Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Puffin Books (2011), 192 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Young Adult Fiction. HTML: At the age of eighteen, the orphan Jerusha Abbott is plucked from the institution and put through college by a mysterious benefactor. His only condition is that she write him a letter every month, to practice the writers' craft. Her colorful letters about college life are accompanied by drawings from Webster's own pen..
User reviews
LibraryThing member phoebesmum
The classic story of orphaned Jerusha Abbot, rescued from a bleak future by one of the trustees of the orphanage which she's now outgrown. Convinced by the Home's Superintendant that Jerusha is a worthy cause, the trustee agrees to put her through college, on two conditions: one, that he remain
Or so I thought when I first read it. Over the years it has come to dawn on me that, actually, Daddy-Long-Legs himself is a little bit creepy and stalkerish … but that's late 20th century culture talking, and we would be far better off accepting the story at face value, and as a product of its time. And, as a product of its time, this is actually pretty progressive: Judy is no helpless Cinderella, but is determined to stand on her own two feet. Her ambition is to be a writer, and write she does – and the first thing she does on receipt of her first publisher's cheque is to start repaying Daddy-Long-Legs the cost of her education. Now, that's a heroine I can relate to.
Judy's tribulations as she struggles with manuscript after manuscript will resonate with any would-be writer, and her life at college and beyond is both eminently memorable and delightful.
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anonymous and two, that Jerusha – who very quickly rechristens herself Judy – write him a letter every month. Judy, with nobody else with whom to share her wonder as she gradually discovers the world outside the John Grier home, more than lives up to her bargain. The result is a fly-in-amber portrait of life at an American women's college at the turn of the last century, twinned with an enduring and affecting love story.Or so I thought when I first read it. Over the years it has come to dawn on me that, actually, Daddy-Long-Legs himself is a little bit creepy and stalkerish … but that's late 20th century culture talking, and we would be far better off accepting the story at face value, and as a product of its time. And, as a product of its time, this is actually pretty progressive: Judy is no helpless Cinderella, but is determined to stand on her own two feet. Her ambition is to be a writer, and write she does – and the first thing she does on receipt of her first publisher's cheque is to start repaying Daddy-Long-Legs the cost of her education. Now, that's a heroine I can relate to.
Judy's tribulations as she struggles with manuscript after manuscript will resonate with any would-be writer, and her life at college and beyond is both eminently memorable and delightful.
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LibraryThing member VictoriaEva
This is the first book I read in English. I studied the language with my beloved teacher, Galina Vasilievna, in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). I would have 2-3 private classes a week, and she would usually give me an obscene amount of home work - well, thanks for that! After some time spent with study
Well, I have to say that I have never finished the book in the way Galina Vasilievna wanted me to. In about half a year I just wanted to know 'what's up?' and flipped through the many remaining pages in one evening, grasping the meaning over the words I did not know. Proud, I said to the teacher "I can tell you the story!" "It is not reading, my dear! I need you to learn the expressions!" she replied as calmly, as usually.
I have read many books after that time. Most of them have been in English language. I am getting my Master's degree in International Relations, reading, writing everything in English. I write a weekly column in English for a newspaper. For about four years 85% of my communications are in English. I am thrilled with the bookstores. And the door to all of this, the door in terms of Books, is my very first one: Daddy-Long-Legs, read when I was about 15-16 years old.
As for the book itself: it was cute. I may read it once again, just to have a complete picture, un-fragmented with my initial page-a-week jumps.
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books, I came to a point when she suggested 'additional reading' and gave me this book. I was supposed to prepare a couple of pages of reading once a week. By 'prepare' I mean exactly what it sounds like - PREPARE. Translate every word - understand it in context. Write it down. Translate, write down the definition and construct in writing 5 sentences with the phrases underlined by my teacher. Usually those were expressions, like 'dragged itself to a close' - Gosh, I still remember it!Well, I have to say that I have never finished the book in the way Galina Vasilievna wanted me to. In about half a year I just wanted to know 'what's up?' and flipped through the many remaining pages in one evening, grasping the meaning over the words I did not know. Proud, I said to the teacher "I can tell you the story!" "It is not reading, my dear! I need you to learn the expressions!" she replied as calmly, as usually.
I have read many books after that time. Most of them have been in English language. I am getting my Master's degree in International Relations, reading, writing everything in English. I write a weekly column in English for a newspaper. For about four years 85% of my communications are in English. I am thrilled with the bookstores. And the door to all of this, the door in terms of Books, is my very first one: Daddy-Long-Legs, read when I was about 15-16 years old.
As for the book itself: it was cute. I may read it once again, just to have a complete picture, un-fragmented with my initial page-a-week jumps.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
I was expecting to find Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster a light-hearted, sentimental read that would barely hold my interest. Well, yes, it is both light-hearted and sentimental but I also found an element of creepiness in the relationship that Daddy and Judy had. Starting out as a benefactor to an
Daddy-Long-Legs is presented in a letter format as Judy is instructed to write to her benefactor and keep him up to date on her life. She calls him Daddy-Long-Legs as she only ever saw a quick glance at him from behind and remembered him mostly for the length of the shadow he cast. She dutifully writes him, and here lies the charm of this book. Her letters are fun, breezy informative chat-fests. She is an open book and tells all, establishing a relationship with this shadow figure who continues to hide his identity.
Over the course of the book we discover that Judy isn’t the meek and mild orphan that she appears to be, she has backbone and an inner strength and when she wants to she knows how to stand up for herself. By the book’s end, it is clear that Judy will have a wonderful life with her Daddy-Long-Legs, and in a romantic tale such as this, this is the happy ending that was hoped for.
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orphan by paying for her to go to college, his lurking in the background, pulling the strings and almost shaping this young girl into his future wife was rather disturbing. However, now that I have voiced my concern, I do have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Daddy-Long-Legs is presented in a letter format as Judy is instructed to write to her benefactor and keep him up to date on her life. She calls him Daddy-Long-Legs as she only ever saw a quick glance at him from behind and remembered him mostly for the length of the shadow he cast. She dutifully writes him, and here lies the charm of this book. Her letters are fun, breezy informative chat-fests. She is an open book and tells all, establishing a relationship with this shadow figure who continues to hide his identity.
Over the course of the book we discover that Judy isn’t the meek and mild orphan that she appears to be, she has backbone and an inner strength and when she wants to she knows how to stand up for herself. By the book’s end, it is clear that Judy will have a wonderful life with her Daddy-Long-Legs, and in a romantic tale such as this, this is the happy ending that was hoped for.
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LibraryThing member byroade
Judy Abbott, a bright young orphan, is the first girl sent to college by one of the orphanage's trustees. Her only obligation is to write a monthly letter summing up her studies. Her benefactor is anonymous, so she bestows the name "Daddy-Long-Legs" on him because she's only seen his tall shadow.
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The novel is told in her letters to him, relating her college experiences which reveal not only her lively intelligence but the deprivations of her institutional upbringing. It is one of the more completely satisfying stories I have ever read. It provides a vivid slice of life at a woman's college early in the 20th century. Webster was a graduate of Vassar College. Show Less
LibraryThing member francescadefreitas
This is a wonderful classic, I first read it as a teenager, and I have read it several times since.
The story is told through an orphan girl's letters to her mysterious benefactor, as he pays her way through college. There is a delightful sense of the ridiculous in Judy's depiction of her daily
There is a excellent sequel, Dear Enemy, telling the story of Judy's room mate Sally, and her work as the new head of the Judy's childhood orphanage.
The story is told through an orphan girl's letters to her mysterious benefactor, as he pays her way through college. There is a delightful sense of the ridiculous in Judy's depiction of her daily
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life and studies. I find it entertaining both as a simple romance story, and also as a historical look at what life was like at a women's college in the early 1900's.There is a excellent sequel, Dear Enemy, telling the story of Judy's room mate Sally, and her work as the new head of the Judy's childhood orphanage.
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LibraryThing member riofriotex
The audiobook reader, Julia Whelan, sounded the right age (17-21), but read too fast, not pausing enough between the letters. Predictable ending. Couldn't view the downloadable material which supposedly includes some very childish stick-figure drawings (some referred to in the text) by Webster.
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Sounds like it is no great loss. Show Less
LibraryThing member mybookshelf
Orphaned Jerusha Abbot has lived all her life in the John Grier Home, under the care of the dutiful but unappealing Mrs Lipett. As Jerusha finishes high school, one of the orphanage’s trustees suddenly takes an interest in her clever writing. This anonymous trustee decides to sponsor Jerusha
The entire book, apart from the first seven pages where the situation is established and explained, consists of the letters which Jerusha writes to this trustee while she’s at college. Some of her letters do discuss what she is learning; but the majority of the content relates to her social development, her friendships, her holidays, and the purchases she is able to make; having, for the first time in her life, a “liberal allowance”.
Jerusha is told not to expect a response to her letters, or any acknowledgement of them at all. This is, as she laments, a rather awkward situation- she is confiding all her thoughts in someone about whom she knows only “three things”:
“ I. You are tall
II. You are rich
III. You hate girls”.
Gradually she invents a personality for the character to whom she is writing, based in part on what she wants him to be like, and later based on the responses he begins to make to what she writes. He never does answer her letters, but in her letters she begins to refer to gifts he has sent, or notes she has received from his secretary which express his wishes.
The explanation for the book’s unusual title is that Jerusha refuses to address her letters, as requested, to the made-up name of Mr John Smith. She says “Why couldn’t you have picked out a name with a little personality? I might as well write letters to Dear Hitching-Post or Dear Clothes-Prop”. Instead, based on her impression of seeing his distorted shadow on the wall, she decides that she will address him, affectionately, as Daddy-Long-Legs.
Her letters are supposed to be “respectful in tone… (to) reflect credit on your training”, however it does not take long for Jerusha’s tone to become quite informal and intimate. One of the advantages for the reader of this more relaxed attitude is that the book includes a number of drawings and doodles with which she has decorated her letters, or used to illustrate her point. Like her writing, her drawings help the to discover and understand Jerusha’s personality. Over the course of the book she becomes a very realistic, memorable, and above all likable character.
Although the content of the letters includes some of what Jerusha studies at tertiary level, the language is really quite simple, and I believe the story would have appeal for readers who like to think about things in different ways, from the age of nine upwards.
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through her college education, and in return she must write him a letter each month “telling of the progress in your studies and the details of your daily life”.The entire book, apart from the first seven pages where the situation is established and explained, consists of the letters which Jerusha writes to this trustee while she’s at college. Some of her letters do discuss what she is learning; but the majority of the content relates to her social development, her friendships, her holidays, and the purchases she is able to make; having, for the first time in her life, a “liberal allowance”.
Jerusha is told not to expect a response to her letters, or any acknowledgement of them at all. This is, as she laments, a rather awkward situation- she is confiding all her thoughts in someone about whom she knows only “three things”:
“ I. You are tall
II. You are rich
III. You hate girls”.
Gradually she invents a personality for the character to whom she is writing, based in part on what she wants him to be like, and later based on the responses he begins to make to what she writes. He never does answer her letters, but in her letters she begins to refer to gifts he has sent, or notes she has received from his secretary which express his wishes.
The explanation for the book’s unusual title is that Jerusha refuses to address her letters, as requested, to the made-up name of Mr John Smith. She says “Why couldn’t you have picked out a name with a little personality? I might as well write letters to Dear Hitching-Post or Dear Clothes-Prop”. Instead, based on her impression of seeing his distorted shadow on the wall, she decides that she will address him, affectionately, as Daddy-Long-Legs.
Her letters are supposed to be “respectful in tone… (to) reflect credit on your training”, however it does not take long for Jerusha’s tone to become quite informal and intimate. One of the advantages for the reader of this more relaxed attitude is that the book includes a number of drawings and doodles with which she has decorated her letters, or used to illustrate her point. Like her writing, her drawings help the to discover and understand Jerusha’s personality. Over the course of the book she becomes a very realistic, memorable, and above all likable character.
Although the content of the letters includes some of what Jerusha studies at tertiary level, the language is really quite simple, and I believe the story would have appeal for readers who like to think about things in different ways, from the age of nine upwards.
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LibraryThing member MusicMom41
In 1912 Webster wrote a delightful epistolary novel (a favorite style for me when it is well done) about an orphan girl who is sponsored anonymously to go to college. The only stipulation is that she must write a progress report to her sponsor each month without expecting to get any replies. It is
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a delight to accompany Judy as she discovers the world and discovers herself. My recommendation and rating are based entirely on my personal passion for this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member katylit
Sweet old story about an orphan writing letters to an anonymous benefactor who pays for her college education. The orphan, Judy, is a delightful character, very likeable, such a joy in learning. Lots of innocent humour.
LibraryThing member Stevil2001
I'd have liked to have been a fly on the wall at the editorial session where this novel was pitched. "So, it's a series of letters from an orphan to the mysterious benefactor who's sending her through college, who won't disclose his identity or answer back." "Oh, so like Dear Mr. Henshaw, but with
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a girl. I like it. How does it end?" "Well, the orphan girl comes to see her benefactor as a father figure. And then it turns out he knows her in real life but he's been keeping it secret and even though he's fourteen years older than her, they get married." "Awesome! We'll buy it." Seriously? Who on Earth thought that was a good ending!? Even before that point, though, there's not much to recommend about this book. Jerusha Abbot is one of this child-protagonists who can do no wrong ever: she's the top of her class, she's plucky and resourceful, she wins major scholarships despite being at an educational advantage to all her classmates, even the people she hates want to be her friends, and she publishes her first novel at age twenty. Give me a break. Is there anything this girl isn't good at? Apparently, just recognizing creepy relationships. Oh, and actually being as funny as she thinks she is. (Her drawings are cute, though.) Show Less
LibraryThing member Haklh
I first read this in my teens and I really loved it - I found it funny, and charming, and romantic. I loved the cheerful but unsentimental tone of the story, and I loved how fresh and vivid and likeable Judy was.
BUT
I re-read this recently, and while I still enjoyed its humour and its happy ending,
I think part of my unease is because I can't see how the romance has developed, based on the one-sided communication - perhaps he just wants her because she is totally under his control!? Dear Daddy Long Legs, I want to know how you fell in love with Judy. I want to see your actions justified in the name of jealousy borne out of infatuation. Please tell your side of the story!
BUT
I re-read this recently, and while I still enjoyed its humour and its happy ending,
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I am a bit more ambivalent about the Judy/Daddy-Long-Legs relationship. Now that I am older and more aware of things like the connection between relationships and power, I can see instances where Daddy Long Legs' behaviour is controlling and possessive (e.g. when he ordered Judy to head to the farm for the summer, rather than spend it with her friend Sallie (and her brother Jimmy).I think part of my unease is because I can't see how the romance has developed, based on the one-sided communication - perhaps he just wants her because she is totally under his control!? Dear Daddy Long Legs, I want to know how you fell in love with Judy. I want to see your actions justified in the name of jealousy borne out of infatuation. Please tell your side of the story!
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LibraryThing member Audacity88
A charming novel, which is apparently a classic but which I had never heard of as a child - presumably because the winter-spring romance that develops would now be considered scandalous. But I found it enjoyable and not too implausible as far as romances go, and enjoyed the letter format -
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reminiscent of Pride & Prejudice. Show Less
LibraryThing member MsStephie
This is my first kindle novel, it was free and the only book that interested me, mainly because I'd seen the Fred Astair film, I didn't know it was a book. I loved it, and wish I'd come across it years ago. An easy enjoyable read, I'd recommend it to anyone.
Judy was a likeable heroine, a bit like
Judy was a likeable heroine, a bit like
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Anne in Anne of Green Gables. Show Less
LibraryThing member picardyrose
I read it over and over. I wish I were Judy.
LibraryThing member ashishg
I read this long time ago so I don't remember details much. However, I do remember that book is collection of letters of girl to his (fictional) father. It did have some nice moments and definitely is an unconventional book worth going through.
LibraryThing member Whisper1
I tremendously enjoyed this poignant tale of young orphaned Jerusha Abbot brought up in the John Grier Home where daily submission and repeated groveling is expected.
When a board of trustee member provides funds for her college education, she escapes the confinements of the home and ventures into
With no knowledge of social mores, she develops a spirit tough enough to know she is of equal intellect, but pliant enough to know she has a lot to learn. Jerusha's paradoxical feelings of self assuredness and insecurity are excellently described and keenly felt.
Unaccustomed, she bubbles along, feeling out of place, but, she is also spunky enough to overcome the ackwardness of a life of poverty.
Writing letters to her unseen, mysterious benefactor whom she only glimpsed as he walked away from the home, and, noting he was tall, she now pens heart felt missives to "Daddy Long Legs."
This is a book that grabbed and kept my attention. It is wonderfully written with a keen sense of the need for social justice and of the tenacity of the human spirit.
Highly recommended.
When a board of trustee member provides funds for her college education, she escapes the confinements of the home and ventures into
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the world of elite privilege.With no knowledge of social mores, she develops a spirit tough enough to know she is of equal intellect, but pliant enough to know she has a lot to learn. Jerusha's paradoxical feelings of self assuredness and insecurity are excellently described and keenly felt.
Unaccustomed, she bubbles along, feeling out of place, but, she is also spunky enough to overcome the ackwardness of a life of poverty.
Writing letters to her unseen, mysterious benefactor whom she only glimpsed as he walked away from the home, and, noting he was tall, she now pens heart felt missives to "Daddy Long Legs."
This is a book that grabbed and kept my attention. It is wonderfully written with a keen sense of the need for social justice and of the tenacity of the human spirit.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member bell7
Jerusha is an orphan at the John Grier home, a teen who has worked for her room and board since graduating early from high school. When one of the orphanage trustees anonymously provides her with money for college, she has the opportunity of a lifetime. Her story is conveyed in the letters she
This book was written in 1912, and I couldn't help but make comparisons to the story of another orphan, published only four years before. Like Anne Shirley, Jerusha is full of life and humor, quirky phrases, and sometimes swinging from emotional highs to the depths of despair. She never knew a family, and she wants to be an authoress. But there are substantial differences as well. The format is almost entirely letters, and the author often calls attention to the fact that this is a story - Jerusha, who quickly renames herself Judy, often makes comments like "if we were in a storybook" or "if we were story characters." Judy also talks more about what she's learning academically, discussing such subjects as languages, biology, and philosophy. She has rather more progressive politics than Anne, who, I daresay, would find some of Jerusha's educated opinions shocking (and Rachel Lynde would have found them downright blasphemous). An entertaining read, but one that I would expect would interest adults interested in classic young adult literature or the history of women's colleges than today's teens.
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sends her benefactor - whom she calls Daddy-Long-Legs after a glimpse of his tall shadow - as she grows to know the wide world beyond the orphanage.This book was written in 1912, and I couldn't help but make comparisons to the story of another orphan, published only four years before. Like Anne Shirley, Jerusha is full of life and humor, quirky phrases, and sometimes swinging from emotional highs to the depths of despair. She never knew a family, and she wants to be an authoress. But there are substantial differences as well. The format is almost entirely letters, and the author often calls attention to the fact that this is a story - Jerusha, who quickly renames herself Judy, often makes comments like "if we were in a storybook" or "if we were story characters." Judy also talks more about what she's learning academically, discussing such subjects as languages, biology, and philosophy. She has rather more progressive politics than Anne, who, I daresay, would find some of Jerusha's educated opinions shocking (and Rachel Lynde would have found them downright blasphemous). An entertaining read, but one that I would expect would interest adults interested in classic young adult literature or the history of women's colleges than today's teens.
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LibraryThing member marikolee
A heartwarming story about Judy Abbott and her adventures at college. It was quite heartwarming at the end. I expected Daddy Longlegs to be the love interest's father, but was pleasantly surprised.
LibraryThing member Citizenjoyce
This is a wonderful book about the the education of a young girl saved from oppression and poverty in an orphanage and sent to college by an anonymous benefactor who requests for his largess that she write him a letter every month telling him about her progress. There's insightful feminist
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commentary about politics, religion, forced gratitude, mingling of the classes, and the methods and meaning of education. Show Less
LibraryThing member kathleen586
I loved this book apart from the socialist propaganda, but that kind of ruined it. One of Judy's diary entries is basically, "Dear Diary, Should I become a Communist or a socialist?"!
LibraryThing member CarolynSchroeder
This is a really cute book that ages surprisingly well! I had asked for "feel good" book suggestions (was feeling down in the dumps), and a few people came up with this one. It is just a simple story, about a young woman raised in an orphanage who gets a wealthy benefactor who sends her to college.
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His only requirement is that she send him letters of her life and education at college. He doesn't write back. She nicknames him "Daddy Long Legs" (from a fleeting glimpse she had of him) but otherwise, he is anonymous. The book is mostly comprised of her letters, which are insightful, very witty and funny and because her background is so different from the "rich girls" she looks at things in a unique way. There is much about appreciating the small wonders in life. So it really is a nice little book. There is a surprise ending, which is a good one, fit well. This is not amazing literature, but it's a great escape for an afternoon. I recommend it well, for a "feel good" book! Show Less
LibraryThing member Sarahfine
A sweet tale with a charming yet feisty orphan as its heroine, not unlike Anne of Green Gables. Jerusha (or "Judy,")finds herself with an unexpected benefactor when a school trustee reads her writing and singles her out to send to college. She corresponds with him via mail, never getting a
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response. Judy is a lively protagonist, and the reader will often laugh out loud as they follow her on her quest to make her own way and find love. Show Less
LibraryThing member AJBraithwaite
A sweet, simple, shortish, epistolary novel, documenting the college days of Jerusha Abbott after her childhood in an orphanage. Jean Webster's writing style is accessible and entertaining, capturing the spirit and character of the teenaged protagonist perfectly. The dénouement wasn't a huge
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surprise, but might have been if I'd read this as a child. Show Less
LibraryThing member EustaciaTan
The book is interesting and fun to read. The only thing that prevented it from getting five stars from me was the fact that the tone of the protagonist sounded like that of a 10 year old, not a college student and certainly not the 21 year old girl she is at the end of the book.
LibraryThing member Saretta.L
Perchè non ho mai letto questo romanzo prima? (tutta colpa dell'irritante Judy nell'omonimo anime)
E' un bellissimo romanzo epistolare e Judy è un personaggio fantastico, una ragazza positiva e dalle sue lettere traspare il senso dell'umorismo, l'amore per lo studio e l'ostinazione nel voler
La struttura epistolare è decisamente coinvolgente e molto scorrevole; l'ebook gratuito di "girlebooks" ha anche il vantaggio di avere le illustrazioni originali, simpatiche e in linea con il carattere di Judy.
Assolutamente consigliato.
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Why I did not read this novel before? (all the blame to the noisy Judy from the homonymous Japanese anime).
This is a wonderful epistolary novel and Judy is a great female character, always positive; her letters are humoristic and they show her love in studying and her stubbornness in wanting to grow up with her own strength.
The epistolary structure is very involving and fluent; the free ebook by "girlebooks" contains also the original illustration that are nice and Judy-like.
Absolutely recommended.
E' un bellissimo romanzo epistolare e Judy è un personaggio fantastico, una ragazza positiva e dalle sue lettere traspare il senso dell'umorismo, l'amore per lo studio e l'ostinazione nel voler
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crescere con le sue forze.La struttura epistolare è decisamente coinvolgente e molto scorrevole; l'ebook gratuito di "girlebooks" ha anche il vantaggio di avere le illustrazioni originali, simpatiche e in linea con il carattere di Judy.
Assolutamente consigliato.
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Why I did not read this novel before? (all the blame to the noisy Judy from the homonymous Japanese anime).
This is a wonderful epistolary novel and Judy is a great female character, always positive; her letters are humoristic and they show her love in studying and her stubbornness in wanting to grow up with her own strength.
The epistolary structure is very involving and fluent; the free ebook by "girlebooks" contains also the original illustration that are nice and Judy-like.
Absolutely recommended.
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Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1912
Physical description
6.9 inches
ISBN
0141331119 / 9780141331119