Summary
Part One: The Practice Baby
Inspired by a photograph of a baby, Lisa Grunwald’s novel tells the story of Henry House. Henry arrives at Wilton College in Pennsylvania in 1946 as a “practice baby” provided by the local orphanage to be cared for by the Home Economics Department. The young co-eds, under the tutelage of the stern Martha Gaines, spend one-week shifts living in the Practice House learning to be mothers.
For nineteen years, Martha Gaines has taught childcare as an orderly and disciplined process; she does not buy into the baby-coddling theories of the popular Benjamin Spock. Martha’s life revolves around her work at Wilton. She has no family and her short marriage ended after a traumatic miscarriage.
Baby Henry, it turns out, is the illegitimate son of one of this year’s Practice House students, Betty Gardner. Betty also happens to be the daughter of the college president. Betty is married, and it is believed that her husband is a World War II soldier who is missing in action. When Betty discovers that her husband actually deserted, she moves to Australia to live with him. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the usually cold and distant Martha, who has become quite attached to little Henry, decides to raise him as her own when Betty leaves.
Part Two: We Come and Go
The following year brings a new baby and a new group of novice “mothers,” and Martha plans to focus her energies on raising Henry. But Henry seems to prefer being with the new practice girls, and he finds ways to lure them in to spending time with him instead of the new baby. At an age when Henry should be displaying signs of separation anxiety, he seems to thrive in the company of anyone other than his adoptive mother, Martha.
In nursery school, Henry befriends Mary Jane. When Henry pays too much attention to a new girl, Mary Jane protests and Henry impulsively lashes out and throws a wood block at her. The strike causes an eye injury that will require a permanent eye patch.
Betty returns when Henry is nine years old, and she tells him the truth about his birth. Henry is anxious to leave with Betty, but she is not ready. She promises to send for Henry as soon as she gets settled in New York. Henry retreats emotionally and feels betrayed by Martha’s lies.
In an attempt to escape Martha’s constant hovering, Henry spends time drawing on the walls inside his closet using the art kit Betty gave him. Henry also becomes more and more quiet, and in 1956, he stops speaking altogether to escape Martha’s neediness.
Part Three: Great Escapes
The authorities believe it is in Henry’s best interest to send him to a special-needs school, and Martha reluctantly agrees. At the Humphrey School, fourteen-year-old Henry is free of Martha’s constant hovering and thrives. He establishes a warm, family-like relationship with his art teacher, Charlie Falk, and his wife, Karen.
Henry also discovers the joy of kissing girls; his silence seems to work in his favor and he woos one after another. After a “romantic interlude” in the art room, a cigarette is carelessly discarded, causing a huge fire. Henry is forced to speak to get help. Henry begins to speak again in the comfort of the Falks’s home but not anywhere else.
The following summer, Henry reluctantly returns to Wilton. He is bored and irritated by Mary Jane’s constant pining over her new boyfriend, George. Martha is distraught that she has to leave Wilton to attend a conference while Henry is visiting.
Henry is...
(This entire section contains 1212 words.)
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left alone at Wilton House and becomes distracted by a co-ed named Lila. Henry decides he wants to lose his virginity, and Lila seems a perfect choice. A comical moment with Lila motivates Henry to reveal the secret of his speech once again. But Lila is not so eager to keep his secret when confronted with accusations from the school president about her involvement with under-aged Henry. Soon everyone is aware of Henry’s deception.
Back at Humphrey, Charlie and Karen have a new baby, and their divided attention drives a sulking Henry to run away.
Part Four: The Wonderful World of Color
Henry goes to look for Betty in New York. He finds her, and she reluctantly agrees to allow him to move in. He quickly falls into the role of caregiver rather than child. Henry enters a cartoon-drawing contest and wins. Betty is still not ready to be a mother, and she accepts a job in Paris, leaving Henry behind once again. Henry decides to move to California to pursue an art career. On the way, he stops at Wilton to ask Mary Jane to go with him. She considers his proposal ridiculous and he leaves angry.
Henry lands a job as a movie artist for Walt Disney. At the studio, Henry becomes involved with many women. Cindy is a waitress at a local diner, Annie is a model for the studio, and Fiona is an ink artist in another department. Henry enjoys the company of all three women but realizes that he does not truly care for any of them.
Henry soon discovers that Mary Jane is going to school at the University of California–Berkeley. He begins to spend weekends with her, and Mary Jane introduces Henry to drugs. But Mary Jane is much more enthralled with the Berkeley lifestyle than Henry is, and they soon grow distant again.
Part Five: And, In the End
Henry receives word that Martha has died. He flies back to Wilton for the funeral and is surprised that he feels a sense of loss. After the service, Henry is introduced to a young woman named Peace who was also a Practice House baby called Hazel. They form an immediate connection, and Mary Jane is left feeling ignored.
Henry decides to make some life changes and he applies for a job working on a Beatles animated movie in London. When he is hired, Henry invites Peace to join him and she agrees.
In London, Henry and Peace enjoy a life of parties. Peace falls heavily under the influence of the swinging drug culture of 1960s London, and all Henry can do is watch helplessly. Henry finds out that Peace has been sleeping around with many men. When she becomes pregnant, she tells Henry that the father could be any of four different men. Henry accompanies Peace to the abortion clinic. While there, he learns to better understand Betty and feels grateful for her decision to have him.
Henry decides to leave Peace and London behind. He stops in Paris to see Betty, to thank her, but finds she has not changed. Henry goes to New York with a plan to get settled and find Mary Jane. When he catches up with her, he discovers that Mary Jane has had a baby. She admits that she has no emotional connection to George, but she is still wary of Henry. Henry’s interactions with baby Haley turn out to be quite emotional for Henry, and it becomes clear that making a home for himself and Mary Jane and little Haley is Henry’s next step.
