Sheryl’s review of Mystery in Arizona (Trixie Belden, #6) > Likes and Comments
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Oh my goodness, please tell me the later books will ditch the sexism and racism. This one is worse than the last and that is saying something! I’m so glad you mentioned Campbell’s personal life, I was at a loss as to how awfully sexist book 5 and 6 are.
It varies, depending on the author, I think. I haven't read most of them in thirty years or more, but this is the one I remember most irritating me on the sexism and racism fronts back in the day. On the other hand, The Black Jacket Mystery is almost as patronizing toward Dan Mangan, who is white; the series as a whole can have a strong "insider/outsider" vibe, I'm afraid.
Campbell's books first came out in the forties and fifties and, unlike the Stratemeyer books (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, etc.), they have not been updated as social standards have changed. As you get into the 1960s (book 12 on up), there was a lot more cultural awareness of racism, which should help, and in the seventies (book seventeen on up) the sexism would have been culturally challenged.
The structure of the series means that Trixie's always going to be the "little sister", unless her three older brothers are minimized, and there's often going to be that insider/outsider vibe. And heaven knows the BobWhites can be painfully patronizing sometimes, although when the author is a good one they get their comeuppance for it.. But if you liked the first few books, there should be plenty of others where those aspects are not a problem.
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Kate
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Aug 24, 2018 09:07PM
Oh my goodness, please tell me the later books will ditch the sexism and racism. This one is worse than the last and that is saying something! I’m so glad you mentioned Campbell’s personal life, I was at a loss as to how awfully sexist book 5 and 6 are.
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It varies, depending on the author, I think. I haven't read most of them in thirty years or more, but this is the one I remember most irritating me on the sexism and racism fronts back in the day. On the other hand, The Black Jacket Mystery is almost as patronizing toward Dan Mangan, who is white; the series as a whole can have a strong "insider/outsider" vibe, I'm afraid. Campbell's books first came out in the forties and fifties and, unlike the Stratemeyer books (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, etc.), they have not been updated as social standards have changed. As you get into the 1960s (book 12 on up), there was a lot more cultural awareness of racism, which should help, and in the seventies (book seventeen on up) the sexism would have been culturally challenged.
The structure of the series means that Trixie's always going to be the "little sister", unless her three older brothers are minimized, and there's often going to be that insider/outsider vibe. And heaven knows the BobWhites can be painfully patronizing sometimes, although when the author is a good one they get their comeuppance for it.. But if you liked the first few books, there should be plenty of others where those aspects are not a problem.
