Elsie Dinsmore is a children's book series written by Martha Finley (1828–1909) between 1867 and 1905. Of Finley's two girls' fiction series, the "Mildred Keith" books were more realistic and autobiographical in nature, while the "Elsie Dinsmore" books, which were better sellers, were more idealistic in plot.Virginia Haggard Rost, "Martha Finley's fiction for girls." 1943. MA Thesis. University of Louisville. Paper 2113. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2113 p. 23 A revised and adapted version of the Elsie books was published in 1999.
Summary The books take place on plantations in the American South, in the period before the American Civil War. Elsie is an eight-year-old girl who has been living with her paternal grandfather, his second wife (Elsie's step-grandmother), and their six children: Adelaide, Lora, Louise, Arthur, Walter, and Enna. Elsie's mother died soon after giving birth to her, and her father has been traveling in Europe. She is good friends with Rose Allison, with whom she studies the Bible. The first book begins as Elsie's father, Horace, returns from Europe and she goes to live with him. The developing story hinges on Elsie's attempts to gain her father's love while maintaining her Christian ethics and her refusal to turn in those who bully her.
Reception
The first two books, published in quick succession, became immediate best sellers.Lucyle Werkmeister. "The Great Bronte Robbery", Prairie Schooner, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Fall 1957), pp. 237-246. The 28-book series went on to be "The most popular and longest running girl’s series of the 19th century", with the first volume selling nearly 300,000 copies in its first decade, going on to "sell more than 5 million copies in the 20th century."Carolyn Carpan. 2008. Sisters, Schoolgirls, and Sleuths: Girls' Series Books in America. Scarecrow Press.
The extreme piousness of the heroine and other stylized features of the books led some later critics to consider the series an example of "bad books, so transcendental in their badness that they will survive the ages."Jacqueline Jackson and Philip Kendall. "What Makes a Bad Book Good: Elsie Dinsmore." Children's Literature, Volume 7, 1978, p.46.
Adapted version A new Elsie Dinsmore series of eight books was adapted and abridged from the old one and published by Zondervan/Mission City Press in 1999, dubbed "Elsie Dinsmore: A Life of Faith". The language has been modernized, so for example the African American characters no longer speak in dialect (e.g. "Da bressed chile" as opposed to "The blessed child"). While the plot-lines still hinge on Elsie's attempts to gain her father's love while maintaining her Christian ethics and refusing to report bullying (by her young uncle, Arthur, or Miss Day, the governess), some of Horace's actions have been toned down. For example, the infamous scene in which he drags Elsie off to beat her with a riding crop no longer exists. Overall he appears more as a "comically overprotective father, rather than as a sadistic tyrant."Marla Harris. 2006. "A History Not Then Taught in History Books": (Re)Writing Reconstruction in Historical Fiction for Children and Young Adults." The Lion and the Unicorn, Volume 30, Number 1, January 2006, pp. 94-116. p. 113
Along with the revised books, a related line of Elsie Dinsmore dolls was sold starting in 1998,Dollation: The Doll Database https://dollation.com/dollipedia/company/breezy-point-treasures and a Bible study curriculum was produced based on the new book series. The original books have been reprinted as "Original Elsie Classics" by many publishers.
Detailed plot The first Elsie books deal with a constant moral conflict between Christian principles and familial loyalty. Horace is a strict disciplinarian who dictates inflexible rules by which his daughter must live. Any infraction is severely and often unjustly punished. In her father's absence, Elsie became a Christian and abides by Biblical law, especially the Ten Commandments - as taught to her by her dead mother's slave and then her own nanny, Chloe. Her father, being "worldly" and not a strict Christian, regards this as ludicrous and in some cases as insolence. Many conflicts result from Elsie's belief that she must obey the Word of God before that of her father and can only obey her father when his orders do not conflict with Scripture. For example, Horace attempts to force Elsie to sin by playing secular music and reading fiction on Sunday. Their conflict culminates with Elsie having a nervous breakdown as she thinks that her father does not really love her. She begs him to read the Bible with her to become a Christian but his heart is hardened.
The first two books are often discussed together as they tell one seamless story, having originally been one manuscript that was split into two by the publisher.Katie Day. 2000. "The Seductions of Elsie." Proceedings of CHLM. The plot of the second book, Elsie's Holidays at Roselands, revolves around Horace's refusing to speak to Elsie — or allow anyone else to speak to her — for several months, because she is more obedient to God than to her father. Their "war of wills" culminates in Elsie coming very near to death, to the point that they shave her head hoping to abate her "brain fever". When Horace thinks that she has died, he finds her Bible, comes to a knowledge of Jesus, and converts to Christianity. Elsie comes back from the brink of death, but her recovery is slow, and due to this her father is very protective of her. Her recovery is helped by her father marrying Rose Allison. They have two more children, Horace Jr. and Rosie.
Some years later, Edward Travilla, an older man who has had his eye on Elsie for a long time, proposes to Elsie, and the next year they enjoy a quiet wedding. While the Dinsmore and Travilla families are vacationing in Europe, the Civil War begins, and they remain there until it ends. They return to find the devastation that the War has wreaked and attempt to help their families heal. They also attempt to protect themselves against the KKK. Elsie's considerable funds are used to rebuild the families' plantations and restore the families to health. The children of both the Dinsmore and Travilla families have adventures and grow in their own understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ in an amoral world, guided by Edward and Elsie. All of the children grow up and are married except Herbert and Walter.
By the dates given in Elsie's Womanhood and Elsie's Widowhood, Elsie's birth date can be traced to about 1837. Elsie also has some more distant relatives who are recurring characters in the series, including the Keiths, the Lilburns, and the Landreths.
Elsie and the Raymond family Later in Elsie's life, the books focus less on Elsie herself, and mostly deal with her granddaughter Lulu's constant conflict with her fearful temper. When Violet is first married to Lulu's father Levis Raymond, Lulu creates a problem by refusing to obey her new mother. Another time, she hurts and nearly kills her baby sister, causing her father to punish her with a riding whip. When Lulu attends school in Louisiana (in The Two Elsies), the music instructor, Signor Foresti, hits her fingers with a whalebone pointer, causing her to strike him over the head with a book. She formally refuses any further lessons from him, defying Mr. Dinsmore's order to resume. She holds out for several months, until Foresti leaves for a new position, despite Mr. Dinsmore's strenuous efforts to make her obey. Her bad behavior causes Rosie to sympathize with her sister Vi for having such burdens, and Rosie often teases Lulu into a passion.
Elsie's family When Elsie comes of age she marries her father's good friend Edward Travilla. He has been her knight in shining armor who constantly helps her when other people are cruel to her; he has loved her for a long time. They have eight children: Elsie, Edward, Violet, Harold, Herbert, Lily (who dies at age seven), Rosie, and Walter.
Elsie Dinsmore's eldest daughter Elsie becomes engaged to her neighbor's nephew, Lester Leland. Edward Jr. goes to Europe with young Elsie when Lester Leland falls ill. While in Europe, Edward Jr. meets Zoe Love, the woman who will become his wife. He marries her just before her father dies. They later have twins: Edward Lawrence (Laurie) and Lily. While they are away, Violet meets and falls in love with Captain Levis Raymond. He has three children by his first wife: Max, Lucilla (called Lulu), and Gracie; the rest of the books are mainly about them. Together, Levis Raymond and Violet have two children: Elsie and Edward (Ned). Rosie marries William Croly, a college friend of her brother's whom she met on vacation. Lulu Raymond marries Chester Dinsmore, and they have one child together before the series ends. Max marries his step uncle's orphaned niece, Evelyn Leland.
Places featured in the books Roselands - A plantation owned by Elsie's grandfather. Elsie lives here during the first two books. The Oaks - A plantation owned by Elsie's father. Elsie moves here with her father the year after he returns from Europe. Ion - A plantation owned by Edward Travilla and his mother. Elsie moves here after she marries Edward. The majority of the books take place here. Viamede - A plantation that belonged to Elsie's mother; Elsie inherits it when she turns 21. Woodburn - A plantation owned by Elsie's son-in-law, Captain Levis Raymond.
The plantations are said to be set in Union, Virginia, except for Viamede, which is in Louisiana, not far from New Orleans. Other less-visited plantations include:
Crag Cottage - Cottage belonging to Evelyn Leland. The Laurels - A plantation owned by Elsie's sister Rose Lacey and her husband. The Pines Ashwood - Rose Allison's father's Plantation The Crags (not related to Crag Cottage) - A plantation owned by Phillip and Lucy (Carrington) Ross. Elsie and her children (except Rosie and Walter, who were born later in the book) visit the Crags in Elsie's Children. Sunnyside - A plantation owned by Lucilla and Chester, Max and Eva. Magnolia Hall- Plantation owned by Molly and Louis Embury.
Characters Elsie Dinsmore - The only child of Horace and Elsie (Grayson) Dinsmore. She marries Edward Travilla Jr., and is the mother of Elsie, Horace Edward, Violet, Harold, Herbert, Lily, Rose, and Walter Travilla. Horace Dinsmore - Elsie's father. He is married first to Elsie Grayson, by whom he had Elsie, then to Rose Allison, by whom he had Horace III and Rose Dinsmore. Edward Travilla Jr. - Son of Edward and Violet Travilla, married Elsie Dinsmore, and fathered her children. He dies in Elsie's Widowhood. Rose Allison Dinsmore - Second child in the Allison family, married Horace Dinsmore, mother of Horace Jr. and Rose Dinsmore. Enna Dinsmore Percival Johnson - Seventh child of Horace Dinsmore Senior. Married first to Richard Percival, then Mr. Johnson. She is the spoiled pet of the Dinsmore family, and she is mean to Elsie in both childhood and adulthood. She mothers four children: Richard Jr. and Molly, by Percival, and Robert 'Bob' and Elizabeth 'Betty'. She is rendered mentally unstable after a carriage accident with her father, and in the first chapter of Grandmother Elsie it is mentioned that she has died at the home of her oldest daughter. Arthur Dinsmore. - Fifth child of Horace Dinsmore Senior, Horace's half-brother. He is very mean to Elsie in her childhood, and is killed in the Civil War. Thomas Jackson alias Bromly Egerton - one of Arthur Dinsmore's friends. He tries to win Elsie's hand in marriage so he can have her inheritance. He nearly succeeds, but Horace finds out before he can convince her to run away with him. He is killed in the Civil War. Elsie Leland - Eldest child of Edward and Elsie Travilla. She marries Lester Leland and has four children: Edward Travilla, Eric, Elsie Alicia, and Violet Leland.