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Lydia Parkington is the late mother of Samantha Parkington.

Personality[]

Lydia is described as having light brown curls, blue eyes, and fair skin. She and her husband, Mr. Parkington, died roughly four years before the start of the series in the summer of 1900 in a boating accident at Teardrop Island near Piney Point, when Samantha was just past five years old; Samantha has, at the start of her books, lived with Grandmary since. However, she and her memory have a major influence on Samantha's life; Samantha often wonders about her, though many times her questions remain unanswered. Samantha keeps an image of her and her father in the brooch locket she pins to her clothes.

Lydia was an accomplished artist and painted many watercolor images of Piney Point and Samantha as a younger child. The rosebud circlet that Samantha is gifted for her tenth birthday belonged to her.

In The Books[]

Meet Samantha[]

Happy Birthday, Samantha![]

Samantha Saves The Day[]

Changes for Samantha[]

Samantha Saves the Wedding[]

Samantha: The Gift[]

Lydia and her husband are mentioned quickly when Samantha states that her parents died when she was five.

Samantha: An American Girl Holiday[]

Lydia is, like in the books, already dead before the start of the movie. Her and Mr. Parkington's deaths are changed so that they occurred while boating on the river near to the house; afterwards, the boathouse on the property was closed. Samantha wears a locket around her neck with a picture of her mother and father inside. She used to sing to Samantha, but Samantha can't remember her voice anymore. Gardner says that she was full of life, questions, and causes, and thinks she and Cornelia would have been the best of friends. She made fun of Gard's bushy eyebrows, and Samantha has her mother's spirit in her will and curiosity. She hated chickens.

Samantha keeps items belonging to and images of Lydia and her father in the boathouse, since no one but her goes in there. The discovery of these items prompts Grandmary to agree to send Samantha to live with Uncle Gard, so as to help separate her from dwelling on her mother. Grandmary tells Samantha a story about Lydia having a kitten named Mabel. When the kitten went missing, Lydia placed the kitten's possessions in the boathouse in its memory, much like Samantha has done regarding Lydia.

Trivia[]

  • Despite not having an appearance in the books and in the film (as she is deceased) she does have visual representation in the series. She is present in a sketchbook Samantha finds in Samantha Saves the Day from a day in 1897 at Teardrop Island (which is represented in the Summer Amusements set). She also is seen in a photograph hanging in the Edwards house in the first edition illustrations for Changes for Samantha, and present in Samantha's locket both in Samantha's classic accessories and in the movie.
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