Customer Reviews

Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy (Penguin Classics)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In Daddy-Long-Legs, Jerusha Abbot is an orphan that gets sent to college by a mysterious trustee that thinks she has a future as an author. The only hint to his identity is the glimpse that Jerusha had of his long legs, as he was leaving. His only request is that she write him a letter once a month (with no hope of ever having a reply). For the next four years, Jerusha learns to be like "other girls", and we watch her grow and mature as she finds her voice.

Dear Enemy, the wonderful sequel, is set after Daddy-Long-Legs, where Jerusha is given the orphanage where she grew up. She enlists her best friend from college (whom we are introduced to in Daddy), Sally, to run the orphanage. Sally, a flighty society girl, is completely changed as she learns to love her orphans and the new life she has chosen to lead.

Both of them are romantic, fun and thoughtful, without the preachy-ness of some of the other girls novels published around the same time.

Best part is that BOTH books are published in this one volume - which is a great deal (and saves room on my already overflowing bookshelf). Footnotes in the back of the book help define some of the terminology/setting of the era.

This is a classic that I read as a child, and I'm so happy to have found it again!

I love Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy. They are wonderful stories and great for children, especially girls. I ordered this edition to send to my sister who is 14 for her birthday. When the book arrived I flipped through it - and was surprised and upset to find that there are no pictures in this edition! Jean Webster's original editions include drawings from her characters that are cute and truly add to the story being told. Instead, this book has something written like "This is me, herding cows (2)." There is no index in the back for the drawings, they are just missing. This is truly sad - the pictures are a big and fun part of the story. So I'm returning this edition on account of its lameness.

After watching the latest movie of Daddy-Long-Legs (Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron), I had to reread my old favorite and was delighted to find the book at Amazon combining it and Dear Enemy. It was even more delightful than I remembered, probably because I understood a lot more of the humor. I recommend it to anyone from 10 to 80 who likes a nice story about nice people! Written in 1914, it portrays a different world than ours. Written as letters, it's just plain fun. I first got it from an elderly friend of my mother's, probably in the 1930s, and have read it at least half a dozen times. Enjoy!

I came across this book by accident because I needed a book on cd to listen to in the car. Now I find myself sitting in my driveway reluctant to get out of the car and leave Jerusha/Judy behind. So beautifully written it's impossible to imagine anyone who would be unmoved by this young woman's letters to her unknown benefactor.

Why would anyone publish a book that was known for its charming illustrations by the author and REMOVE ALL THE ILLUSTRATIONS? Was the editor on drugs or something? It's like selling a Beatrix Potter set and removing all of the Peter Rabbit drawings. Some of the letters don't even make sense without the illustrations since she refers to them. Maybe it was cheaper to print without the illustrations, and if that was the case then shame on the publisher and shame on Amazon for not noting "this edition is incomplete". We will be requesting a refund on this.

I bought this as a surprise for my daughter. Like me, she is a long-time Webster fan and particularly loves Daddy-Long-Legs. Unfortunately, I'll be returning this edition from Seven Treasures Publications, which inexplicably and inexcusably doesn't include the drawings which are an integral part of the stories. Shame on the publishers!

Seven Treasures Publications appears to have paid $100 to a remedial high school student to type this book. Not only are the charming illustrations (that are referenced constantly in the text) not included, this edition is full of typos and design errors.

The only thing good about this book is that it is cheap -- and you sure get what you pay for. This thing is good for stoking a fire, and that's about it.

Trust me, it's worth spending a few extra dollars to get an edition that had some care put into it, and includes the illustrations. DO NOT BUY THIS EDITION.

The book arrived quickly, it was like new, and the price was good. Excellent experience.

Daddy Long Legs has been one of my favorites since childhood. I bought this one for my daughter, but she would not read it.

I believe the cover is to blame, at least partially, because it's old and unattractive. Otherwise, it's a classic and I wish more Americans would read it.

My old copies of these books (which I've misplaced) had lovely little stick-figure sketches throughout the text. They are missing from this book, which is a disappointment. I hesitate to share this book with friends since it's minus the pictures, which added to the charm of the books. Also, the cover illustration is very odd and seems totally unrelated to the text. I don't think any of the characters in the books ever looked or dressed this way! All in all, a disappointing version of two books that I have loved since I was a child--many, many years ago.