Elsie Dinsmore facts for kids
Elsie Dinsmore is a popular series of children's books. It was written by Martha Finley (1828–1909) between 1867 and 1905. Martha Finley wrote two main series for girls. The "Mildred Keith" books were more like real life and based on her own experiences. The "Elsie Dinsmore" books, however, were more imaginative and sold better. A new, updated version of the Elsie books came out in 1999.
Contents
About the Elsie Dinsmore Books
The stories in the Elsie Dinsmore series happen on large farms called plantations. These are located in the southern part of America, before the American Civil War.
Elsie's Early Life and Family
The first book introduces Elsie as an eight-year-old girl. She lives with her grandfather, his second wife (her step-grandmother), and their six children. Elsie's mother passed away shortly after Elsie was born. Her father, Horace, has been traveling in Europe. Elsie is good friends with Rose Allison, and they study the Bible together.
The first book starts when Elsie's father, Horace, comes back from Europe. Elsie then moves to live with him. The main part of the story is about Elsie trying to earn her father's love. She also tries to stick to her Christian beliefs. Elsie often refuses to tell on people who are mean to her.
Modernized Elsie Books
A new series of eight Elsie Dinsmore books was created in 1999. They were adapted and shortened from the original stories. This new series is called "Elsie Dinsmore: A Life of Faith". The language in these books has been made more modern. For example, the African American characters no longer speak in old dialects.
The main ideas of the stories are still the same. Elsie still tries to gain her father's love while keeping her Christian values. She also still refuses to report bullying. However, some of Horace's actions have been made less harsh in the new versions.
Along with the updated books, Elsie Dinsmore dolls were sold starting in 1998. A Bible study program was also made based on the new book series. The original books are still printed today by many different publishers.
Elsie's Story: Key Events
The first few Elsie books show a constant struggle. Elsie tries to follow Christian rules while also being loyal to her family.
Elsie's Challenges with Her Father
Horace, Elsie's father, is very strict. He sets many rules for Elsie to follow. If she breaks a rule, she is often punished, sometimes unfairly. While her father was away, Elsie became a Christian. She tries to live by the Bible's rules, especially the Ten Commandments. Her nanny, Chloe, taught her these.
Her father, who is not a strict Christian, sometimes sees Elsie's beliefs as silly or even disrespectful. Many problems happen because Elsie believes she must obey God's word first. She only obeys her father when his orders do not go against the Bible. For example, Horace tries to make Elsie play non-religious music and read fiction on Sundays. Their disagreements lead to Elsie becoming very ill. She worries that her father does not truly love her. She asks him to read the Bible with her, but he refuses.
Horace's Change of Heart
The first two books, Elsie Dinsmore and Elsie's Holidays at Roselands, tell one continuous story. They were originally one long story that was split into two books. In the second book, Horace refuses to speak to Elsie for several months. He also stops others from speaking to her. This is because she chose to obey God rather than him.
Their "battle of wills" leads to Elsie becoming very sick. Doctors even shave her head, hoping to help her "brain fever." When Horace thinks Elsie has died, he finds her Bible. Reading it, he learns about Jesus and becomes a Christian. Elsie slowly recovers from her illness. Because of this, her father becomes very protective of her. Her recovery is also helped when her father marries Rose Allison. They later have two more children, Horace Jr. and Rosie.
Elsie's Adulthood and Family Life
Years later, Edward Travilla, an older man who has cared for Elsie for a long time, asks her to marry him. They have a quiet wedding the next year. While the Dinsmore and Travilla families are on vacation in Europe, the Civil War begins. They stay in Europe until the war ends.
When they return, they see how much the war has damaged their homes and families. They work to help their families heal and rebuild their plantations. Elsie uses her large amount of money to help restore their homes and health. The children of both families also have adventures. They learn what it means to follow Jesus Christ in a world that sometimes lacks morals. Edward and Elsie guide them. All the children grow up and get married, except for Herbert and Walter.
Based on dates in the books, Elsie was likely born around 1837. Elsie also has other relatives who appear often in the series. These include the Keiths, the Lilburns, and the Landreths.
Lulu Raymond's Temper
Later in Elsie's life, the books focus less on Elsie herself. They mostly deal with her granddaughter Lulu's struggles with her quick temper. When Violet first marries Lulu's father, Levis Raymond, Lulu causes trouble by refusing to obey her new stepmother. Another time, she badly hurts her baby sister. This causes her father to punish her with a riding whip.
When Lulu goes to school in Louisiana, her music teacher hits her fingers. Lulu then hits him over the head with a book. She refuses to take any more lessons from him. She defies Mr. Dinsmore's order to continue. She holds out for several months until the teacher leaves for a new job. Her bad behavior makes Rosie feel sorry for her sister Vi. Rosie often teases Lulu, making her angry.
Elsie's Family Tree
When Elsie grows up, she marries Edward Travilla, who is a good friend of her father. He has always helped her when others were unkind. He had loved her for a long time. They have eight children together: Elsie, Edward, Violet, Harold, Herbert, Lily (who dies at age seven), Rosie, and Walter.
Children and Grandchildren
Elsie Dinsmore's oldest daughter, also named Elsie, gets engaged to Lester Leland. Edward Jr. goes to Europe with young Elsie when Lester Leland becomes ill. While in Europe, Edward Jr. meets Zoe Love, who later becomes his wife. He marries her just before her father passes away. 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 from his first marriage: Max, Lucilla (called Lulu), and Gracie. Most of the later books are about these children. Levis Raymond and Violet have two children together: Elsie and Edward (Ned). Rosie marries William Croly, a college friend of her brother's. Lulu Raymond marries Chester Dinsmore and they have one child. Max marries Evelyn Leland, his step-uncle's orphaned niece.
Places in the Elsie Dinsmore Books
The stories take place in various locations, mostly large plantations in the American South.
- Roselands - This is a plantation owned by Elsie's grandfather. Elsie lives here during the first two books.
- The Oaks - This plantation belongs to Elsie's father. Elsie moves here with him the year after he returns from Europe.
- Ion - This plantation is owned by Edward Travilla and his mother. Elsie moves here after she marries Edward. Most of the books take place at Ion.
- Viamede - This plantation belonged to Elsie's mother. Elsie inherits it when she turns 21.
- Woodburn - This is a plantation owned by Elsie's son-in-law, Captain Levis Raymond.
The plantations are said to be in Union, Virginia. However, Viamede is in Louisiana, near New Orleans. Other plantations that appear less often include:
- Crag Cottage - A 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 - A plantation owned by Phillip and Lucy (Carrington) Ross. Elsie and her children visit here in Elsie's Children.
- Sunnyside - A plantation owned by Lucilla and Chester, and Max and Eva.
- Magnolia Hall - A plantation owned by Molly and Louis Embury.
Main Characters in the Series
Here are some of the important characters you'll meet in the Elsie Dinsmore books:
- Elsie Dinsmore - The main character. She is the only child of Horace and Elsie (Grayson) Dinsmore. She marries Edward Travilla Jr. and is the mother of eight children.
- Horace Dinsmore - Elsie's father. He first marries Elsie Grayson, then Rose Allison.
- Edward Travilla Jr. - Son of Edward and Violet Travilla. He marries Elsie Dinsmore and is the father of her children. He passes away in Elsie's Widowhood.
- Rose Allison Dinsmore - Horace Dinsmore's second wife and the mother of Horace Jr. and Rose Dinsmore.
- Enna Dinsmore Percival Johnson - Elsie's step-aunt. She is often spoiled and mean to Elsie. She has four children.
- Arthur Dinsmore Jr. - Horace's half-brother. He is very mean to Elsie when she is a child. He dies in the Civil War.
- Thomas Jackson (also known as Bromly Egerton) - A friend of Arthur Dinsmore. He tries to marry Elsie to get her money. Horace stops him. He dies in the Civil War.
- Elsie Leland - The oldest child of Edward and Elsie Travilla. She marries Lester Leland and has four children.
- Horace Edward Travilla - The second child of Edward and Elsie Travilla. He marries Zoe Love and they have twins.
- Violet Raymond - Elsie and Edward Travilla's third child. She marries Captain Levis Raymond and becomes a stepmother to his three children. She also has two children of her own.
- Harold Allison Travilla - The fourth child of Edward and Elsie Travilla. He marries Grace Raymond, his sister's stepdaughter.
- Herbert Travilla - Edward and Elsie's fifth child. He becomes a doctor.
- Lily Travilla - Edward and Elsie's sixth child, who dies at age 7.
- Rose Travilla Croly - Edward and Elsie's seventh child. She marries William Croly.
- Walter Travilla - The youngest child of Edward and Elsie.
- Lucilla "Lulu" Raymond Dinsmore - Captain Levis Raymond's oldest daughter. She is known for her very bad temper. She eventually learns to control it and marries Chester Dinsmore. Many later books focus on her.
- Max Raymond - Captain Levis Raymond's only son. He marries Evelyn Leland.
- Grace Raymond Travilla - Captain Levis Raymond's youngest daughter. She marries Harold Travilla.
- Chloe - Elsie's nurse since she was a baby. She is married to Uncle Joe.
Elsie's Childhood Friends
In the first two books, Elsie plays with and visits several friends and their children. Most of them had passed away by the time the book Christmas with Grandma Elsie was written.
- Herbert Carrington
- Lucy Carrington Ross
- Mary Leslie
- Flora Arnett
- Caroline (Cary) Howard
- Mildred Keith
- Sophie Allison
- Isabel Carleton
- Harold Allison
A Funny Take on Elsie
The famous writer O. Henry wrote a funny story called "Elsie in New York." It makes fun of the Elsie Dinsmore books. It jokes about how Elsie's world seems to work: if you have faith and follow good leaders, you will always be rewarded.
Original Elsie Dinsmore Books
Here is a list of the original books in the series, in the order they were published:
- Elsie Dinsmore (1867)
- Elsie's Holidays at Roselands (1868)
- Elsie's Girlhood (1872)
- Elsie's Womanhood (1875)
- Elsie's Motherhood (1876)
- Elsie's Children (1877)
- Elsie's Widowhood (1880)
- Grandmother Elsie (1882)
- Elsie's New Relations (1883)
- Elsie at Nantucket (1884)
- The Two Elsies (1885)
- Elsie's Kith and Kin (1886)
- Elsie's Friends at Woodburn (1887)
- Christmas with Grandma Elsie (1888)
- Elsie and the Raymonds (1889)
- Elsie Yachting with the Raymonds (1890)
- Elsie's Vacation (1891)
- Elsie at Viamede (1892)
- Elsie at Ion (1893)
- Elsie at the World's Fair (1894)
- Elsie's Journey on Inland Waters (1895)
- Elsie at Home (1897)
- Elsie on the Hudson (1898)
- Elsie in the South (1899)
- Elsie's Young Folks (1900)
- Elsie's Winter Trip (1902)
- Elsie and Her Loved Ones (1903)
- Elsie and Her Namesakes (1905)
Elsie Dinsmore: A Life of Faith Books
This is the list of the updated series, also known as Elsie Dinsmore: A Life of Faith:
- Elsie's Endless Wait
- Elsie's Impossible Choice
- Elsie's New Life
- Elsie's Stolen Heart
- Elsie's True Love
- Elsie's Troubled Times
- Elsie's Tender Mercies
- Elsie's Great Hope
