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A Life of Faith: Elsie Dinsmore #1
Elsie's Endless Wait
Two decades before the Civil War, an eight year- old Southern heiress longs for the love of the father she has never known---but when they meet at last, nothing is as Elsie expects. Can the proud and willful Horace Dinsmore learn to love his only child---a little girl whose first allegiance is to God? Introducing soft cover editions in the Elsie Dinsmore Series with newly designed covers.
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1999
21 people are currently reading
410 people want to read
About the author
Martha Finley
390books152followersMartha Finley was a teacher and author of numerous works, the most well known being the 28 volume Elsie Dinsmore series which was published over a span of 38 years. Finley wrote many of her books under the pseudonym Martha Farquharson.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
April 3, 2015
The basis of this book is an eight year old girl has never met her father. Then he comes and at first hates her, and then decides "hey, I can parent. Why not, how hard can this be?"
He spends most of the book being emotionally abusive, refusing all displays of affection, punishing her for accidents or things that aren't her fault, and assuming the worst of her even though others who have known her longer tell him she's a good girl. He separates her from her friends (see: Lucy), changes her diet to basically milk, fruit, and bread (she can have meat once a day), and constantly shames her for crying (it's "babyish" for a girl her age to cry). By half-way through the book she's living in mortal fear of her father (who has been around for all of like 3 months) because as far as he's concerned she's a very naughty child, and since his word is law, she believes that to be true. His reactions are so intense that even the barest of misdemeanors gets her screamed at, told she's bad, sent to her room, and sometimes left hungry. One time, her copybook was blotted and when she said (truthfully) that it wasn't her fault she nearly got spanked for it; only one of the other children sticking up for her saved her (literally her father's hand was raised and about to strike her.)
By the way, Everyone abuses her, her teacher, the other children, her grandparents... everyone except one aunt, Miss Rose, and the slaves.
Through all of this, the narrative makes it clear that her father is wrong to do most of these things, but it is also very clear that Elsie is a shining example of goodness because she works very hard to bow to each of his unreasonable demands and never speaks against him. The only time she stands against him, and it's right that she do so, is when he tried to make her play a song on Sunday that she doesn't think is right for the Sabbath.
At one point, there is this guy who is really nice and really likes Elsie, and he offers to basically adopt her, because he doesn't have children. Her father agrees. He AGREES! He's willing to GIVE HIS CHILD AWAY. And Elsie refuses to go because she loves her father so much. At what point does this stop becoming faith and start becoming stockholm syndrome? I get turning the other cheek, I really do, but when do we stop using the Bible to justify allowing abuse to continue? And Elsie would have been wrong to go live with this man (and his mother, so it's less creepy) because her duty is to her father. I want to write this girl a verse in "Wicked Girls Saving Ourselves." Or, hell, Dorothy's will work for her: "Dorothy just wanted something that she could believe in. A grey dust-bowl girl in a life she was better off leaving." She had a chance to escape, "she could have got clear and she could have got clean, but she chose to be 'good' and go back to that grey Kansas sky where colour's a fable and freedom's a fairy tale lie."
At one point while reading this I was shocked that Elsie hadn't developed a stammer or something, because for a while there her every move and word got her punished. And then her father, scowling at her, would snap, "why are you afraid of me? Stop that. Hey, why are you crying again? I said that's a bad habit, so stop. You're scared again, why are you scared?"
And yes, the narrative views her father as a poor parent, but it never condemns him for it. There are constantly all these excuses made for him. "He loved his daughter more than anything. He was trying his best. He didn't want to punish her unjustly, so when he found out the truth he let her leave her room/eat." The only thing he's really condemned for is, get this, loving his daughter more than loving God.
Maybe this is my liberalism showing through here, but you should not teach children that when they are being abused they should just go with it, because that's what God wants.
These are children we're dealing with here. It's one thing to read the Bible and know that as Christians we should turn the other cheek and submit to authority because our judgement comes from a higher place, but this book is dealing with things much bigger than being teased and not retaliating. This is child abuse. It's child abuse that the book does NOT outright condemn. When Elsie explains that she deserves to be punished because she's been naughty by disobeying her father, no one corrects her. This is terrifying stuff wrapped in religious ideals in an attempt to praise piety. Praising piety is awesome, I totally approve, but that's not what this is.
Anyone reading this who claims to love God and wants to raise children to love and serve him... this is not the way to do it. It should NEVER be a child's decision whether or not to stay with an abusive parent. A child's dedication to an abusive parent should NEVER be heralded as a demonstration of goodness. A child should NEVER have to chose between obeying their parents and obeying God, and when this is the case, we have all failed. It is not okay to give this book to a child and say "be like this" because this situation should not happen, and when it does (because it absolutely does) no child should be laying the blame on his/herself for the results, and that's exactly what this book tells them they should be doing. This book is not a beautiful standard for a child to strive for, it's a tragedy, showing the failure to care for a child. But it's marketed as a thing to help strengthen a child's faith, and that makes it dangerous.
He spends most of the book being emotionally abusive, refusing all displays of affection, punishing her for accidents or things that aren't her fault, and assuming the worst of her even though others who have known her longer tell him she's a good girl. He separates her from her friends (see: Lucy), changes her diet to basically milk, fruit, and bread (she can have meat once a day), and constantly shames her for crying (it's "babyish" for a girl her age to cry). By half-way through the book she's living in mortal fear of her father (who has been around for all of like 3 months) because as far as he's concerned she's a very naughty child, and since his word is law, she believes that to be true. His reactions are so intense that even the barest of misdemeanors gets her screamed at, told she's bad, sent to her room, and sometimes left hungry. One time, her copybook was blotted and when she said (truthfully) that it wasn't her fault she nearly got spanked for it; only one of the other children sticking up for her saved her (literally her father's hand was raised and about to strike her.)
By the way, Everyone abuses her, her teacher, the other children, her grandparents... everyone except one aunt, Miss Rose, and the slaves.
Through all of this, the narrative makes it clear that her father is wrong to do most of these things, but it is also very clear that Elsie is a shining example of goodness because she works very hard to bow to each of his unreasonable demands and never speaks against him. The only time she stands against him, and it's right that she do so, is when he tried to make her play a song on Sunday that she doesn't think is right for the Sabbath.
At one point, there is this guy who is really nice and really likes Elsie, and he offers to basically adopt her, because he doesn't have children. Her father agrees. He AGREES! He's willing to GIVE HIS CHILD AWAY. And Elsie refuses to go because she loves her father so much. At what point does this stop becoming faith and start becoming stockholm syndrome? I get turning the other cheek, I really do, but when do we stop using the Bible to justify allowing abuse to continue? And Elsie would have been wrong to go live with this man (and his mother, so it's less creepy) because her duty is to her father. I want to write this girl a verse in "Wicked Girls Saving Ourselves." Or, hell, Dorothy's will work for her: "Dorothy just wanted something that she could believe in. A grey dust-bowl girl in a life she was better off leaving." She had a chance to escape, "she could have got clear and she could have got clean, but she chose to be 'good' and go back to that grey Kansas sky where colour's a fable and freedom's a fairy tale lie."
At one point while reading this I was shocked that Elsie hadn't developed a stammer or something, because for a while there her every move and word got her punished. And then her father, scowling at her, would snap, "why are you afraid of me? Stop that. Hey, why are you crying again? I said that's a bad habit, so stop. You're scared again, why are you scared?"
And yes, the narrative views her father as a poor parent, but it never condemns him for it. There are constantly all these excuses made for him. "He loved his daughter more than anything. He was trying his best. He didn't want to punish her unjustly, so when he found out the truth he let her leave her room/eat." The only thing he's really condemned for is, get this, loving his daughter more than loving God.
Maybe this is my liberalism showing through here, but you should not teach children that when they are being abused they should just go with it, because that's what God wants.
These are children we're dealing with here. It's one thing to read the Bible and know that as Christians we should turn the other cheek and submit to authority because our judgement comes from a higher place, but this book is dealing with things much bigger than being teased and not retaliating. This is child abuse. It's child abuse that the book does NOT outright condemn. When Elsie explains that she deserves to be punished because she's been naughty by disobeying her father, no one corrects her. This is terrifying stuff wrapped in religious ideals in an attempt to praise piety. Praising piety is awesome, I totally approve, but that's not what this is.
Anyone reading this who claims to love God and wants to raise children to love and serve him... this is not the way to do it. It should NEVER be a child's decision whether or not to stay with an abusive parent. A child's dedication to an abusive parent should NEVER be heralded as a demonstration of goodness. A child should NEVER have to chose between obeying their parents and obeying God, and when this is the case, we have all failed. It is not okay to give this book to a child and say "be like this" because this situation should not happen, and when it does (because it absolutely does) no child should be laying the blame on his/herself for the results, and that's exactly what this book tells them they should be doing. This book is not a beautiful standard for a child to strive for, it's a tragedy, showing the failure to care for a child. But it's marketed as a thing to help strengthen a child's faith, and that makes it dangerous.
May 5, 2017
I read this series when I was little and I suppose I recall them fondly and in the same vein as Louisa May Alcott's writing - noting, of course, that this is waaay lower quality of writing. However, after reading a summary and reflecting on the subject matter. WHOO BOY, KIDS.
1) There's historical fiction that acknowledges, with care and logical concern, the time period's acceptance that slavery is the norm. And then there's fiction that is clearly idealizing a time when - and this is important - we thought it was okay to OWN people. I think it's absolutely vital for children to learn about what really happened in the past. But it shouldn't be taught as, "Gosh, really wish we could go back and wear pretty dresses, not have any rights, terrorize, and force other people groups into slavery for being different."
2) People are really abusive to Elsie in these books - especially her father -and the "honorable" way she is supposed to respond is to bend over backwards for them? That's a horrible lesson and exactly how you convince victims that their hurt is because they aren't good enough. Yuck.
3) The whole "guy who wanted to adopt me and acted like my uncle for my childhood now wants to marry me" plot line isn't romantic. It's waaaay creepy and an inappropriate message to tell children. Or anyone.
I guess if you want your children to accept the patriarchy and racism that you live by, then have them read these books --- although I did and look how much of a feminist, civil rights advocate I turned out to be. HAH.
1) There's historical fiction that acknowledges, with care and logical concern, the time period's acceptance that slavery is the norm. And then there's fiction that is clearly idealizing a time when - and this is important - we thought it was okay to OWN people. I think it's absolutely vital for children to learn about what really happened in the past. But it shouldn't be taught as, "Gosh, really wish we could go back and wear pretty dresses, not have any rights, terrorize, and force other people groups into slavery for being different."
2) People are really abusive to Elsie in these books - especially her father -and the "honorable" way she is supposed to respond is to bend over backwards for them? That's a horrible lesson and exactly how you convince victims that their hurt is because they aren't good enough. Yuck.
3) The whole "guy who wanted to adopt me and acted like my uncle for my childhood now wants to marry me" plot line isn't romantic. It's waaaay creepy and an inappropriate message to tell children. Or anyone.
I guess if you want your children to accept the patriarchy and racism that you live by, then have them read these books --- although I did and look how much of a feminist, civil rights advocate I turned out to be. HAH.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2017
I honestly liked the original books better, but this is a good series. I both hate and love it, honestly. I hate Elsie for her perfectionism, her self-righteousness ... but I also love her. I don't know why, but perfect people really appeal to me ... as does drama. It does make me feel guilty, though ...
December 12, 2012
I don't know how I finished this book. Elsie is the perfect child with no faults whatsoever. The entire novel is painful and incredibly annoying to read. I also don't know how the author wrote so many books when she has no storyline except how obedient and good Elsie is. Sickening characters, sickening story. I would never recommend this series!
March 19, 2018
I have to mark this as a DNF. I'm so mad! I never DNF books!!!
I have it three stars because it's saving graces were that it was well-written and the author did try and gave it a great go. In fact, I'm going to try the second book too (I love the library- free books!) and see how it goes.
So.. my reasons for DNFing.
1 is that Elise is SUCH a goody-two-shoes. Now, I must admit that I have no problem reading about semi goody-two-shoes, I have read several older books about them and don't mind at all.
But Elise... oh goodness me. 'but I love Papa! I could never go live with this other guy who is so much nicer doesn't demand things or punish me unfairly, and invited me to live with him and his mother! Papa is so nice, even though I didn't ever meet him until now! I'm sure he means well!'
Now, the whole book was not like that, and I will admit that some readers may not be bothered by it and that her papa did really come to love her eventually.
2 is that the slaves thought very lowly of themselves, pronounced every 'bressed' (blessed) word wrong, were 'bery' (very) ignorant and even once called each other ''ol blackie' I understand that it was the time period, but it seemed to take it a little over the top
3 almost no one was kind to Elsie, even though she is the very picture of kindness and is always kind to them
Anyway, I'm done ranting. I'm NOT suggesting that you don't read the book, because if you are interested in it, please do, you may like it!
I have it three stars because it's saving graces were that it was well-written and the author did try and gave it a great go. In fact, I'm going to try the second book too (I love the library- free books!) and see how it goes.
So.. my reasons for DNFing.
1 is that Elise is SUCH a goody-two-shoes. Now, I must admit that I have no problem reading about semi goody-two-shoes, I have read several older books about them and don't mind at all.
But Elise... oh goodness me. 'but I love Papa! I could never go live with this other guy who is so much nicer doesn't demand things or punish me unfairly, and invited me to live with him and his mother! Papa is so nice, even though I didn't ever meet him until now! I'm sure he means well!'
Now, the whole book was not like that, and I will admit that some readers may not be bothered by it and that her papa did really come to love her eventually.
2 is that the slaves thought very lowly of themselves, pronounced every 'bressed' (blessed) word wrong, were 'bery' (very) ignorant and even once called each other ''ol blackie' I understand that it was the time period, but it seemed to take it a little over the top
3 almost no one was kind to Elsie, even though she is the very picture of kindness and is always kind to them
Anyway, I'm done ranting. I'm NOT suggesting that you don't read the book, because if you are interested in it, please do, you may like it!
November 27, 2023
reread nov 2020 - still love this!
October 24, 2015
Ok people, I admit, I cried while reading this book. It was so very emotional. It's about this little girl and her name is Elsie Dinsmore. All she wants is her earthly father's love. I highly suggest reading this book because of the little girl's strong desire to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, and her desire for wanting her father's love. I can relate to her because I want to do what is right and I so badly want my earthly father's love.
November 6, 2008
It is cool, because it shows about a girl's struggle to be a Christian while waiting for her father.It really encourages me to live for God!
September 4, 2024
I decided to give this series a re-read after hearing some controversial things about it online. I remember loving this series as a girl and wanted to see for myself if I should hang onto them. A lot of the controversy, at least the controversy that is addressed in this book, stems from her father's authoritarian parenting style. I thought most of his expectations from his daughter were good. Some of his tactics were a little misguided due to his character's backround and we see about as much growth in him as he learns to be a father as we do in Elsie as she learns to be a daughter. I was surprised at how enjoyable this was to read as an adult.
March 19, 2025
going down a rabbit hole of the books i read as a kid. by god this book and its message are so bad. this little girl gets abandoned by her family and when her deadbeat dad gets custody of her he’s an asshole the whole time until he “finds god� bc he told his daughter to read the newspaper on sunday and she refused (wtf) and then he got so mad at her she made herself SO SICK SHE ALMOST DIED. i’m so serious that’s like the plot point. and let’s not forget that this entire series (which i read all of) culminates when she MARRIES THE GUY WHO IS HER DADS BEST FRIEND WHO MET HER WHEN SHE WAS SIX. oh my god he used to babysit her dead ass. and she marries him. literally groomed. sickening
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January 1, 2023Another childhood classic series. No telling how many times I read these books over the years.
January 7, 2025
Feeling nostalgic so I’m rereading my childhood favorite books❤️
Honestly one of the best Christian books I’ve read on how to be faithful on a day to day basis.
Honestly one of the best Christian books I’ve read on how to be faithful on a day to day basis.
February 23, 2016
{This blog is Two Years Old this week! Eeek! It’s party time! Everyday till Friday there’ll be a new review and giveaway! On Saturday a Double giveaway and wrap-up will be posted! Get your noise makers out and let’s celebrate!} {Enter Giveaway #1 Here!} {Enter Giveaway #2 Here!}
About this book:
“Miss Rose asked Elsie, 'Your father is away, isn't he?' Elsie looked up and replied wistfully, 'Yes, ma'am. He's in Europe. He has been away since before I was born, and I've never seen him. Oh, I do wish he'd come home! I want to see him so much! Do you think he would love me?'
Meet Elsie Dinsmore, a lovely eight-year-old heiress who lives on a wealthy Southern plantation in the mid-1800's. Her mother is dead and she has never known her father. Living in her grandfather's home, she often feels rejected, unloved, and misunderstood. Elsie is sustained by her deep Christian faith and her hope to one day be loved by her father. But will Horace Dinsmore ever come home? Will he love her? Elsie's Endless Wait is the first book in the Elsie Dinsmore: A Life of Faith series. This captivating story of a young girl's faith, purity of heart and simple Christian devotion, became an instant American classic over a hundred years ago. Now, in this revised and updated, modern-language edition of the 1868 book by Martha Finley, a whole new generation of readers will meet one of the most beloved fictional heroines of all time.�
Series: This series is based on the Original Elsie Dinsmore series written by Marta Finley. It is #1 in the “Life of Faith: Elsie Dinsmore� series.
Spiritual Content- The beginning of every chapter has a Scripture quoted; Prayers; ‘H’s when referring to God are capital (while those referring to Jesus are not); Many, many Scriptures are quoted; Many talks about God & the Bible; Elsie wants so much to be like Jesus and make Him happy; A Mention of Church going.
*Note: Arthur threatens Wally that a ghost will get him.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid�; Elsie’s teacher and family are mean/rude/just plain awful to her; A mention of a cigar; Mentions of spankings.
Sexual Content- N/A
-Elsie Dinsmore, age 8
Told in a Narrating voice
Set in 1840s
199 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Two Stars
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
Elsie really has the child like faith that the Bible talks about and I do like her, but she does come across a bit too, well, perfect. Sadly, I’m not the only one who thinks this, many reviewers aren’t a fan of thi
s book. My only deal with this book is her father, I’m not a fan of him at all. Truly, I wanted to reached in and take poor Elsie away from all those people. This would probably be best for younger girls to read with a parent or trusted adult.
Anyone want to win a copy?
Link to review and giveaway:
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
About this book:
“Miss Rose asked Elsie, 'Your father is away, isn't he?' Elsie looked up and replied wistfully, 'Yes, ma'am. He's in Europe. He has been away since before I was born, and I've never seen him. Oh, I do wish he'd come home! I want to see him so much! Do you think he would love me?'
Meet Elsie Dinsmore, a lovely eight-year-old heiress who lives on a wealthy Southern plantation in the mid-1800's. Her mother is dead and she has never known her father. Living in her grandfather's home, she often feels rejected, unloved, and misunderstood. Elsie is sustained by her deep Christian faith and her hope to one day be loved by her father. But will Horace Dinsmore ever come home? Will he love her? Elsie's Endless Wait is the first book in the Elsie Dinsmore: A Life of Faith series. This captivating story of a young girl's faith, purity of heart and simple Christian devotion, became an instant American classic over a hundred years ago. Now, in this revised and updated, modern-language edition of the 1868 book by Martha Finley, a whole new generation of readers will meet one of the most beloved fictional heroines of all time.�
Series: This series is based on the Original Elsie Dinsmore series written by Marta Finley. It is #1 in the “Life of Faith: Elsie Dinsmore� series.
Spiritual Content- The beginning of every chapter has a Scripture quoted; Prayers; ‘H’s when referring to God are capital (while those referring to Jesus are not); Many, many Scriptures are quoted; Many talks about God & the Bible; Elsie wants so much to be like Jesus and make Him happy; A Mention of Church going.
*Note: Arthur threatens Wally that a ghost will get him.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid�; Elsie’s teacher and family are mean/rude/just plain awful to her; A mention of a cigar; Mentions of spankings.
Sexual Content- N/A
-Elsie Dinsmore, age 8
Told in a Narrating voice
Set in 1840s
199 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Two Stars
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
Elsie really has the child like faith that the Bible talks about and I do like her, but she does come across a bit too, well, perfect. Sadly, I’m not the only one who thinks this, many reviewers aren’t a fan of thi
s book. My only deal with this book is her father, I’m not a fan of him at all. Truly, I wanted to reached in and take poor Elsie away from all those people. This would probably be best for younger girls to read with a parent or trusted adult.
Anyone want to win a copy?
Link to review and giveaway:
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
July 1, 2021
Ugggggh. I picked this up because it's on my "books mentioned in Among Others" list (I can't recall if it was mentioned favorably or not). This is actually a cleaned-up revised edition published to be part of a children's series called A Life of Faith sometime in the 1990s. Neither version does anything for me. As a product of its time, the original includes racist ideology and the main character being dragged off and beaten by her father as "punishment" for some perceived wrongdoing. Even though the worst thinks were pretty well scrubbed clean, the book still overwhelmingly idolizes the protagonist for her piety above all other considerations. She caters to every whim of her "strict disciplinarian" father, who mind you has no parenting experience but lots of strict opinions on how his child should act or behave and wrongfully assumes multiple times that Elsie is acting naughty or malicious when she's not. It was frustrating to say the least to read of Elsie's unwillingness to speak against others on her own behalf or to stand up for herself, and it led to her constantly being punished. Once in a while the truth seeps out and then Elsie's father is all retraction and apologies, but in my opinion it's too little too late, and he never seems to learn anything about Elsie's true character from it. Throw in a much-older neighbor who wants to adopt her (and you can't tell me he wasn't planning to adopt her just until she was old enough to marry him, because she DOES marry him in a later book), an abusive teacher and relatives.... there was just so much about this book I disliked. I would never give this book to a child as an example of how to behave. Piety is great and kindness is wonderful, but blind devotion to an abusive parent is something else altogether.
October 26, 2016
In this great and adventurous book, Elsie is an eight-year-old heiress who lives in a wealthy southern plantation. Her mother died when Elsie was at a very young age her she has never known her father and is longing for his love and support. She is a devoted Christian and with a big heart. I loved this book because it is a great story of her struggles and what happens in Elsie's life from her very young age. Her Father is away in Europe and has been since Elsie was born. She hopes that he will love her and support her but will he be able to. After a bad start with her dad, her dad decides to try to parent this kind and generous kid. This book shows her struggles to get together with her dad.
April 11, 2008
This is a Christian book that you will learn alot from.
May 31, 2008
Elsie is a great role model for all girls. I learned a lot from this book and I recommend this book to everyone.
July 3, 2008
i the elsie books changed my life.i feel much closer to god.i want to try to be just like elsie!i changed my attitude.
September 9, 2012
This book actually brought tears to my eyes but what this girl overcomes is so inspiring. This is a great read for younger girls.
November 7, 2024
Elsie is an uninspiring heroine and don’t love the way it deals with culture.
August 27, 2019
Ugh...what a mess of epic proportions. One website I frequent is TVTropes, and I found a lot of shows, books, and games that I've come to like or dislike from going there a few times and reading through it. Some stuff I wouldn't have even heard of had I not gone to TVTropes. One of those things is an old book series called Elsie Dinsmore, which focuses on the life of...well, a young girl named Elsie DInsmore. I read on its TVTropes page that not only does it contain a lot of things that would absolutely not fly in today's society, but that it's little more than an uber long mouthpiece for the authoress to preach her holy religious views through as a means to make young girls reading this become perfect, obedient, sweet, submissive, passive, Jesus-loving Christians who absolutely must love God and become wives to their husbands and bear children. Yeah, reading the premise and the background, I had a hunch that it was going to be either dull, annoying, or bad, but I found it on Project Gutenberg and decided to read it for kicks and to see if it was really as bad as people say.
My verdict? It is. I've only read the first book, which is just called Elsie Dinsmore, so this review will only focus on that one. Mostly because I have absolutely NO desire to read the rest of the series, especially since it'll very likely be of the same quality. But the first book alone is just dull, annoying, poorly written, and not worth it at all.
The book focuses on Elsie Dinsmore (Isn't repetition fun? NOT!), a sweet, religious little girl who loves reading her Bible and worships her heavenly father. But other than being rich and having nice clothes, she doesn't have a very nice life. Her grandparents and many cousins are always picking on her, her governess is always scolding her, her mother died when she was little, and the only one who remotely cares about her is one of the family's slaves, a black woman named Chloe. One day, her father, Horace Dinsmore Jr., suddenly returns from spending years in Europe, and Elsie is determined to be the girl he can love...only he spends most of the book either treating her like crap or being an absolute anal retentive control freak towards her, so much so that it'd probably make cult leaders look sane in comparison. But no matter how harsh he is to her, Elsie's faith never wavers, and she does everything she can to be the kind of girl that everyone will love, including Jesus.
I really don't want to be hard on a book like this, as a premise like this can be done well in the right hands. Unfortunately, Martha Finley really messed up here, in more ways than one. One of the biggest problems the book has is that it's extremely easy to see that while the simplistic writing tries to make it seem like a cute children's book, there are so many sermons and religious speeches throughout the entire book that go on and on without end, some of which are taken straight out of the Bible. Half of them barely contribute anything to the story and are just there so Finley can espouse her religious views. Finley doesn't even try to hide the fact that she's writing solely to preach, preach, preach to the audience, often addressing the reader directly at times, which is not only jarring, but makes the book come across as extremely didactic and heavy-handed. God is constantly mentioned in every other sentence, and any attempts at actual prose are no better than L. Frank Baum's writing, favoring telling over showing. But I probably shouldn't make that comparison because that's an insult to Baum, who at the very LEAST wrote stories and didn't use them as blatant mouthpieces for his personal views, or knew when to keep his views out of certain things when needed.
Surely the characters are interesting and likeable, right? WRONG! Nearly the ENTIRE cast of characters in this book are either extremely annoying or so repulsive and detestable that you have to wonder who you need to root for. Elsie is a whiny, overly perfect, flawless Mary Sue who is constantly crying over every little thing, never stands up for herself, and has about as much spine as a dead jellyfish, her entire family consists of uppity assholes who get off on picking on her because she's so perfect and God-obsessed, and the few good characters that appear in this book, such as the Carrington family, Caroline Howard, Chloe, Allison, and the Travilla family, are overshadowed by the Dinsmores, who happen to have much more page time than every other character. The characters are all so black-and-white and one-dimensional that they have zero depth to them. Elsie is a goody two shoes and everyone around her who doesn't love her is evil or straight up unnecessarily mean-spirited towards her. Miss Day, her governess and teacher, is pretty much just another evil teacher stereotype who is always yelling at and abusing Elsie for not being perfect at everything, even over stuff that doesn't need to be made into a big deal, like having ink blots on her writing books.
Furthermore, the book doesn't have much of a plot holding it together. It's just Elsie having adventures, dealing with her family, and soapboxing about how much she loves God and Jesus at every opportunity. The story stretches itself incredibly thin, and barely anything of note happens throughout the book. How does Finley compensate for this? By having every single situation be forced, contrived, and be rife with ridiculously overblown melodrama that would make Twilight, Fallout, and Fifty Shades of Grey look cheerful. No, I am not exaggerating. Now, a bit of angst is always healthy, and if characters are happy all the time, they'd be boring. But it can be just as bad going in the other direction. What do I mean? Situations that modern readers wouldn't bat an eye at and go "Eh, whatever. No big deal" are treated with all the gravity of a murder in the Elsie Dinsmore series. For example, everyone makes a HUGE deal out of every slip up Elsie makes, from freeing a trapped hummingbird from a glass jar to crying when she's overcome with anxiety about her father's stern, authoritarian ways. Even the barest, most asinine of misdemeanors are treated with super hyper vigilance, get her screamed at, told she's bad, sent to her room, or often left starving, even over stuff that's not even her fault to begin with. No, I'm not kidding. If Elsie so much as screws up at something, everyone suddenly behaves like a Christian who found out the pope got pregnant and freak out like they're foaming at the mouth.
And the source of much of this melodrama? Elsie's father, Horace. Dear Jesus H. fucking Christ on a banana boat, this guy is the absolute most detestable character in this entire book, and the absolute worst of them all. Bluntly said, this guy is an idiotic dickish bastard who thinks everything he says is law, constantly expects the worst of his own daughter, and expects Elsie to be absolutely obedient to every single command he makes to the point of being completely self-effacing. That in and of itself would be considered emotional abuse, but this guy deliberately keeps Elsie away from people who care about her such as her friends, changes her diet because he thinks certain foods are bad for her, wants her to be more like an automaton than a human being, and completely flips his shit at Elsie over the most asinine things, such as going to a meadow for five minutes or crying in his presence (He considers crying to be babyish, even though he's the reason she cries so much. Can't you take a hint, old man?!) or refusing to play a song on a piano or refusing to read a book on Sabbath. Dear lord, every time this guy opened his mouth, I wanted to give him a good knee to the ballsack. At one point, Elsie frees a hummingbird from a glass jar that was set in the sun so it would kill it, which any sane person would consider to be a good thing, because trapping an animal with intent to kill it is obviously wrong. As it turns out, Horace trapped the bird and wanted to kill it because he wanted a specimen to add to his collection or some bullshit like that. What does he do when Elsie tells him what she did? He flat-out screams at Elsie for "meddling in his affairs," ties her hands with a rope, sends her to her room, scolds her for crying about the punishment and being too sad to eat because children obviously shouldn't have feelings or be allowed to be sad, and acts like a complete dick. Hell, he often straight up tells her that she absolutely MUST obey all of his commands, not ask questions about them (Even when asking why would have been completely reasonable). One of the things he says is "Remember I am to be obeyed always!" God, why hasn't someone fucking killed this guy yet? If anyone did any of these things to me, somebody would be well within their right to call CPS on the bastard! But the worst thing about all of this? Finley tries to JUSTIFY his abuse, not only by providing pitiful excuses for letting him do so, but making Elsie continue to obey him and treating his abuse of her as being a good thing! Here's a passage from late in the book that straight up confirms this:
“Dear papa, I love you so much!' she replied, twining her arms around his neck. 'I love you all the better for never letting me have my own way, but always making me obey and keep to rules.�
(This passage is in the original version, not the Life of Faith version, as the latter cuts out some of the final chapters. But for all I know they were probably transplanted into the next book or two, and I have no desire to check the rest of the series out)
It doesn't help that when the few times they DO get along, all of their interactions and affections are so saccharine and sugary sweet that I'm pretty sure it'd make any diabetic reading this die. It doesn't help that Finley makes no secret of the fact that she wants Elsie to be the kind of girl that all little girls living in the Victorian era should be like: Quiet, passive, submissive, Jesus-loving automatons who must do everything their parents tell them to do no matter how bad or cruel they are, because that's just their roundabout way of showing how much they love you! Give me a break, Finley. Faith isn't the same thing as Stockholm Syndrome, and forcing a child to suppress their emotions and always obey all authority, whether those authorities are wrong or not, is not okay. And no, the time period this was written is absolutely no excuse. Other books have that excuse, but not this one.
Okay. I better get off this soapbox before I drive myself insane. Anyway, the book is dull, obnoxiously preachy, mind-numbingly boring, with God-awful characters and morals that nowadays would seem extremely toxic and full of so much stupid they'd make you fall out of your chair in agony. Lewis Carroll once said that he wrote Alice In Wonderland because he felt children deserved the right to read books solely for entertainment and that he absolutely hated moralistic books that tried to do nothing but teach good values. After reading Elsie Dinsmore, I have to wonder if this is one of the books he was talking about. Kids deserve better than frothy wastes of paper like this. I can recommend so many other books that are so much better, both aimed at kids and not. Don't bother with Elsie Dinsmore. These books are so not worth it.
(On a related and even more fucked up note, I read somewhere that Horace's reasons for abusing Elsie the way he does makes him the absolute dumbest idiot in the universe. One of the later books says that the reason he hates Elsie is that his mother, Elsie's paternal grandmother, basically wrote him a bunch of letters while in Europe saying that his daughter turned out to be a mischievous, naughty, bothersome kid who is out of control and requires strict discipline, basically slandering her and making up lies about Elsie for no other reason than pure contempt and she felt like it. Not only is this piss-poor writing and make her into a complete caricature of an evil mother archetype (or in her case, evil grandmother), it makes Horace's abuse of Elsie even more appalling in that he just accepted everything his stepmother told her and didn't ONCE question it! He basically abused Elsie all because he was too much of a gullible idiot to fucking think rationally and question whether anything his mother told him was genuine or not! WHYYYYYYY?!?)
My verdict? It is. I've only read the first book, which is just called Elsie Dinsmore, so this review will only focus on that one. Mostly because I have absolutely NO desire to read the rest of the series, especially since it'll very likely be of the same quality. But the first book alone is just dull, annoying, poorly written, and not worth it at all.
The book focuses on Elsie Dinsmore (Isn't repetition fun? NOT!), a sweet, religious little girl who loves reading her Bible and worships her heavenly father. But other than being rich and having nice clothes, she doesn't have a very nice life. Her grandparents and many cousins are always picking on her, her governess is always scolding her, her mother died when she was little, and the only one who remotely cares about her is one of the family's slaves, a black woman named Chloe. One day, her father, Horace Dinsmore Jr., suddenly returns from spending years in Europe, and Elsie is determined to be the girl he can love...only he spends most of the book either treating her like crap or being an absolute anal retentive control freak towards her, so much so that it'd probably make cult leaders look sane in comparison. But no matter how harsh he is to her, Elsie's faith never wavers, and she does everything she can to be the kind of girl that everyone will love, including Jesus.
I really don't want to be hard on a book like this, as a premise like this can be done well in the right hands. Unfortunately, Martha Finley really messed up here, in more ways than one. One of the biggest problems the book has is that it's extremely easy to see that while the simplistic writing tries to make it seem like a cute children's book, there are so many sermons and religious speeches throughout the entire book that go on and on without end, some of which are taken straight out of the Bible. Half of them barely contribute anything to the story and are just there so Finley can espouse her religious views. Finley doesn't even try to hide the fact that she's writing solely to preach, preach, preach to the audience, often addressing the reader directly at times, which is not only jarring, but makes the book come across as extremely didactic and heavy-handed. God is constantly mentioned in every other sentence, and any attempts at actual prose are no better than L. Frank Baum's writing, favoring telling over showing. But I probably shouldn't make that comparison because that's an insult to Baum, who at the very LEAST wrote stories and didn't use them as blatant mouthpieces for his personal views, or knew when to keep his views out of certain things when needed.
Surely the characters are interesting and likeable, right? WRONG! Nearly the ENTIRE cast of characters in this book are either extremely annoying or so repulsive and detestable that you have to wonder who you need to root for. Elsie is a whiny, overly perfect, flawless Mary Sue who is constantly crying over every little thing, never stands up for herself, and has about as much spine as a dead jellyfish, her entire family consists of uppity assholes who get off on picking on her because she's so perfect and God-obsessed, and the few good characters that appear in this book, such as the Carrington family, Caroline Howard, Chloe, Allison, and the Travilla family, are overshadowed by the Dinsmores, who happen to have much more page time than every other character. The characters are all so black-and-white and one-dimensional that they have zero depth to them. Elsie is a goody two shoes and everyone around her who doesn't love her is evil or straight up unnecessarily mean-spirited towards her. Miss Day, her governess and teacher, is pretty much just another evil teacher stereotype who is always yelling at and abusing Elsie for not being perfect at everything, even over stuff that doesn't need to be made into a big deal, like having ink blots on her writing books.
Furthermore, the book doesn't have much of a plot holding it together. It's just Elsie having adventures, dealing with her family, and soapboxing about how much she loves God and Jesus at every opportunity. The story stretches itself incredibly thin, and barely anything of note happens throughout the book. How does Finley compensate for this? By having every single situation be forced, contrived, and be rife with ridiculously overblown melodrama that would make Twilight, Fallout, and Fifty Shades of Grey look cheerful. No, I am not exaggerating. Now, a bit of angst is always healthy, and if characters are happy all the time, they'd be boring. But it can be just as bad going in the other direction. What do I mean? Situations that modern readers wouldn't bat an eye at and go "Eh, whatever. No big deal" are treated with all the gravity of a murder in the Elsie Dinsmore series. For example, everyone makes a HUGE deal out of every slip up Elsie makes, from freeing a trapped hummingbird from a glass jar to crying when she's overcome with anxiety about her father's stern, authoritarian ways. Even the barest, most asinine of misdemeanors are treated with super hyper vigilance, get her screamed at, told she's bad, sent to her room, or often left starving, even over stuff that's not even her fault to begin with. No, I'm not kidding. If Elsie so much as screws up at something, everyone suddenly behaves like a Christian who found out the pope got pregnant and freak out like they're foaming at the mouth.
And the source of much of this melodrama? Elsie's father, Horace. Dear Jesus H. fucking Christ on a banana boat, this guy is the absolute most detestable character in this entire book, and the absolute worst of them all. Bluntly said, this guy is an idiotic dickish bastard who thinks everything he says is law, constantly expects the worst of his own daughter, and expects Elsie to be absolutely obedient to every single command he makes to the point of being completely self-effacing. That in and of itself would be considered emotional abuse, but this guy deliberately keeps Elsie away from people who care about her such as her friends, changes her diet because he thinks certain foods are bad for her, wants her to be more like an automaton than a human being, and completely flips his shit at Elsie over the most asinine things, such as going to a meadow for five minutes or crying in his presence (He considers crying to be babyish, even though he's the reason she cries so much. Can't you take a hint, old man?!) or refusing to play a song on a piano or refusing to read a book on Sabbath. Dear lord, every time this guy opened his mouth, I wanted to give him a good knee to the ballsack. At one point, Elsie frees a hummingbird from a glass jar that was set in the sun so it would kill it, which any sane person would consider to be a good thing, because trapping an animal with intent to kill it is obviously wrong. As it turns out, Horace trapped the bird and wanted to kill it because he wanted a specimen to add to his collection or some bullshit like that. What does he do when Elsie tells him what she did? He flat-out screams at Elsie for "meddling in his affairs," ties her hands with a rope, sends her to her room, scolds her for crying about the punishment and being too sad to eat because children obviously shouldn't have feelings or be allowed to be sad, and acts like a complete dick. Hell, he often straight up tells her that she absolutely MUST obey all of his commands, not ask questions about them (Even when asking why would have been completely reasonable). One of the things he says is "Remember I am to be obeyed always!" God, why hasn't someone fucking killed this guy yet? If anyone did any of these things to me, somebody would be well within their right to call CPS on the bastard! But the worst thing about all of this? Finley tries to JUSTIFY his abuse, not only by providing pitiful excuses for letting him do so, but making Elsie continue to obey him and treating his abuse of her as being a good thing! Here's a passage from late in the book that straight up confirms this:
“Dear papa, I love you so much!' she replied, twining her arms around his neck. 'I love you all the better for never letting me have my own way, but always making me obey and keep to rules.�
(This passage is in the original version, not the Life of Faith version, as the latter cuts out some of the final chapters. But for all I know they were probably transplanted into the next book or two, and I have no desire to check the rest of the series out)
It doesn't help that when the few times they DO get along, all of their interactions and affections are so saccharine and sugary sweet that I'm pretty sure it'd make any diabetic reading this die. It doesn't help that Finley makes no secret of the fact that she wants Elsie to be the kind of girl that all little girls living in the Victorian era should be like: Quiet, passive, submissive, Jesus-loving automatons who must do everything their parents tell them to do no matter how bad or cruel they are, because that's just their roundabout way of showing how much they love you! Give me a break, Finley. Faith isn't the same thing as Stockholm Syndrome, and forcing a child to suppress their emotions and always obey all authority, whether those authorities are wrong or not, is not okay. And no, the time period this was written is absolutely no excuse. Other books have that excuse, but not this one.
Okay. I better get off this soapbox before I drive myself insane. Anyway, the book is dull, obnoxiously preachy, mind-numbingly boring, with God-awful characters and morals that nowadays would seem extremely toxic and full of so much stupid they'd make you fall out of your chair in agony. Lewis Carroll once said that he wrote Alice In Wonderland because he felt children deserved the right to read books solely for entertainment and that he absolutely hated moralistic books that tried to do nothing but teach good values. After reading Elsie Dinsmore, I have to wonder if this is one of the books he was talking about. Kids deserve better than frothy wastes of paper like this. I can recommend so many other books that are so much better, both aimed at kids and not. Don't bother with Elsie Dinsmore. These books are so not worth it.
(On a related and even more fucked up note, I read somewhere that Horace's reasons for abusing Elsie the way he does makes him the absolute dumbest idiot in the universe. One of the later books says that the reason he hates Elsie is that his mother, Elsie's paternal grandmother, basically wrote him a bunch of letters while in Europe saying that his daughter turned out to be a mischievous, naughty, bothersome kid who is out of control and requires strict discipline, basically slandering her and making up lies about Elsie for no other reason than pure contempt and she felt like it. Not only is this piss-poor writing and make her into a complete caricature of an evil mother archetype (or in her case, evil grandmother), it makes Horace's abuse of Elsie even more appalling in that he just accepted everything his stepmother told her and didn't ONCE question it! He basically abused Elsie all because he was too much of a gullible idiot to fucking think rationally and question whether anything his mother told him was genuine or not! WHYYYYYYY?!?)
March 31, 2022
Readers beware, this book series is not kid-friendly or Christian in any way. Even when I was a 13 year old reading these, I was aware that something was wrong and gross with these books. It teaches little girls that they should be happy to endure abuse in the name of Jesus. It also teaches that grooming by much older men is good and normal. Hear me out; parents should read these themselves first before letting their children.
The relationship between Elsie and her guardian is predatory and inappropriate—this man meets Elsie when she is 7 and he is 24, adopts Elsie as a child (father figure, unequal power dynamics, grooming), has a 17 year age gap with her� and then marries her when she comes of age?! He even calls her pretty as a very young child. It’s gross and pedophilic, if you don’t believe me, read it yourself.
Additionally, Elsie is horribly neglected, and physically and emotionally abused as a child� and there are passages encouraging her to struggle through it because that’s what “Christians are called to do,� as Jesus did (not true).
We constantly read passages where she refers to herself as wicked and prays for forgiveness, even though she is the least wicked person in the books and is constantly victimized. This is so damaging and false, and teaches Christian children that they must endure suffering and abuse silently to be a good Christian: NOT true, this can lead to children remaining silent about abusers in their lives! There is no good morals that can be gotten from a child reading these books.
The relationship between Elsie and her guardian is predatory and inappropriate—this man meets Elsie when she is 7 and he is 24, adopts Elsie as a child (father figure, unequal power dynamics, grooming), has a 17 year age gap with her� and then marries her when she comes of age?! He even calls her pretty as a very young child. It’s gross and pedophilic, if you don’t believe me, read it yourself.
Additionally, Elsie is horribly neglected, and physically and emotionally abused as a child� and there are passages encouraging her to struggle through it because that’s what “Christians are called to do,� as Jesus did (not true).
We constantly read passages where she refers to herself as wicked and prays for forgiveness, even though she is the least wicked person in the books and is constantly victimized. This is so damaging and false, and teaches Christian children that they must endure suffering and abuse silently to be a good Christian: NOT true, this can lead to children remaining silent about abusers in their lives! There is no good morals that can be gotten from a child reading these books.
December 8, 2019
Throwback to my homeschool days of children’s books that were widely read in local co-op groups. Finley was a product of her 19th cen. era, and while she does have elements of slavery in the book, Chloe (her nurse) is by far the most kind and loving role model in the text. I love how Finley utilized 8 year old Elsie to demonstrate Biblical truths of patient endurance as she strives to honor her father and his secular, frequently misguided parenting.
I thought I would be more irritated by goody-two shoes, as my friends and I would call her. But I actually love it even more as an older person with kids of my own.
I suppose that’s weird, and to the world’s eyes, her character is foolish—overly meek and submissive to her despicable relatives like Arthur and Enna. But...1 Cor 1:27 rings true here.
I thought I would be more irritated by goody-two shoes, as my friends and I would call her. But I actually love it even more as an older person with kids of my own.
I suppose that’s weird, and to the world’s eyes, her character is foolish—overly meek and submissive to her despicable relatives like Arthur and Enna. But...1 Cor 1:27 rings true here.
June 2, 2020
I am so glad such Christian books exist! I read this book during the 2019/2020 Coronavirus crisis. It really gave me hope and comfort in a time full of sadness and violence. She helped me know my Father and Savior are with me, and that the Holy Spirit lays within me. She is a great role model for all people in the world and is such a brave, courageous little girl. She is a dedicated girl, that loves her religion with all her heart. I hope I can be more like her. This book has sad moments, where the main character is faced with hard decisions. But, she always makes sure her decisions are right in the Word of God. Thank you for such a great series, with such an amazing character!
May 9, 2024
Ugh. I had to force myself to keep going with this depressing, horrifying book, and had to skip and skim ahead to finish it. The only positive thing I can say about it is that the gospel is presented accurately. But almost all the characters are despicable and their abuse is never condemned but seemingly excused by the narrator. I don’t know why this series is still in print, but I cannot recommend it.
May 21, 2021
I read this book to decide if it was appropriate for an 8 year old girl. The writing was compelling, and the examples of Elsie applying Biblical truths and scriptures to her life were wonderful. However, the acceptance of slavery by devout Christians and the complex relationship that devout Elsie has with her emotionally abusive father made this one to skip.
August 12, 2019
I honestly like the original book much better but this one was good. It is hard to read how she is treated but it very much makes you look at how we follow God in our trials and adversity.
May 25, 2021
I read one or two of the Elsie books when I was around nine or ten years old. I can’t remember now my reaction to the first book—that’s 75 years ago—but the child cruelty described by various reviewers of the Elsie books did not make a dent on my memory. Maybe that’s because extreme punishment for perceived wrongdoing was perfectly acceptable when I was young. My mother beat me with just about anything she could lay her hands upon—that included pots, chunks of wood, hit by bottles on the head, whipped with garters, the middle section of my dad’s fishing rod, and one time a leather boot which hit me on the temple and knocked me unconscious. I was also punished by being locked in the basement or in a darkened closet. It never dawned on me to question whether or not my mother had the right to hit me in that manner or lock me in darkness. I know my father never struck me ever, and I do not know whether he knew what punishment my mother meted out. So the cruelty against Elsie may have been entirely acceptable at that time. We cannot judge books written in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s by today’s standards. I do remember the Elsie books with great fondness so I must have accepted what I read as normal behaviour.
January 20, 2025
Elsie is one of the flattest characters of any children's story. She is either crying or perfectly robotic and pious in everything she does. She cries so often that it becomes difficult to take her emotions seriously.
She interprets her scripture readings to the absolute extreme and refuses to entertain any other interpretations or understandings. No one else in the main cast is as Christian as Elsie is, and even though they are called moral, upright, just, etc. none of it counts because they haven't been "born again."
The relationship between Elsie and Horace is terrible: at one point, late in the book he tells Elsie it is understandable to have morals and to hold to them when others don't agree/understand...and THEN immediately follows it up with telling her he is the exception. If he tells her to do something, she must do it. And, predictably, Elsie won't compromise and there's yet another conflict between them.
January 27, 2019
I have really fond memories of reading this series as a child and I greatly enjoyed reading it aloud to two little girls over this last weekend, HOWEVER I am now laughing heartily at myself for ever feeling surprised that Elsie could be considered "too good." She is unrealistically good. And the book is preachy. It is definitely a book with an obtuse moral lesson, still I greatly enjoyed revisiting this sweet story.
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