Young Alice Atherton has been despondent ever since her mother died. Now, the dreariness of her days in New York in the spring of 1927 are bringing her to the edge of boredom too. In Alice Atherton’s Grand Tour by Lesley M. M. Blume (Knopf Books for Young Readers, October 2023), Alice’s father decides to bring her out of her dreariness by sending her to southern France to live with family friends, the Murphys, who have a unique way of approaching life. He hopes that her visit with the cosmopolitan family will give Alice a chance to have her own “grand tour” of Europe, learning more about life, art, and the world right from the Murphy’s backyard.
The tone of Alice Atherton’s Grand Tour can only be described as light-hearted and fun. Although Alice’s story begins with the fact of her mother’s death, the entire book evokes delight. There is humor and the narration feels reminiscent of everything familiar. Alice’s adventure doesn’t start out very exciting, since her governess refuses to let Alice take any risks. But even in this pre-adventure portion of the novel, the tone creates a humorous, somewhat exaggerated feeling that suggests that better things are coming.
Once Alice is freed from her shackles and meets the unorthodox Murphys, she knows it will be a summer to remember. Gerald and Sara Murphy give their children almost free reign this summer, and Baoth, Honoria, and Patrick teach Alice what it means to be a child and love life. The best part is that father Gerald has arranged for his friends to come from Paris to teach the children during the summer, creating a truly unique opportunity for learning.
The Murphys guests were truly unique, including the estimable Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Serge Diaghilev (a famous dance instructor), and Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Their out-of-the-box lessons show what a delight learning can be and Alice comes to love life and learning, especially the arts, as she never had from her boring school room in busy and dreary New York City.
For me, one of the best parts of the book was finding out, in the end, that the Murphy family was a true family that knew the famous guests depicted in the book. From the friendly pet monkey to Picasso’s goat made out of garbage, many of the people and events shown in the book really did happen, although maybe not all in one summer. The Murphy children were real children, and their unique upbringing was similar to as described. Obviously, Alice Atherton was not a real character, but the blending of the real with this fictional story was truly delightful. (It was heartbreaking to learn, however, that a few of the Murphy children died young. I had come to love them!)
I greatly enjoyed Alice’s story. Her’s was an adventure I almost wish I could replicate for my own children: a summer of exploration in southern France, learning from the best of the best in art, writing, and dance. I wonder, was Alice named after Alice in Wonderland, who likewise entered a different world full of adventure? Probably not, but I like to draw these parallels.
In the end, I’m not convinced that Alice’s summer was the “grand tour” the title declares, at least as I’ve understood the tradition of a “grand tour of Europe.” But there is no doubt that the characters who visited the family during this fictional summer had much to say about the beauty and purpose of life. I suppose that is the overall purpose of a “grand tour.”
Alice Atherton’s Grand Tour is short and sweet but tells a humorous, deceptively educational, and fun story of friendship that will delight many middle grader readers.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance review copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
