Daddy-Long-Legs

Webster, Jean, 1876-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.1

Word count: 207K words
Chapters: 21

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean WebsterAuthor: Webster, Jean, 1876-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 1, 1994

Editor's review

Daddy-Long-Legs is Jean Webster's signature work: an epistolary novel that traces orphan Judy's growth after an anonymous benefactor sends her to college. The book consists entirely of Judy's letters to "Daddy-Long-Legs"; the tone is light and humorous, yet beneath the playfulness lies a delicate arc of a girl moving from self-doubt to independence, from being sheltered to confirming her own self. As a free Project Gutenberg electronic edition, it is easy to access at any time and is especially suited as an entry-level text for reading English originals: sentences are short and the epistolary form breaks naturally into sections, keeping the reading threshold relatively friendly. Readers can treat it as a light coming-of-age novel, or observe in it changes in early twentieth-century American women's education and independent consciousness. Worth noting is that the letter form gives the narration a strong sense of privacy, as if the reader were peeking into a young girl's inner world, creating a strong sense of immersion. While reading, one may pay attention to shifts in Judy's tone—that is the most direct evidence of the character's growth.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Middle school or university students looking for an entry-level English original reader
General readers who enjoy epistolary form, coming-of-age stories, and light narration
Readers interested in women's growth and independent consciousness
Learners who need free electronic texts for extensive English reading practice

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer complex plot structures and strong-conflict narratives
Readers who want a Chinese translation and do not wish to face the English original
Readers impatient with the fragmented narration of the epistolary form

Reading tips

Read through once to feel the story, then on the second pass note changes in Judy's tone and mindset.
Treat each letter as an independent short piece and read a few each day to reduce the pressure of reading English.
Skip unfamiliar words first and grasp the overall tone; after finishing a section, go back and check key words.
After finishing, try writing a reply to a character in the book to test whether you have understood the characters.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English? What English level is it suitable for?

This edition is an English original e-book provided by Project Gutenberg. The language is overall colloquial with shorter sentences, suitable for learners with basic vocabulary and grammar as extensive reading material, roughly between high school and lower university level; unfamiliar words can be inferred from context.

Why is the whole book in letter form? Will it be confusing to read?

The epistolary form indeed lacks the continuous narration of traditional chapters, but each letter has a clear chronological order and moderate length, making it instead suitable for reading in sections. As long as you read in order, you can follow Judy's growth line and understand the story without confusion.

What is this book mainly about? Is it just a simple story about a young girl?

On the surface it is about an orphan girl writing letters to her benefactor after going to college, but it actually runs through themes of education, independence, self-identity, and emotional growth. The tone is light, but the character's shifts in mindset are written in detail; as you read on, you will find it is not merely a shallow story about a young girl.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Webster, Jean, 1876-1916 Author

Jean Webster (1876–1916) was an American author. Public information about her education, awards and specific life experiences is limited; what can be confirmed is chiefly her literary output. Sixteen of her works are held in this collection, including Daddy-Long-Legs, Dear Enemy, Jerry, and Setä Pitkäsääri, Vadertje Langbeen, Het John Grier Home, Much Ado About Peter and Paras vihollinen, several of which are different-language versions of the same titles. Her writing often uses the epistolary form and a light, humorous tone, focusing on orphanages, the growth of young women and education, with lively dialogue and gentle social concern. Daddy-Long-Legs is her most widely circulated work and the one for which later readers remember her.