A delightful sequel to one of my favorite books: Daddy Long-Legs. Jean Webster manages to write wonderful stories about turn-of-the-20th-century college girls in a way that absolutely doesn't age. Judy Abbott's best friend Sallie MacBride finds herself in charge of the John Grier Home for Orphans - installed there by the new president and his wife: Jervis and Judy Pendleton. Sallie's adventures and misadventures, triumphs and mis-steps are told with love and humor in Sallie's letters to Judy, to her beau Gordon, and to the Orphanage doctor.

The book is a new reprint that is a delight to hold (just the right size), a delight to touch (crisp pages and a red ribbon bound-in bookmark), and a delight to read. I think the original may have had some marginal drawings - referred to obliquely in the text - and I regret to say any such drawings were not included in this edition. There is, however, a portrait and very complete biographical notes at the end of the book. ( )

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 fiancé Gordon, or to the Home's appointed doctor, the 'Dear Enemy' of the title. At first understandably reluctant to take over the running of the Home, Sallie soon rises to the challenge and quickly becomes a ferocious advocate for change and improvement. This, remember, long, long before Women's Suffrage was anything but a silly idea in some dear little feathery heads. 'Dear Enemy' has not achieved the classic status of its sister title; it's charming in its own way, but lays more emphasis on moral and social issues and less on romance, and also contains some theories on heredity and eugenics that are enough to make a modern reader's hair stand on end. I must also warn against this particular edition (Echo Press), which bears the hallmarks of a print-on-demand title; the text appears to have been run straight from typescript without any thought (ironically, perhaps) to widows and orphans, so that in several places the letter ends at the foot of one page and the accompanying signature at the head of the next. There should also be author illustrations, which are lacking here.

I also note a personal dilemma: 'Daddy-Long-Legs' lives on my children's shelf; I've always thought of it as a book for late teenagers (the cover art on my copy rather bears this out. 'Dear Enemy', however, emphatically is not. The two must, I fear, be parted. Unless I splash out and buy the omnibus edition that contains both. And then where would I shelve that?! ( )

The first book, Daddy Long Legs, is one of my favourites and I was looking forward to this book very much. When it arrived I was disappointed to see it was a different edition than advertised on the booksellers website. The copy I received was by The Echo Library and comes with an ugly cover and (worst of all) no illustrations, when there ought to be some because they are referred to so frequently throughout the story.

The story itself was a delight though and I enjoyed it very much. Told this time in letters to Judy rather than from her, we get to meet her dear friend Sallie McBride. I do not wish to give much away of either this or the previous story but Judy is now in a position to hire a Superintendant for the John Grier Home and chooses Sallie to go in and make over the home. Sallie is surprised and reluctant but out of loyalty to Judy and with a desire to prove her doubting suitor wrong she takes the job. The story that follows is told in her letters to Judy and others.

It doesn't quite have the charm of Daddy Long Legs and there are a couple of outdated ideas about the best way to cope with the problems of mental health, epilepsy, alcoholism and other maladies that beset orphanages of the day. I was quite started to read Sallie's letter advocating special homes away from society for these people which could prevent them from breeding and therefore end the problems within a generation or two. Other than that, this was a story I would be happy to have the children in my family read, but I would want to discuss that part with them carefully afterwards. ( )

I read this as a Gutenberg.org ebook.

This is a delightful story about a young lady, rather a flighty socialite type, who is persuaded/conned by her friends into becoming the director of a small orphanage. The place is a Dickensian horror. Although seemingly unsuited to the task, she brings both a modern point of view and a humanistic touch that is desperately needed. Against all odds, she manages to bring a new life to the place. It also brings a new life to her, as she experiences 'real life' for the first time.

The story is sweet and charming without ever becoming sappy or maudlin. I was fascinated to see the world of social services through the eyes of an energetic young suffragette, circa 1915. ( )

I've read this before but from Project Gutenburg, so without the charming line drawings. This is a sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs, first published 1916. It is told through the letters from Sallie (one of Judy's college friends) to Judy, Dr MacRae (the "enemy" of the title) and various other people, during her time as Superintendent (and reformer) of the John Grier Home (orphanage where Judy grew up). Not as good as Daddy-Long-Legs but particularly interesting from a historical perspective.