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juleswells's review against another edition
3.5
Daddy Long Legs was cute & interesting, but the love story at the end struck me as odd & unbelievable. Dear Enemy was a little better, definitely a better love story. The orphan care was interesting but very dated.
lisa03's review against another edition
3.0
This review is just for Daddy Long-Legs. I haven't read Dear Enemy yet. I thought this was cute, and it's interesting thinking about the context of the time in which the book was written. I liked Judy - she is spunky and resilient. The book is told in letters, and this is not my favorite format, because we are limited in seeing the whole picture of what's going on.
Spoiler
I was not into the romance part at all!maddie_hollar's review against another edition
4.0
Four stars for the second, five stars for the first
msmoodyreader's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
melissahoward's review against another edition
5.0
I am currently rereading this book on audiobook. I've had this book for years - sometime when I was young my Dad picked up in the trash. I still have that much beloved original copy. I think what is most appealing about this is the simplicity and directness of the romance - it is sentimentalism at its best!!
juliebihn's review against another edition
It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh--I really think that requires SPIRIT.
I'm not very well-read, so I knew very little about this book going in. I was very surprised that a book from 1912 (and an epistolary book at that!) could be so accessible and seem almost modern. Imagine my shock when our plucky heroine twice enjoys "chicken and waffles"!
Jerusha's musings are filled with amusing lines, including a few jabs/complaints about the lack of women's suffrage:
Or this one is so snarky!
Or this one, which could be a Twilight Zone episode:
But maybe I was most surprised that a book from 1912 could get away with a few lines that strike this modern reader as going one step farther than mere irreverence:
(There may or may not be some literary significance there since Jerusha is writing all of her letters to a mostly benevolent man she's never met--she doesn't even know his name--so she's imagining him...but still!)
I will say that I put the eBook from Project Gutenberg on my Kindle to read it, and it omitted the illustrations. I only later looked up the illustrations, upon finding out that this is often classified as a children's book (reading it without the illustrations, I had no idea!). I do find the illustrations charming overall! But the book hit me very differently when I saw simple drawings by a childish college girl, given the ending,
Oh, and how depressing that she can sell a short story for! Many markets pay that today, in 2022 dollars. And last I checked, a shop girl of the era made about $7 a week...!
I think I've started rambling, too. Sorry about that! I found this a quick and breezy read, and I think anyone with any interest in the 1910s or history in general will find it worth a look. I'd probably also recommend it to anyone wanting to write an epistolary novel, or a slice-of-life novel, or if they just want to work on their first-person voice.
I'm not very well-read, so I knew very little about this book going in. I was very surprised that a book from 1912 (and an epistolary book at that!) could be so accessible and seem almost modern. Imagine my shock when our plucky heroine twice enjoys "chicken and waffles"!
Jerusha's musings are filled with amusing lines, including a few jabs/complaints about the lack of women's suffrage:
The only way I can ever repay you is by turning out a Very Useful Citizen (Are women citizens? I don't suppose they are.) Anyway, a Very Useful Person.
Or this one is so snarky!
I don't suppose it matters in the least whether they are stupid or not so long as they are pretty? One can't help thinking, though, how their conversation will bore their husbands, unless they are fortunate enough to obtain stupid husbands. I suppose that's quite possible; the world seems to be filled with stupid men; I've met a number this summer.
Or this one, which could be a Twilight Zone episode:
Don't you think it would be interesting if you really could read the story of your life--written perfectly truthfully by an omniscient author? And suppose you could only read it on this condition: that you would never forget it, but would have to go through life knowing ahead of time exactly how everything you did would turn out, and foreseeing to the exact hour the time when you would die. How many people do you suppose would have the courage to read it then? or how many could suppress their curiosity sufficiently to escape from reading it, even at the price of having to live without hope and without surprises?
But maybe I was most surprised that a book from 1912 could get away with a few lines that strike this modern reader as going one step farther than mere irreverence:
I find that it isn't safe to discuss religion with the Semples. Their God (whom they have inherited intact from their remote Puritan ancestors) is a narrow, irrational, unjust, mean, revengeful, bigoted Person. Thank heaven I don't inherit God from anybody! I am free to make mine up as I wish Him. He's kind and sympathetic and imaginative and forgiving and understanding--and He has a sense of humour.
(There may or may not be some literary significance there since Jerusha is writing all of her letters to a mostly benevolent man she's never met--she doesn't even know his name--so she's imagining him...but still!)
I will say that I put the eBook from Project Gutenberg on my Kindle to read it, and it omitted the illustrations. I only later looked up the illustrations, upon finding out that this is often classified as a children's book (reading it without the illustrations, I had no idea!). I do find the illustrations charming overall! But the book hit me very differently when I saw simple drawings by a childish college girl, given the ending,
Spoiler
although the ending didn't really come as a surprise to this modern reader. But I was uncomfortable with the age gap to begin with, and the drawings somehow amplify it to me and make it even creepier.Oh, and how depressing that she can sell a short story for
Spoiler
$50I think I've started rambling, too. Sorry about that! I found this a quick and breezy read, and I think anyone with any interest in the 1910s or history in general will find it worth a look. I'd probably also recommend it to anyone wanting to write an epistolary novel, or a slice-of-life novel, or if they just want to work on their first-person voice.
55_sallymander's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars, Favorite
I have had a hardback copy of this book for many, many years. It is the 2nd oldest book in my family library. 1912 goes back to a simpler time. I recently came across an eBook edition from the Gutenberg Project, which I am thankful for, except that the eBook copy doesn't include Judy's delightful drawings.
Jerusha (Judy) Abbott is a foundling who spent all of her 18 years in an orphan's asylum called the John Grier Home. She doesn't know what the future holds or where she will go next. Most children are sent away from the orphanage at 16.
She finds out that she has a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, but she saw a fleeting glimpse of his shadow and instead of calling him Mr. John Smith as he wished, she renames him as Daddy Long Legs.
The mysterious benefactor wishes to send her to college to become an author. All of the doors of society are opened to Judy, she writes monthly to Daddy Long Legs to tell him of her studies and adventures.
Highly recommend for young adults, women of any age, and anyone else who enjoys a well written story.
#DaddyLongLegs #JeanWebster #ProjectGutenberg #YoungAdult #HistoricalFiction
I have had a hardback copy of this book for many, many years. It is the 2nd oldest book in my family library. 1912 goes back to a simpler time. I recently came across an eBook edition from the Gutenberg Project, which I am thankful for, except that the eBook copy doesn't include Judy's delightful drawings.
Jerusha (Judy) Abbott is a foundling who spent all of her 18 years in an orphan's asylum called the John Grier Home. She doesn't know what the future holds or where she will go next. Most children are sent away from the orphanage at 16.
She finds out that she has a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, but she saw a fleeting glimpse of his shadow and instead of calling him Mr. John Smith as he wished, she renames him as Daddy Long Legs.
The mysterious benefactor wishes to send her to college to become an author. All of the doors of society are opened to Judy, she writes monthly to Daddy Long Legs to tell him of her studies and adventures.
Highly recommend for young adults, women of any age, and anyone else who enjoys a well written story.
#DaddyLongLegs #JeanWebster #ProjectGutenberg #YoungAdult #HistoricalFiction
ricefun's review against another edition
5.0
I can’t believe that I missed this Young Adult classic for so long, but am very glad I’ve read it now. What a delightful story - and such a powerful female voice written in the early 1900’s. I am sure that “Judy” has been an inspiration for girls for many generations.
I was inspired to pick this book up after the college I work for performed the stage play this past fall. I actually have a bookshelf in my house from the set of this play and it makes me smile each time I look at it.
I was inspired to pick this book up after the college I work for performed the stage play this past fall. I actually have a bookshelf in my house from the set of this play and it makes me smile each time I look at it.