Musing #55 - "Elsie Dinsmore," a Weekly Book Review

Review #4 for the Elsie Dinsmore series of books. I tried to get a back-cover summary for this review, but the summary I found on Amazon was very inaccurate, so I'm writing this review entirely on my own. 

Book 4: "Elsie's Womanhood"

Secrets. Trials. Marriage. New babies. A trip to Europe. Illness. War.
These topics make up the fourth book of the Elsie Dinsmore series: Elsie's Womanhood. Before Elsie and Edward's wedding, there are some events, but I plan not to discuss those in this review. Instead, I prefer to go on and express my thoughts upon their married years, because I believe that this time was the high point of the book. Besides that, there was one thing that really bothered me throughout the latter portion of the book, and I feel it should be addressed.

Musing #51 - "Elsie Dinsmore," A Weekly Book Review

Review #3 for the Elsie Dinsmore series of books by Martha Finley. To avoid giving out too many spoilers, I'm trying out a new way of writing these reviews - I'll list the back-cover summaries first, and then, because I think it would be best for readers to know what they're in for, I plan to provide the teensiest bit of information on the book before expressing my thoughts. Enjoy!

Musing #48 - "Elsie Dinsmore," a Weekly Book Review

Review #2 for the Elsie Dinsmore series. Enjoy!

Book 2: "Elsie's Holidays at Roselands"

In this sequel to Elsie Dinsmore, we meet again with our little heroine, Elsie, who, though assured that her father is not interested in Miss Stevens in the way she feared, is still sorely bereaved that her father does not love Jesus. The girl is therefore faced with more heartache than she'd ever dreamed possible, and Martha Finley leaves this little hint at the very beginning of the book as to the trial to come:

"Ah! papa, how could I ever bear to lose your love? I think I should die," she [Elsie] said, dropping her head on his breast, with almost a sob. "Oh! if I am ever very, very naughty, papa, punish me as severely as you will; but oh, never, never quit loving me."
"Set your heart at rest, my darling," he [Horace Dinsmore] said, tenderly, "there is no danger of such a thing. I could not do it, if I wished."
Ah! there came a time when Elsie had sore need of all the comfort the memory of those words could give.

Musing #43 - "Elsie Dinsmore," A Weekly Book Review

  Hi friends! How many of you are familiar with that old, valuable series known as Elsie Dinsmore? The books from that series have been my companions ever since I can remember - they used to be my very most favorite reads. As I grew older, I was given the first two books of the series (before that I'd only loaned the books off a family friend). However, the ones I were given - and sadly, I did not realize this until later - were not the originals, but instead changed versions of the old books - dramatically changed versions. One such example of this dramatic change is this:
In the original collection, Martha Finley had Elsie marry her father's old friend, Mr. Edward Travilla. He died of a serious and sudden disease.
In the changed version (the Life of Faith series), Elsie marries Mr. Travilla, but he dies because he's crushed by a tree, and, in those books, Elsie's daughter, Violet, thinks it's all her fault. 
So, my recommendation: read the originals. They're so much better! And they're so beautifully written too - I love the "archaic" style about them. 
Anyway, all that to be said, I would love to do a "weekly book review" for the original series of these delightful stories. There are 28 books total, so that would equal 28 weeks of reviews ;-). 
If you would like to read the first review, you can visit my newest page by clicking HERE, or by going to the tab titled "Martha Finley."
Enjoy!