Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy (Penguin Classics) (edition 2004)

by Jean Webster

Series: Daddy-Long-Legs (1-2)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
236	5	113,839	(4.45)	6
One of the great novels of American girlhood, Jean Webster's Daddy-Long-Legs (1912) follows the adventures of an orphan named Judy Abbott, whose letters to her anonymous male benefactor trace her development as an independent thinker and writer. Its sequel, Dear Enemy (1915), follows the progress of Judy's former orphanage, now run by her friend Sallie McBride, who struggles to give her young charges hope and a new life. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.… (more)

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Member:	nurul
Title:	Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy (Penguin Classics)
Authors:	Jean Webster
Info:	Penguin Classics (2004), Paperback, 384 pages
Collections:	Your library
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Daddy-Long-Legs / Dear Enemy by Jean Webster

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A friend of mine recommended Daddy-Long-Legs to me several years ago, and since I have found her recommendations to be consistently good (for me) I went about the process of hunting down a copy. The most readily available physical copy was the combined version with Dear Enemy.

Daddy-Long-Legs is a quick, charming read with an absolutely delightful main character/narrator. I love the epistolary style of the book, and the illustrations add an extra level of whimsy. It has, for me, consistent reread potential.

Dear Enemy is harder to get into, even though it is written in essentially the same style. I missed Judy's voice and character. (

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shadrach_anki | Apr 4, 2011 |

Daddy-Long-Legs is one of my top five books of all time. I have loved this book ever since I first read it when I was about ten years old, and it is one of the few books that I can reread at least once a year and never tire of it. Daddy-Long-Legs deserves five stars.

Dear Enemy, however, was pretty disappointing. I didn't even know that a "sequel" to Daddy-Long-Legs existed until I stumbled onto this book, and so I was very excited to read it. Jean borrowed most of the plot for Dear Enemy from another beloved book, however - Jane Eyre. There were so many similarities that I don't think it could possibly be mere coincidence, except that Jane and Mr. Rochester were infinitely more likable than the pair in this book. Dear Enemy gets three stars in my opinion, which is why I rated the combined book with four stars. (

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schatzi | Sep 18, 2009 |

I discovered Daddy-Long-Legs on a thrift store shelf for a quarter, and bought it on a whim. If only all the books I've bought this way turned out to be as good. The heroine is vivid, engaging, delightful, and very relatable. A college girl at the beginning of the 20th century, Judy's (nee Jerusha) worries and concerns then are the same worries and concerns I have now, as a college student at the beginning of the 21st century. It is written in letter format, and includes Webster's original illustrations, which really add to the story. Also includes a sweet love story. The "sequel"--Dear Enemy--is just as good, although I did find myself hungering for a bit more news of Judy. :)

tiff18 | Jul 26, 2009 |

I think I first read "Daddy-Long-Legs" in high school. I was still on my (years-long) "Anne of Green Gables" kick, and it appealed to me for many of the same reasons. It is the story of a young orphan given the opportunity to attend college, and her experiences are chronicled in the letters she writes to her benefactor. Rereading it is always such a comfortable experience. But I have also come to admire how well-written it is. Perhaps it's not high literature, but Webster managed to infuse Judy's letters with such life. The epistolatory style never seems just a trite gimmick. They are delightful to read, and I find myself wishing I could write correspondence that is half so entertaining. (

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dschander | Sep 18, 2008 |

Fives stars for Daddy Long Legs, three stars for Dear Enemy (which read more like a ripoff of Jane Eyre than anything). (

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mellzers | Apr 25, 2007 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Webster, Jean	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Showalter, Elaine	Editor	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Belongs to Series

Daddy-Long-Legs (1-2)

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Wordsworth Classics

Contains

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

Dear Enemy by Jean Webster

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Canonical title

Daddy-Long-Legs / Dear Enemy

Original title

Daddy-Long Legs; and, Dear Enemy

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Jerusha "Judy" Abbott

Sally McBride [Daddy-Long-Legs]

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Daddy Langbein: Der erste Mittwoch jeden Monats war ein ganz fürchterlicher Tag - ein Tag, der mit Schrecken erwartet, mit Mut überstanden und mit Eile vergessen wurde.

Lieber Feind: Liebe Judy! Dein Brief ist da.

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▾Book descriptions

One of the great novels of American girlhood, Jean Webster's Daddy-Long-Legs (1912) follows the adventures of an orphan named Judy Abbott, whose letters to her anonymous male benefactor trace her development as an independent thinker and writer. Its sequel, Dear Enemy (1915), follows the progress of Judy's former orphanage, now run by her friend Sallie McBride, who struggles to give her young charges hope and a new life. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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