Descripción
The Elsie books were a classic children's series depicting Christian family values "Elsie's Motherhood is identified in this copy as the fifth book in the series, - just one of the many books from the Elsie Dinsmore Series, which were written by Martha Finley. ******************************* Martha Finley (1828 - 1909) penned 28 Elsie Dinsmore Stories. The Elsie Books were one of the most successful of Victorian Era series written for young girls. In 1896 the Ladies Home Journal claimed that "there has been no character in American juvenile fiction who has attained more wide-spread interest and affection than Elsie Dinsmore." Finley often wrote books, pamphlets and essays for various organs of the Presbyterian Church, and her stories reflect that interest. Elsie is a devout Christian and frequently has recourse to consult her Bible for advice and inspiration in the various situations in which she finds herself. Because of the moral content of Finley's books, many of today's Christian families feel that the Elsie stories are ideal reading material for young girls. The twenty-eight books in the series follow Elsie through childhood, into young womanhood, marriage, motherhood and finally into widowhood. It is a rare thing for a series such as this, aimed at children, to present a life so fully through the series. Through it all Elsie's moral certitude provide a constant solution to the problems of life, while her Bible and her faith provide comfort. ******************************** "Elsie's Motherhood is the 5th book in the series. The story finds the young heroine with Edward, her husband, having just returned from Europe, where they spent the years of the American Civil War. They are in the post-war South, and find that things are not as peaceful as they wished. The countryside is upset by thoughts of Carpetbaggers, but even worse - the KKK is marauding the countryside, terrorizing and murdering blacks and burning their homes . Elsie and her family, being good Christians, are outraged by the terrible activities of the KuKlux Klan, and of course become involved - to the peril of Elsie s family. It is far more exciting than most Elsie books. In others there has been death visited on the family and their friends, but these were accidents and acts of God, and natural death. In Elsie s Motherhood , the violence comes from the evil actions of violent men. ********************************** Martha Finley knew she was heading into perilous waters with such a story, and she prefaced the story with a statement. the following is an excerpt from that Preface : When about to undertake its preparation, the suggestion was made to the author that to bring in the doings of the Ku Klux would add interest to the story, and at the same time give a truer picture of life in the south during the years 1867 - 1868 in which the events take place. The published reports of the Congressional Committee of Investigation were resorted to as the most reliable source of information, diligently examined, and care taken not to go beyond the facts there given as regards the proceedings of the Klan, the clemency and paternal acts of the Government , or the kindly, fraternal feelings and deeds of the people of the North toward their impoverished and suffering brethren of the South. These things have become matters of history; vice and crime should be condemned wherever found; and naught has been set down in malice; for the author has a warm love for the South as part and parcel of the dear land of her birth. ********************************** You can easily find modern reprints of the Elsie Books on line, but the edition here presented is an old Edwardian - Era edition, just as it appeared more than a century ago. It is not a modern reprint. So many young girls enjoyed and took the Elsie Books to heart way back then. ********************************** SERIES : The Elsie Dinsmore Books / TITLE : Elsie's Motherhood / AUTHOR : Martha Finley (1828 - 1909) / IMPRI. N° de ref. del artículo 818
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