Dear enemy (original 1915; edition 1989)

I can still remember the day in middle school when, browsing in the school library, I picked up Daddy-Long-Legs. I read the synopsis on the back and instantly figured out the plot, but I read it anyway and loved it. I knew there was a sequel and finally decided that enough was enough–I was going to read it. So I did. It wasn’t as good. I felt like there was too much emphasis on heredity and eugenics for comfort and the romance just…didn’t work for me. The hero never felt like a real person. I will stick with my original love. ( )

First published in 1915, DEAR ENEMY is a sequel to Daddy Long Legs. Judy is now married and recruits her college friend Sallie to give up her happy-go-lucky life and run the John Grier Home, the orphanage that Judy was raised in. Sallie is getting bored waiting for her Congressman boyfriend to propose and agrees to take the job on a temporary basis. She turns up at the home with her kind heart, wicked sense of humour, her maid and her dog. She immediately falls foul of the home’s Scottish doctor and a couple of the trustees who condemn her, sight unseen, as frivolous.

As with ‘Daddy Long Legs’ the story is told in a sequence of letters from Sallie. They are mostly to Judy, but many are directed to the moody Scottish doctor–her "enemy". Sallie has a tendency to put her foot in her mouth – but she means well and has the welfare of her charges at heart. She has a goal to make the lives of the children happy; and to prepare them for working in the real world when they leave at sixteen. Her letters record her adventures with the kids (some of whom are a real handful); the loss of a series of cooks; convincing sexist trustees she is more than capable, and looking at her personal life without rose-coloured glasses. She also tells of neighbours who start of grumpy then all pull together when crisis strikes. During the course of the very quick read I laughed, I cried and I despaired – always the sign that I have been sucked into the story.

While some of the attitudes to women and mental issues are dated, and may put people off, the story is in context for the times, and a reminder of how far we have improved as a society. Overall DEAR ENEMY is a delightful read.

"Dear Enemy" is the sequel to "Daddy Long-Legs" and in my opinion just as good. I love hearing about Sally's experiences leading the orphanage and find the writing style very charming. It's one of those comfort books that I keep returning to when I'm the need for some wholesome entertainment. ( )

The delightful sequel to Daddy Long Legs wherein Sallie McBride (Judy's former roommate) takes over the running of the John Grier Home. Like Daddy Long Legs, this is an epistolary novel. ( )

Loved, loved Daddy Long Legs, so my hopes were up for this one. Same format, with a socialite taking over as superintendent (temporary) at an orphanage in upstage New York in the late 1800s. Loved the characters, the setting, and the epistolary format, but the preaching about eugenics and insanity was upsetting. I rated it at 2.5 and because of the themes, I would not recommend it to everyone, which is a shame, because it could have been so good. ( )