''The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes'' is a children's story published by

John Newbery John Newbery (9 July 1713 – 22 December 1767), considered "The Father of Children's Literature", was an English publisher of books who first made children's literature a sustainable and profitable part of the literary market. He also supported ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1765. The story popularized the phrase " goody two-shoes" as a descriptor for an excessively virtuous person or do-gooder.

Plot

''Goody Two-Shoes'' is a variation of the

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

story. The fable tells of Goody Two-Shoes, the nickname of a poor orphan girl named Margery Meanwell, who goes through life with only one shoe. When a rich gentleman gives her a complete pair, she is so happy that she tells everyone that she has "two shoes". Later, Margery becomes a teacher and marries a rich

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

er. This serves as proof that her virtue has been rewarded and her wealth earned, a popular theme in children's literature of the era.

Publication

The anonymous story was published in London by the

company, a publisher of popular

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

.Matthew O. Grenby (2013). "Little Goody Two-Shoes and Other Stories: Originally Published by John Newbery". p. vii. Palgrave Macmillan In his introduction to an 1881 edition of the book, Charles Welsh wrote:

The anonymous author

The story has been attributed to the Irish author

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel ''The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem ''The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his pl ...

, though this is disputed. Because Goldsmith frequently wrote for pay and because of his copious fiction in essays (e.g., ''The Bee'' and ''

Citizen of the World Global citizenship is the idea that one's identity transcends geography or political borders and that responsibilities or rights are derived from membership in a broader class: "humanity". This does not mean that such a person denounces or waives ...

''), the attribution to Goldsmith is plausible.

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

was one supporter of this attribution; he wrote: "Several quaint little tales introduced in Goldsmith's Essays show that he had a turn for this species of mock history; and the advertisement and title-page bear the stamp of his sly and playful humor." The book has also been attributed to Newbery himself and to Giles Jones, a friend of Newbery's.

Origin of the phrase "goody two-shoes"

Although ''The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes'' is credited with popularizing the term "goody two-shoes", the actual origin of the phrase is unknown. For example, it appears a century earlier in

Charles Cotton Charles Cotton (28 April 1630 – 16 February 1687) was an English poet and writer, best known for translating the work of Michel de Montaigne from the French, for his contributions to ''The Compleat Angler'', and for the influential ''The Comp ...

's ''Voyage to Ireland in Burlesque'' (1670):

Mistress mayoress complained that the pottage was cold;
'And all long of your fiddle-faddle,' quoth she.
'Why, then, Goody Two-shoes, what if it be?
Hold you, if you can, your tittle-tattle,' quoth he.

The name is used herein to point out the mayoress' comparative privilege; " Goody" (a shortening of "

Goodwife Goodwife ( Scots: ''Guidwife''), usually abbreviated Goody, was a polite form of address for women, formerly used where "Mrs.", "Miss" and "Ms." would be used today. Its male counterpart is Goodman. However, a woman addressed by this title was of ...

"), being the equivalent of "Mrs." and "Two-shoes", implicitly comparing her to people who have no shoes.

References

External links

Text of an 1881 reprint of the original version on Project Gutenberg

* ttps://archive.org/details/goodytwoshoes00newyiala 1888 chromolithographed pictorial edition at the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:History of Little Goody Two-Shoes 18th-century British children's literature 1765 books Children's fiction books Works published anonymously Works by Oliver Goldsmith Works about orphans