The Amish are a tourist attraction today largely because of a 1936 children’s book written by Havertown author Marguerite de Angeli.
The award-winning Henner’s Lydia, focusing on the Pennsylvania Dutch, included sketches of Amish school children drawn by de Angeli, writes Mark E. Dixon for Main Line Today.
The story was about the fictional Lydia Stolzfus, whose father, Henry, nicknamed Henner, promised her a buggy ride to Lancaster if she finished the small rug she was making.
Lydia deals with multiple chores and distractions before finally finishing the rug and getting her trip to Lancaster.
One commentator wrote of the book, “De Angeli and others led Americans to believe that the Amish were like them, only better. As such, we took to them like a new toothpaste.”
Adding to the book’s authenticity was de Angeli’s visit to an Amish school, where she sketched the students and listened to their dialect.
The book was a hit, especially among Lancaster booksellers.
Henner’s Lydia opened the floodgates to numerous other books about the Amish, followed by Amish dolls, paperweights, and other novelties, beginning an age of Amish tourism.
Read more about author Marguerite de Angeli and Henner’s Lydia in Main Line Today.
