Cordelia Underwood: Or, The Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League

I just re-read this book for the second or third time, and I've enjoyed it more each time I've read it. (The series, in fact, is on my wish list. I don't want to own every book I read, so the fact that this title qualifies tells you something.)

Set in the last 1890s in Maine, "Cordelia Underwood" (and, in fact, all of the Moosepath League novels) have it all: mystery, romance, adventure, humor--

I think it's the humor I love most of all. Sometimes it's simply the joy that the characters find in life and in each other. Other times it's the confusion that arises from hearts so pure as to be naive crossing paths with shady characters. And then there's the fun that the witty have in verbal sparring with each other. Not forgetting the obvious show more affection that the author has for his characters. (For me, it's very reminiscent of Wodehouse writing about Bertie Wooster.)

Reid creates the most wonderful characters: some naive, some wise, some witty, some honest, (some not), some young, some old. But all so real that they come to life.

In fact, I have a hard time reading other books after I've read one of Reid's Moosepath League stories because my imagination is loathe to let characters go--I tend to be disappointed not to find them. It's really not fair to other stories. show less

The first installment of the Moosepath League series is, frankly, a delight to read. It's a drink of old-fashioned lemonade on a July day. July, incidentally, is when the action of this novel takes place: in the year of our Lord 1896. The plot moves along swiftly and there is some Keystone Kops sort of mayhem with the members of the Moosepath League, and it can be as nostalgic as a barbershop quartet at times, but I enjoyed the characters and the interweaving of plot strands. I'll be paying the League another visit.

[Cordelia Underwood: Or, the Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League] by Van Reid
4.5★’s

From The Book:
Step back in time to Portland, Maine, in 1896. When the young, beautiful, redheaded Cordelia Underwood inherits a parcel of land from her seafaring uncle, it sets in motion a chain of events that leads to the unearthing of a family secret two centuries old. Cordelia soon crosses paths with Mister Tobias Walton and finds herself aided in her quest by the warmhearted gentleman, who has never heard of an adventure he isn't eager to join. Together with his hapless trio of friends, the Moosepath League, they embark on an entertaining and audacious adventure. Teeming with Cupid's arrows flying hither and yon, apparitions, a show more kidnapping, smuggling, and thievery, and filled with wonderment, romance, and adventure, [Cordelia Underwood] is a splendid yarn of the old-fashioned variety.

My Thoughts:
The book takes place in a much gentler by- gone time of1896 among the well-to-do of Portland Maine. It’s a romance, a treasure hunt, and a mystery all rolled into one beautiful package…with a touch of modern humor and sensibility. I stumbled onto this intriguing book as a recommendation as a Blind Date With a Book from “tealady” one of my friends. The story is character-driven from beginning to end....and what fascinating characters and great tales they do tell. Everyone from 10 to 100 will absolutely love it and I am looking forward to making friends with the remainder of the series. show less

Cordelia Underwood: Or the Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League is the first of Van Reid's series of novels set in coastal Maine in the late 1890s. These wonderful tales feature the genial and likeable Toby Walton, his friend and indispensable right-hand man Sundry Moss, and the three comical and well-meaning members of the Moosepath League - Eagleton, Ephram, and Thump.
Van Reid is a fine storyteller. His main characters are good-humored, generous, and decent people who encounter numerous colorful and interesting characters in the course of their travels. The villains are satisfyingly unpleasant and wicked. Reid weaves several narrative strands into the novel: the adventures of Walton and Moss; those of the Moosepath League show more members, who always travel together, (often on behalf of or in search of Walton, the chairman of their league); and the story of the engaging heroine, Cordelia, and her mysterious inheritance.
This novel reminds me of Dickens, with its enjoyable characters and humorous situations (but without the misery and bleakness). Cordelia Underwood would probably not appeal to everyone, but for those who enjoy a pleasant tale well told, it's worth a look. show less

This novel is the rare humorous book that can be equally entertaining to both the barely literate 500 Club crowd in search of something fitting into the milquetoast genre of "cozy mystery" (murder OK, so long as it's not too gory, and all beautiful heroines are ideals of Victorian morality), and those voracious readers of all kinds of books who love a good story, but love a good quirky story even more. The plot of Cordelia Underwood—at least the main plot, which becomes quickly obscured by more extraordinary, although not strictly relevant, events—revolves around a bog standard main character, the Lovely, Fair-Minded and A Little Plucky Young Woman in the person of Cordelia of the title and some things that happen to her that are show more not really worth mentioning, because the point of the book is really its population of everyday eccentrics, their bumbling follies, and the very funny turns of phrase used to describe them (much is made of a certain aerial daredevil of the fair sex and her "attractive suit of tights"). This style is reminiscent of Garrison Keillor's better novels and stories; and the men of what become the Moosepath League are literary descendants of Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat. This book wouldn't suffer from a slightly more burlesque treatment, but it's good fun nonetheless. show less

Originally written in serial format, this novel of Victorian Maine is chock full of characters, plot lines, and just plain fun. As the subtitle implies, this is the first book in a series about the Moosepath League. However, instead of starting out focused on the creation of said club, it opens with Cordelia Underwood, a sweet, young, redheaded woman, finding out that she has inherited a parcel of untamed land land well to the north of Portland from her ship's captain uncle. This inheritance starts a whole crazy chain of events, including some that are ridiculously coincidental but somehow work in this wacky, madcap adventure story.

The Underwood family meets and befriends many strangers along the way as they travel north to examine show more Cordelia's property. Those strangers meet and befriend their own plethora of strangers and the connections and characters grow and grow. There are three goofy male characters who seem to be the literary equivalent of the Three Stooges. There's Tobias Walton, who becomes the leader de facto of the Moosepath League (not that this comes into existence until late in the book). There's the charming and ever-present John Benning. There's a circus bear who stands on her head, an ascentionist in a hot air balloon and an "attractive suit of tights." There's attraction and love. There's the rumor of buried treasure, a kidnapping, and a runaway horse carrying illegal booze. In short, this book is chock full of action and entertainment.

Because of the serial nature of the book, the chapters are short and often end with a teaser. Subsequent chapters often skip to another of the many characters in the book and to start with, this makes it very hard to differentiate between storylines (the characters themselves are all very different from each other) and to become fully engrossed in the story. But upon perseverance, the reader is richly rewarded as the climax of the novel nears and the seemingly disparate plot lines coem together to finish a delightful romp. Unlike many series books, this one feels complete in and of itself, not requiring the reader to go on to further books to feel a sense of closure. But I suspect that the main characters (Cordelia and her family) do not reappear in later Moosepath books, unless tangentially, and so their stories are full and satisfying when you come to the end of this first book. Walton and the three bumbling musketeers surely appear in later books but that doesn't detract from the wrap-up here. I will be eager to read the following books now that I've gotten into the groove of this one. I'm very interested to see what happens to the Moosepath League members next. show less

I cannot wade through this book. The formal writing style is reminiscent of a Dickens novel. Very slow and plodding, with extraneous detail which adds to the sluggish pace. I really have been trying to read this book for months, but I have to put it down every 10 pages or so. There are great characters, but the pace is so tediously slow that I just can’t force myself to care about them. I know that this book will delight some readers, but not me. I’m 124 pages along, and I’m done.