''Betsy in Spite of Herself'' (1946) is the sixth volume in the

Betsy-Tacy The ''Betsy-Tacy ''books are a series of semi-autobiographical novels by American novelist and short-story writer Maud Hart Lovelace (1892-1980), which were originally published between 1940 and 1955 by the Thomas Y. Crowell Co. The books are now ...

series by

Maud Hart Lovelace Maud Hart Lovelace (April 25, 1892 – March 11, 1980) was an American writer best known for the Betsy-Tacy series. Early life Maud Palmer Hart was born in Mankato, Minnesota to Tom Hart, a shoe store owner, and his wife, Stella (née Palmer) ...

. The book, along with the entire ''Betsy-Tacy'' and ''Deep Valley'' series, was republished in 2000 by

HarperTrophy HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...

with a new cover art illustrated by Michael Koelsch. The story covers Betsy and Tacy's sophomore, or

tenth grade Tenth grade or grade 10 (called Year Eleven in England and Wales, and sophomore year in the US) is the tenth year of school post-kindergarten or the tenth year after the first introductory year upon entering compulsory schooling. In many parts of ...

, year in high school and re-introduces the character of Tib Muller, now living in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. During a visit to Tib's family in Milwaukee, Betsy decides to re-invent her image, changing the spelling of her name to Betsye and attempting to adopt characteristics that will make her seem mysterious and alluring. On her return to her hometown of Deep Valley, her new image helps her to attract a boyfriend whose good looks and automobile draw considerable attention in town. However, over time Betsy becomes dissatisfied with having to pretend continually to be a very different kind of person. She also finds that this behavior is not endearing her to friends or family nor helping her achieve her goals as a writer, so she ends the relationship. Despite the disappointment, she decides that the experience has been good for her by helping her to develop different aspects of herself. A visit to a chum who is a day student at the "seminary" (high school) of

Milwaukee-Downer College Milwaukee-Downer College was a women's college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in operation from 1895 to 1964. History Milwaukee-Downer College was established in 1895 with the merger of two institutions: Milwaukee College and Downer College of Fox Lak ...

(rather lightly disguised as "Browner College" in Milwaukee) plays a prominent role in the novel.Olson, Frederick "Looking Back: Downer College played role in 10 novels" ''UWM News'' August 1995

References

Betsy-Tacy 1946 American novels Novels set in Milwaukee Milwaukee-Downer College 1946 children's books Thomas Y. Crowell Co. books {{1940s-child-novel-stub