"Good Morning, Miss Dove" by Frances Gray Patton, illustrated by Garrett Price, published by Dodd & Mead, New York, 1954. First American Edition, stated Third Printing.

Dust jacket with un-clipped original price of '$2.75' on the front flap [a few small damages, mostly edges]: pale green boards with turquoise cloth spine, black title box with gold lettering on spine [some shelf wear, the boards edges are browned; 5.1/4" x 8"; slightly darkened endpapers, former owner's stamp on front and back endpapers ["Protestant Chaplain's Fund. Chaplain Harold R. Cunningham. Treasurer," 218 pages, very good condition.

Mrs. Frances Gray Patton (1906-2000) was an American short story writer and novelist. She is best known for her 1954 novel 'Good Morning Miss Dove'.

Patton established a relationship with The New Yorker magazine, which would publish over two dozen of her stories. Her stories also appeared in such publications as Harper's, McCalls, The Saturday Review of Literature and Collier's Weekly. A collection of stories from the New Yorker comprised her first book, "The Finer Things of Life", which was published in 1951.

In 1954, Patton published "Good Morning Miss Dove", which became a bestseller. The book was featured as a Book of the Month Club selection and was made into a successful 1955 film starring Jennifer Jones in the title role.

Patton published another short story collection in 1959 titled "A Piece of Luck" and a final collection in 1969 titled "28 Stories". In addition to writing, she taught creative writing courses at both Duke University and the University of North Carolina.

"A tearful and happy story for those who are old enough to remember the book, or the television movie. It is a wonderful, heart warming story about a woman who became a school teacher in a small town. She had countless students and taught them all with methods that are not used today, ones that don't include government interference, but dedication to the methods of learning that were popular in the first part of the 1900's. When the teacher becomes ill, the entire town reacts, remembering how Miss Dove was such a huge part of their early life."

"Excellent book, gentle storyline with huge quiet truths behind each mild scene and event. There is a breed of "old-fashioned" teacher who will recognize, understand and mourn the decline of the high ideals and dedication to duty that is the core of this tale." [private review]

US: Priority (c.2-4 days) ---------- $12.50
Canada: 1st Class (c.2-6 weeks) ---- $28.50
World: 1st Class (c.2-8 weeks) ----- $42.50