Dear Enemy

By: Jean Webster


Published: 1915


Synopsis:


"Judy Abbot, the heroine of Webster's DADDY LONG-LEGS, has purchased her "alma mater," the unhappy John Grier Orphanage, and places it into the hands of her college roommate, Sallie McBride. Sallie considers herself as flibbertigibbet and arrives at the school with her pet chow dog and a personal maid, determined to stay only a few months until she can marry her fiancé, an up-and-coming young lawyer/politician. However, Judy is wiser about Sallie than she is about herself, and Sallie grows to love her position, releasing the children from the browbeating institutional regime that they have previously followed and devising all sorts of new schemes like camps for the older boys that will help the children when they eventually go out into the world. Sallie also runs afoul of the orphanage's dour physician, a Scotsman named Robin MacRae, but as the story progresses, they become each other's ally as well as antagonist (it is from her salutations to him in letters that the title of the book derives)..." (Amazon.com)


My Thoughts:


It was kind of weird to read a book that was written at a time when eugenics was widely accepted. Of course, that just made it more educational.

Daddy Long Legs

By: Jean Webster


Published: 1912


Synopsis:


"Raised in a bleak orphanage without even a name from her parents, this modern girls' fairy tale tells the story of Jerusha Abbott, a plucky young woman without ties and unsure of her future. After a visit from the trustees of the orphanage, Jerusha is told that one of the trustees sees in her the potential of a writer and wishes to be the patron of her college education. In exchange for tuition payment and a generous monthly allowance, Jerusha must write him a letter each month. She goes to an excellent women's university and thrives, growing, learning, and having fun in an adventurous period of self-discovery. First published in 1912, Webster's tale of an orphan and her unknown, shadowy benefactor is an enriching love story that unfolds in the countless pages of a cheerful young woman's letters." (Amazon.com)