The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes

A Woodcut of Goody Two-Shoes from the 1768 edition

The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes is a children's story by an anonymous author, published in 1765. The story popularized the phrase "goody two-shoes", often used to describe an excessively or annoyingly virtuous person. In more recent years, the phrase has developed a more negative connotation, implying that the virtuousness of a "goody two-shoes" is insincere.^[1]

Plot

Goody Two-Shoes is a variation of the Cinderella 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 she is given a complete pair by a rich gentleman, she is so happy that she tells everyone that she has "two shoes". Later, Margery becomes a teacher and marries a rich widower. This earning of wealth serves as proof that her virtuousness has been rewarded, a popular theme in children's literature of the era.

Publication

The anonymous story was published in London, by the John Newbery company, a publisher of popular children's literature. In his introduction to an 1881 edition of the book,^[2] Charles Welsh wrote:

The anonymous author

The story was later attributed to the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, 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), the attribution to Goldsmith is plausible. Washington Irving was one supporter of Goldsmith's authoring the book, saying that "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."^[3] However, the book has also been attributed to Newbery himself, and to Giles Jones, a friend of Newbery's.^[4] "Booksellers" (publishers) such as Newbery would frequently pay authors for anonymous work, and there can be no certain attribution.

On the other hand, some Asian cultures claim the story is actually based on a similar story originating in the South Asian continent, and which was actually about a boy named "Zak". The story of this orphan, who was adopted by two kind well-meaning individuals named Raju and Bellu, tells of his heartache over never owning a pair of shoes because one shoe was always being used by Raju to beat Bellu.

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. It appears a century earlier in Charles Cotton's Voyage to Ireland in Burlesque (1670):^[5]

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.

Here it is used as a derogatory nickname similar to its modern usage.^[5]

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Goody Two-Shoes

• Text of an 1881 reprint of the original version on Project Gutenberg
• Image of an 1787 Edition
• 18th Century Childrens' Book Collections at the British Museum

References

1. ^ Feinsilber, Mike and Elizabeth Webber Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions (Merriam-Webster, Springfield, Mass., 1999) p. 234.
2. ^ Reprint of the 1766 edition.
3. ^ Irving, Washington. Life of Oliver Goldsmith ISBN 1-58963-236-2.
4. ^ Thwaite, Mary F. From Primer to Pleasure in Reading, 2d ed. (London: Library Association, 1972), p. 50.
5. ^ ^{a b} "Goody Two-Shoes". American Notes and Queries 5 (1): 3. May 3, 1890.