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6th out of 19 books
—
12 voters
Dear Enemy (Daddy-Long-Legs #2)
by
Jean Webster
In this sequel to "Daddy-Long-Legs", Judy and Jervis Pendleton appoint lively, red-headed Sallie McBride as Superintendent of the John Grier Orphan Asylum. Her clashes with Dr. Sandy MacRae (her "dear enemy") are both hilarious and appealing.
ebook, 281 pages
Published
December 3rd 2010
by Pubone.Info
(first published 1915)
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Eugenics, oh dear, oh dear. This book has all sorts of dodgy stuff in that can be overlooked a bit - but not completely! - by always keeping the mantra, "This was written almost a hundred years ago," going in your head while you're reading. I would give it five stars - on the whole, I like this one more than Daddy-Long-Legs, which it comes after - but alas! It is really quite dodgy to a reader now.
But for everything else that is not dodgy, I only have massive amounts of love. As an epistolary no...more
But for everything else that is not dodgy, I only have massive amounts of love. As an epistolary no...more
A sequel to 'Daddy-Long-Legs' and, like the earlier book, written entirely in the epistolary style, the letters in this case being from Judy's college friend Sallie McBride, who Judy and Master Jervie have, apparently quite at random, appointed as the new Superintendent of the John Grier Home of Judy's dreadful childhood, and mostly directed either to Judy herself, Sallie's fianc
Author / Illustrator: Jean Webster
First published: 1915
Copy: I have been trying to find a decent copy of "Dear Enemy" by Jean Webster, having recently re-read Daddy-Long-Legs, but the trad publishers don't seem to be doing a paperback anymore. Anyway... e-book reviews were all over the place on the quality of the available products, and I was worried. Eventually I went for a copy I found at girlebooks.com and was pretty happy with it. My copy is missing the whimsical illustrations of the origina...more
First published: 1915
Copy: I have been trying to find a decent copy of "Dear Enemy" by Jean Webster, having recently re-read Daddy-Long-Legs, but the trad publishers don't seem to be doing a paperback anymore. Anyway... e-book reviews were all over the place on the quality of the available products, and I was worried. Eventually I went for a copy I found at girlebooks.com and was pretty happy with it. My copy is missing the whimsical illustrations of the origina...more
Jan 27, 2013
Erica
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2013,
hey-look-a-sequel
I am a total sucker for epistolary novels, so when I discovered yesterday that Jean Webster wrote a sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs, I was positively gleeful.
DLL is a little gem of a book, and (with one significant caveat, discussed below) I liked Dear Enemy even more. It's not that that there's anything particularly earthshattering going on -- the plot is predictable as a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie from the first page -- but the writing is light and breezy, the characters are eminently likeable, and...more
DLL is a little gem of a book, and (with one significant caveat, discussed below) I liked Dear Enemy even more. It's not that that there's anything particularly earthshattering going on -- the plot is predictable as a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie from the first page -- but the writing is light and breezy, the characters are eminently likeable, and...more
I really, really like Daddy Long Legs and had read so many reviews saying that this one was even better but I don't think it comes close to DLL. It was teetering on 2 stars for me, most of the way through, but thanks to a few lifts in the plot along the way, I liked it overall, but just liked. I do love her writing style, and her voice but in DLL I backed up to reread perfectly written lines several times and there were only a few lines in this one that had that same impact. Sallie was not very...more
For the time these were written, 1915ish, this book is incredibly forward thinking. There's great discussion on nature v. nurture, appropriate grounds for divorce, the ethics of managing an asylum full of orphans and it all is still relevant, thanks to an author who I think was pretty forward thinking for her time. It's also not preachy or didactic. The story just comes with a little extra meat on the bones.
This second book in the series picks up with Sallie McBride writing letters to her best f...more
This second book in the series picks up with Sallie McBride writing letters to her best f...more
Oct 14, 2012
Gwen
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Gwen by:
my grandmother
Shelves:
fiction
When you read this book, FORGET ALL MENTION OF EUGENICS. It's terrible, but this is what you get for reading a book that's almost 100 years old. Not that that is any excuse, however.
Other than that glaring concern (plus the subtle--but thankfully rare--cases of racism) (I'm really not selling this book well, am I?), I love this book, even more than Daddy Long Legs. This is a wonderful journey of a woman learning to become more independent and self-assured, all while maintaining a sense of humor...more
Other than that glaring concern (plus the subtle--but thankfully rare--cases of racism) (I'm really not selling this book well, am I?), I love this book, even more than Daddy Long Legs. This is a wonderful journey of a woman learning to become more independent and self-assured, all while maintaining a sense of humor...more
Huge swathes of charming, with one egregious, icky icky caveat. I do love me a good epistolary novel, and this one is splendidly done, with a light touch on what the narrator says and what the author wants to happen. I find Sallie a slightly less dense narrator than Judy (heroine of the prequel Daddy Long Legs), whose greatest charm and irritation is her cheerful, persistent earnestness. Sallie is always a bit more self-aware, even when she's the silly socialite being badgered into working, and...more
First published in 1915, DEAR ENEMY is a sequel to Daddy Long Legs. Judy is now married and recruits her college friend Sallie to give up her happy-go-lucky life and run the John Grier Home, the orphanage that Judy was raised in. Sallie is getting bored waiting for her Congressman boyfriend to propose and agrees to take the job on a temporary basis. She turns up at the home with her kind heart, wicked sense of humour, her maid and her dog. She immediately falls foul of the home’s Scottish doctor...more
I read Daddy Long Legs by the fireside last Christmas, the memory of which was so pleasant that I decided to read it's sequel, Dear Enemy, in the same manner this year. What a delightful book! I like this one even better than the first. Yes, there are some problematic mentions of eugenics and "idiocy", so be forewarned! But at heart is a lovely, endearing story.
Judy Abbott, whose letters to her anonymous benefactor made up the first novel, hardly makes an appearance in this one. The main charac...more
Judy Abbott, whose letters to her anonymous benefactor made up the first novel, hardly makes an appearance in this one. The main charac...more
Found this through Project Gutenberg - it's a mostly charming story, but very much a product of its time. One of the ways that the heroine displays her growing seriousness and suitability as director of an orphanage is by reading works on eugenics, with the Juke and Kallikak families specifically mentioned. There's also a lot of material here for anyone looking to apply Philip Deloria's work in Playing Indian to early twentieth-century literature, or for those interested in the ethnic stereotype...more
Book 1 in this classic series (Daddy Long Legs) described a feisty orphan's culture shock as she left the orphanage and attended college. Book 2 (Dear Enemy) depicts a wealthy and educated young woman, Sallie, coming to this same dreary orphanage as director and effecting a makeover. Reverse the culture shock situation! The same epistolary style is used, with Sallie writing about her trials to various friends (including her friend, the original orphan girl, now happily married). And again, a rom...more
This book is so hard to review, because most of it is completely delightful, but the stuff that isn't is like a poison. Most of the book is about Judy's roommate from college, Sallie MacBride, who Judy and Jervis convince to become the head of Judy's old orphanage. It's all her letters to Judy, her politician suitor Gordon, and the orphanage doctor (the Enemy of the title), about her struggles and triumphs with her 113 new babies and the staff. All of that is great and so much fun.
And then there...more
And then there...more
This is a novel of letters from Sallie McBride, Judy's college friend from Daddy-Long-Legs, sometimes to the "enemy' of the title (a gruff Scottish doctor), sometimes to Judy or her husband, sometimes to Sallie's boyfriend Gordon, a rising politician. Sallie, despite her frivolous nature, is persuaded by Judy to take over the running of the grim orphan asylum where Judy herself was raised. At first she loathes it, but she comes to be deeply interested in the work of transforming the place and ve...more
Quite enjoyable even in its audio book format wherein Sallie has been asked by her college buddy, the Judy Abbott of Daddy Long-Legs, to run the John Grier Home, the orphanage Judy was raised in. A cheerful and unabashed socialite waiting for her Congressman boyfriend to propose, Sallie takes on the job on a temporary basis. Armed with her sense of humor and her firm brightness, along with her maid and her Chow doggie, she gets her heart stolen by the 100 sad-eyed charges.
The book is modeled af...more
The book is modeled af...more
4.5 stars. I'd seen several reviews that said this was even better than Daddy-Long-Legs, which I found a little hard to believe since I'd enjoyed that so much. But I think they were right! For one thing, it's longer. It has more of a plot. I think the characters are better drawn—or perhaps it's just that there's a larger variety of them. And there's more drama as well—balanced by loads of laugh-out-loud humor.
Yes, there are caveats—the only reason for the subtracted half-star—in some of its opin...more
Yes, there are caveats—the only reason for the subtracted half-star—in some of its opin...more
Sallie running an orphanage is very fun, if a little simplistic in the easy answers to everything, especially the children who displayed severely attachment disorder behaviour. Sallie is a much more likeable character than Judy, and the romance is built up properly, and the fantasy of making over an orphanage is a fun one.
But like a lot of readers - ew, the eugenics. The doctor's fascination is at least justified by his backstory, but it's really horrible to read of children being shipped away b...more
But like a lot of readers - ew, the eugenics. The doctor's fascination is at least justified by his backstory, but it's really horrible to read of children being shipped away b...more
Apr 29, 2013
Adore Felines
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
online,
literature
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Written in epistolary style, in the point of view of just the one writer, this tells the story of a young socialite who accepts the position of superintendent of a orphaned children's home. It's part romance, part homily, especially on the subject of proper care and feeding of orphans. One surprising topic that is discussed very positively and authoritatively is eugenics. By the studies of the letter writer, it would seem that eugenics was accepted as the scientific method of sorting out the orp...more
Sallie has been asked by her college buddy, the Judy Abbott of Daddy Long-Legs, to run the John Grier Home, the orphanage Judy was raised in. A cheerful and unabashed socialite waiting for her Congressman boyfriend to propose, Sallie takes on the job on a temporary basis. Armed with her sense of humor and her firm brightness, along with her maid and her Chow doggie, she gets her heart stolen by the 100 sad-eyed charges.
The book is modeled after ”Daddy Long-Legs”, so it is entirely composed of S...more
The book is modeled after ”Daddy Long-Legs”, so it is entirely composed of S...more
My library didn't have Daddy Long Legs (at least in print) so I skipped straight ahead to Dear Enemy for our book group read this month. If the 1950's Hollywood adaption of Daddy Long Legs is anything to go on I can't say I really mind. Granted, watching Fred Astaire just walk down a flight of stairs is a vision of poetry in motion and I will concede that books almost always trump movies but I liked Dear Enemy better, Sallie seems much more lively and self aware. Adored the growing romance by bo...more
Jean Webster (July 24, 1876 – June 11, 1916) wrote several books. I think her intended audience was young girls of perhaps 8-16. When I was 9 I read and reread "Dear Enemy" and "Daddy Long Legs" (which is better-known). Her style is sprightly and she writes very well. Her stories were about fairly independent young women who went to college and who worked--and also who ended up marrying. Her style is epistolary.
I recall "Dear Enemy" as one of those books that I enjoyed in part because the heroi...more
I recall "Dear Enemy" as one of those books that I enjoyed in part because the heroi...more
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This is a GOOD book. It's not quite as lovely as Daddy Long Legs, but it's close. It's a touch formulaic, and let's be honest, it took me a while to like Sallie. But I do like her, and I love her sense of humor, and I love her way of thinking. I especially liked how Sally makes several points for traditional marriage - none of the living together/trial marriages, and none of the getting hitched because the sex is good but not because you have anything else in common. In fact, those letters were...more
This is a young adult novel from 1915, and a sequel to the author's classic, Daddy Long Legs. While a mostly entertaining read, Dear Enemy is highly predictable and in some ways a rip-off of Jane Eyre. What is most notable about the book is not the love story or the tales of running a 1915-era progressive orphanage, but the social politics. From a feminist standpoint, the novel offers a fascinating study of what a young, college-educated woman's place in society should be in 1915; the answers it...more
Aug 02, 2011
Hirondelle
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
epistolary,
literature
Dear XXI century, I do love you and do not give you enough credit. This book was published in 1915 and I well, it shows and not in a nice way.
It´s a sequel to Daddy Long LegsDaddy Long Legs, set in the orphanage where Jerusha was raised, and again told in epistolary form. Tone is breezy, funny, slightly irrealistic, this is maybe 1915 chick lit. It´s not a million miles apart from L M Montgomery (though she never annoyed me that much!). I should have liked this, and in a way I did, I gobbled it...more
It´s a sequel to Daddy Long LegsDaddy Long Legs, set in the orphanage where Jerusha was raised, and again told in epistolary form. Tone is breezy, funny, slightly irrealistic, this is maybe 1915 chick lit. It´s not a million miles apart from L M Montgomery (though she never annoyed me that much!). I should have liked this, and in a way I did, I gobbled it...more
Less well-known than Daddy Long-Legs, and not quite as good, but I'm glad I read this. Judy's college friend Sallie gets suckered into becoming the director of the asylum where Judy grew up, and of course discovers that she adores the kids and she finds new meaning in life by having honest work to do. She also falls in love with the cranky doctor -- an event that is less believable and charming than the romance in Daddy Long-Legs.
There is lots of odd stuff about eugenics in here, which is apt to...more
There is lots of odd stuff about eugenics in here, which is apt to...more
This book is a delightful read and a longtime favorite. Written in the firm of correspondence between headmistress Sally McBride and her various correspondents (notably her dear friend, Judy and the frosty Dr. MacRay) it paints the portrait of a spirited young woman from a wealthy family who takes on the challenge of headmistress of an orphanage.
The antics that arise from her appointment and the subsequent chain of events that lead to a happy and gleeful ending keep readers laughing from start t...more
The antics that arise from her appointment and the subsequent chain of events that lead to a happy and gleeful ending keep readers laughing from start t...more
Daddy-Long-Legs was one of my favorite books as a child, and one I've re read countless times, so I was really happy when I found the sequel--which I also really enjoyed, although less than the classic. And sure, the stuffy, stodgy, self-righteous and full of 'ism' attitudes of the era read appallingly today but I'm not the sort of reader that focuses on that. I always think its simplistic and idiotic to judge something of a set time period with the understandings, knowledge and mores of another...more
The much anticipated sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs... That's the beauty of books published 100 years ago: the sequel's already published! Spares a lot of time and wasted wanting.
Jean Webster does not disappoint. Even though I must admit I liked Daddy-Long-Legs better, Dear Enemy was a pleasant surprise. Webster has this ability to keep the pages turning with inventive characters and almost no conflict. The story is more of a glimpse of life than an epic adventure, but it works flawlessly.
The ending,...more
Jean Webster does not disappoint. Even though I must admit I liked Daddy-Long-Legs better, Dear Enemy was a pleasant surprise. Webster has this ability to keep the pages turning with inventive characters and almost no conflict. The story is more of a glimpse of life than an epic adventure, but it works flawlessly.
The ending,...more
The follow-up to Daddy Long Legs, though can be read as a stand alone. In Daddy Long Legs, and orphan writes letters to a mysterious benefactor who has taken her out of the orphanage and sent her to college. In this book are letters from her college room-mate, a one time society gal who is persuaded to take on directorship and improvement of the orphanage which is now owned by the character in the first book. Mostly funny and charming, though there are a couple comments that are typical for the...more
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Jean Webster (pseudonym for Alice Jane Chandler Webster) was born July 24, 1876 and died June 11, 1916. She was an American writer and author of many books including Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy. (The books are available online in the etext collection, A Celebration of Women Writers,and in downloadable form at Project Gutenberg.) Her most well-known books feature lively and likeable young female...more
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“The more I study men, the more I realize that they are nothing in the world but boys grown too big to be spankable.”
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“Estoy pasando por un cambio total de mi carácter. Odio la inestabilidad. Me asusta la idea de ver mi vida desorganizada.”
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Apr 26, 2013 10:42am