The Philadelphia Adventure

by Lloyd Alexander

Vesper Holly (5)

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In 1876, on the eve of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, twenty-year-old Vesper Holly and her friends clash yet again with the archfiend Dr. Helvitius, whose evil schemes plunge them into danger in the wild Pennsylvania countryside.

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In 1876, Philadelphia is hosting the Centennial Exposition, and dignitaries from all around the world are in town, including the Emperor of Brazil. When the emperor's two wards are kidnapped by Dr. Helvitius, Vesper and Brinnie must deliver the ransom and rescue the children.

However, the kidnapping is only the first step in Helvitius's plot to assassinate President Grant and the emperor and seize control of the U.S. and Brazil. Can Vesper and Helvitius survive the wilds of the Pennslyvania countryside, escape a posse of Quakers, and foil Helvitius's schemes in time?
Vesper Holly has foiled murderers, crossed mountains, and narrowly escaped earthquakes. Now she's home in Philadelphia, where she can relax-until President Ulysses S. Grant asks for her help. The Centennial Exposition of 1876 is about to begin, and luminaries from around the world will be there. But so will Vesper's arch-nemesis, the evil Doctor Helvetius. There's only one person who can thwart his evil plans-Vesper Holly!
"Beans!"
Enter The Weed! Annoyance for Uncle Brinnie, Delight for the rest of us!

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95+ Works 55,546 Members
Lloyd Alexander, January 30, 1924 - May 17, 2007 Born Lloyd Chudley Alexander on January 30, 1924, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Allan Audley and Edna Chudley Alexander, Lloyd knew from a young age that he wanted to write. He was reading by the time he was 3, and though he did poorly in school, at the age of fifteen, he announced that he wanted show more to become a writer. At the age of 19 in 1942, Alexander dropped out of the West Chester State Teachers College in Pennsylvania after only one term. In 1943, he attended Lafayette College in Easton, PA, before dropping out again and joining the United States Army during World War II. Alexander served in the Intelligence Department, stationed in Wales, and then went on to Counter-Intelligence in Paris, where he was promoted to Staff Sergeant. When the war ended in '45, Alexander applied to the Sorbonne, but returned to the States in '46, now married. Alexander worked as an unpublished writer for seven years, accepting positions such as cartoonist, advertising copywriter, layout artist, and associate editor for a small magazine. Directly after the war, he had translated works for such artists as Jean Paul Sartre. In 1955, "And Let the Credit Go" was published, Alexander's first book which led to 10 years of writing for an adult audience. He wrote his first children's book in 1963, entitled "Time Cat," which led to a long career of writing for children and young adults. Alexander is best known for his "Prydain Chronicles" which consist of "The Book of Three" in 1964, "The Black Cauldron" in 1965 which was a Newbery Honor Book, as well as an animated motion picture by Disney which appeared in 1985, "The Castle of Llyr" in 1966, "Taran Wanderer" in 1967, a School Library Journal's Best Book of the Year and "The High King" which won the Newberry Award. Many of his other books have also received awards, such as "The Fortune Tellers," which was a Boston Globe Horn Book Award winner. In 1986, Alexander won the Regina Medal for Lifetime Achievement from the Catholic Library Association. His titles have been translated into many languages including, Dutch, Spanish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Serbo-Croation and Swedish. He died on May 17, 2007. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Lloyd Alexander has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.

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Hyman, Trina Schart (Cover artist)

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
The Philadelphia Adventure
Original publication date
1990
People/Characters
Vesper Holly; Dr. Helvitius; Ulysses S. Grant
Important places
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Pennsylvania, USA
Important events
Centennial Exposition (1876)
Dedication
for voyagers ending one adventure to begin another
First words
Miss Vesper Holly welcomes visitors, even uninvited ones.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"I knew you'd like the idea," said Vesper.

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Children's Books, Young Adult
DDC/MDS
813.54Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English1900-19991945-1999
LCC
PZ7 .A3774 .PLanguage and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresJuvenile belles lettres
BISAC

Statistics

Members
288
Popularity
111,212
Reviews
3
Rating
(3.83)
Languages
English, Swedish
Media
Paper
ISBNs
11
ASINs
2