. Many may agree or disagree...." Read more

"...The story was enjoyable and kept my attention. Well written but possibly the main character could have been more closely related to the book title." Read more

11 customers mention "Readability"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book good, wonderful, and superb. They appreciate the completeness of the novel and the two main characters. Readers also say the story is enjoyable and keeps their attention.

"...Unfortunately, after the next story, which is, at worst, very good, the rest take on a very samey air...." Read more

"...I was delighted at the completeness of the novel with 2 main characters...." Read more

"...I like this particular collection of stories. Worth a read if you like literature." Read more

"...The story was enjoyable and kept my attention. Well written but possibly the main character could have been more closely related to the book title." Read more

3 customers mention "Believable characters"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the characters believable and easy to identify with. They also appreciate the personal details in the book.

"...It’s all in her language, in personal detail, a little from everybody so no one no thing gets ignored. Go! Alice!" Read more

"...drawing the reader into the lives of these imperfect, yet realistic individuals...." Read more

"Ms. Munro is a master story writer. Her characters are believable and much too easy to identify with...." Read more

3 customers mention "Pacing"0 positive3 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book tedious, depressing, and painful to get into.

"...; the take-home message: life in a poor town is, not surprisingly, depressing...." Read more

"...I found the stories to be some what depressing but I will try this author again. Great writing." Read more

"...It will, sadly, be my last. It was actually painful trying to get into the story. Flat. Can’t see a novel prize at all for this." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

James Cothern
5.0 out of 5 stars Alice Munro is a Wonder
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2014
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I have read all thirteen volumes of Alice's short stories, and even at her ordinary, she surpasses most modern writers. "The Beggar Maid" or "Stories of Flo and Rose", traces the life of a young woman born into poverty in a tough little Canadian town,learning from her demanding, but street wise step-mother and finding her place in the world as a radio commentator and writer. This is early Alice Munro, but still great writing. I got hooked with Alice with her story 'The Bear Came over the Mountain", a story I read in The New Yorker, after watching the bitter sweet indy movie "Away From Her", starring the great Julie Christie. I started at the beginning, reading "The Dance of the Happy Shades", her initial collection first, and working my way through her 12 volumes of short stories published over a 40 year span. One of the joys of reading Alice Munro in this manner is enjoying how her skills grew as she grew older. Some of her best writng she accomplished in her sixties. I usuallly read her stories twice, the first time for the story and the second time to enjoy her descriptive power manifested in the way she puts words together. WARNING: Alice says there is no such thing as a dirty word and the sexual adventures of her heroines or villains are not for prudes. In fact, the "Progress of Love" was banned in many Canadian schools. Hard for me to to name a favorite, but "The Love of a Good Woman", "Open Secrets", and "Hateship, Friendship, Loveship, Courtship, Marriage" are all truly wonderful.

Take an Alice Munro collection to bed with you, read one story a night and you will have a cozy bed fellow for quite some time .
14 people found this helpful
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Michael Taylor
4.0 out of 5 stars High highs, middling lows...
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2013
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About half of these stories are great. All the stories about Rose's childhood are intensely felt and lived in, and the two central stories, Wild Swans and The Beggar Maid, are two of the best short stories I've ever read. The Beggar Maid in particular is so complexly emotional, and draw's Rose's character so brutally-but-sympathetically, that I was in complete awe of it.

Unfortunately, after the next story, which is, at worst, very good, the rest take on a very samey air. Rose loses the defiance and individuality that endeared her to me so much in The Beggar Maid. For several stories Rose is just sitting around, waiting on a man. There are still strong observation tucked into these stories, but Rose seems almost disconnected from the action--it's just happening to her, and unfortunately, what's happening to her is basically the same thing over and over. Things pick up a bit when she goes back home to Flo, but the Rose who had come into such sharp focus in The Beggar Maid remains a fairly indistinct figure until the book's end. Bummer.
3 people found this helpful
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Sue from Tellico
5.0 out of 5 stars Capture women's experiences
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2012
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Alice Munro has so many published stories and over a long stretch of time and with numerous awards, yet this was the first collection I have read. I ordered five others after reading this collection. That is my highest compliment to a writer. I want to see if there is a pattern or progression to her writing. Her stories are crisp, pack a lot of emotion without being overly sentimental. I think she gives a special voice n this collection to late middle age women--women who know life is not a straight line of life events, but a curvy road with dead ends, retreats, and avenues of full speed ahead occasionally. I am recommending this (or another collection after I read some of her others) to the retirement-age women n my book club
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars No beginning, no end
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2024
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Part of the story were interesting, but never amounted to anything.
What happened to the Daughter? I kept waiting for things to tie together.
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Barry D. Trabitz
5.0 out of 5 stars Flo and Rose delight
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
Not being a fan of short stories in general, I wanted to see what generated Alice Munro's Nobel prize in literature. I was delighted at the completeness of the novel with 2 main characters. This was a different approach from "Dear Life" which were several stories, all of them, also complete. She is a brilliant writer who uses the simplest of words with extremely far reaching effect.
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Jherika A Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars This was one of my favorite books to read in college
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
This was one of my favorite books to read in college. Munro is an extremely talented writer, one who tells the woes of life but ends up on a positive note - to me. Many may agree or disagree. I like this particular collection of stories. Worth a read if you like literature.
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Joyce K. Walters
4.0 out of 5 stars Who Was The Maid?
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
I would like to have had the title "The Beggar Maid" a little more defined. Although the story is captivating, I was looking throughout the book to have a more detailed explanation of the title. The story was enjoyable and kept my attention. Well written but possibly the main character could have been more closely related to the book title.
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busyreader
1.0 out of 5 stars Tedious, depressing stories, unenlightening
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2016
Verified Purchase
I forced myself to read to the end, hoping for some redeeming message that would explain why this book is worthy of a Nobel,prize; the take-home message: life in a poor town is, not surprisingly, depressing. I did not like any character in the book, and did not find any of them sympathetic, and it ended abruptly, with a very weak link between Rose and the recently introduced character, Ralph, who apparently had a significant impact on Rose's life. I do not recommend this book.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on October 4, 2017
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brilliant writer, wonderful book
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Dr Buddhadeb Chattopadhyay
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in India on November 14, 2014
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I love it
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Radumonde
5.0 out of 5 stars Dire que j'aurais pu rater cela!
Reviewed in France on June 26, 2014
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Je n'avais rien lu d'Alice Munro quand j'ai lu "The beggar maid". Depuis, je n'ai plus arrêté de lire Alice Munro et je suis éblouie.

Chaque histoire est un roman et si on a lu l'histoire un peu vite (car la langue est précise et parait facile, le ton est familier, il y a une bonhommie engageante)- on a envie d'y revenir et on découvre des merveilles. Dans "Material", un personnage dit d'un récit qu'il découvre : "how honest this is and how lovely". Il me semble que c'est vrai de tout ce que j'ai lu maintenant de cette oeuvre.
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Hermann Kunz
5.0 out of 5 stars Ein Meisterwerk der Literatur
Reviewed in Germany on January 23, 2014
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Beggar Maid von Alice Munro ist ein brilliant geschriebenes Buch. Sehr spannend und zeigt die Höhen und Tiefen im menschlichen Leben in allen Aspekten. Hervorragende Dialoge, zu erwartende und unerwartete Ereignisse erzeugen eine Spannung, die uns immer weiter am Lesen hält. Man möchte wissen, wie das wohl noch ausgeht. Die einzelnen Geschichten mit Zeitsprüngen in die Vergangenheit und wieder zurück, meisterhaft komponiert zu einem grossartigen und sehr berührenden Lebensgemälde einer Familie, von Flo und Rose. Sehr empfehlenswert!
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caterpiller
5.0 out of 5 stars short stories by alice munro
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2014
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a series of stories about the interplay between a young woman and an old one and the difficulties in their relationship. well told as always by alice munro.
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