Daddy-Long-Legs
by Jean Webster
Having seen two film adaptations of this classic story, I was completely unprepared for the adorable style of Jean Webster’s classic novel. Each movie is told in a linear story: a wealthy gentleman provides a trust fund to a schoolgirl to ensure her education, and based on a glimpse of his willowy shadow, she refers to her benefactor as “Daddy-Long-Legs”. It’s no wonder Fred Astaire starred in one of the movies!
This book is written entirely in letters, and it’s no easy to feat to make a story like that entertaining and clear. It’s difficult to give proper motivations to the main character so that she includes every plot point in her letters, but Webster manages to do it. The benefactor’s one stipulation is that his protegee write him a letter once a month, and in those letters, he—and the readers—get to know all about the delightful protagonist as she grows and matures through her school years. She describes her friends, her feelings, her imagination of him, her appreciation and curiosity, and her overall sweetness. It’s pretty much impossible not to fall in love with her. This is a very darling book, so if you’ve never read it, get yourself a copy.
This book is written entirely in letters, and it’s no easy to feat to make a story like that entertaining and clear. It’s difficult to give proper motivations to the main character so that she includes every plot point in her letters, but Webster manages to do it. The benefactor’s one stipulation is that his protegee write him a letter once a month, and in those letters, he—and the readers—get to know all about the delightful protagonist as she grows and matures through her school years. She describes her friends, her feelings, her imagination of him, her appreciation and curiosity, and her overall sweetness. It’s pretty much impossible not to fall in love with her. This is a very darling book, so if you’ve never read it, get yourself a copy.