Lizette M. Edholm

As a young reader, I could never work up much enthusiasm for that "classic" (and ubiquitous) girl's series, Nancy Drew. I suppose I felt that once you'd read one, you'd read them all, and the writing itself just wasn't interesting enough to compensate for the formulaic nature of the books. Imagine my surprise when I discovered, a few years back, that the versions with which I was familiar were actually revised and condensed editions put out in the 1950s; and that the original books - first published in the 1930s - were longer, more individual, and much better written! They also, unfortunately, contained many social and political ideas that were outdated, and sometimes downright offensive.

Despite that fact, the slower narrative pace, the wonderful period details, and the quaint vocabulary - characters frequently have "chums," and drive "roadsters" or "touring cars" - make for a charming reading experience. Even the antiquated social ideas, while quite disconcerting at times, offer a fascinating glimpse into the mores and mindset of many of the people of that period. I devoured these "original" Nancy Drew titles, reprinted by Applewood Books, and found myself developing an interest in some of the other girls' series of the early twentieth century. I am always happy to discover a "new" series, particularly one I have never heard of before, and was therefore quite pleased when this title came through work.

The Merriweather Girls at Good Old Rock Hill is the final installment of a four-book series published in 1932. Like many such books, it provides a brief summary of the other titles in the first few pages, so the reader need have no fear of beginning at the end, as it were. It follows the adventures of five close friends (four originally) who attend the same boarding school, and together make up a private club they call the "Merriweather Girls." The girls all came from wealth and privelege, and have the sort of adventures that the average American girl of 1932 could only dream of: boarding school in an old castle, aviation lessons, shopping trips in New York City, etc. There are, of course, the necessary tensions and mysteries, the life-threatening final crisis (involving an airplane, naturally), and the expected happy resolution.

While the writing here is somewhat uneven, with a tendency to jump quite suddenly from the conclusion of one scene into the description of the next; and the "mystery" is blatantly obvious in its solution, I did find myself enjoying the book. The strict adherence to the idea of honor, particularly on the part of Bet Baxter, was refreshing to see, although I think some modern readers might be surprised at how scrupulously the characters define honesty. The book had a curious mixture of progressive and conservative tendencies, as it concerns the status of women. On the one hand, the author seems to have a "can-do" attitude about girls, asserting that they can do many of the things that boys do: driving, flying, etc. On the other hand, she also seems to adhere to the Victorian notion of female "goodness," in which girls should be endlessly forgiving, almost angelic in nature.

Finally, I was particularly struck by two things while reading about the Merriweather Girls and their many adventures. The first was Bet Baxter's reflection that if she "were one of those sweet, kindly souls you read about in books, I'd ask that girl to spend the vacation with me, and then the unpleasant jealousy or whatever it is, would suddenly clear up"(114). Naturally, Bet ends up doing just that. But the passage in question reminded me strongly of many short stories written by the wonderful Canadian author, L.M. Montgomery, in which the plot resolution comes as the result of just such a holiday invitation. The reference, whether or not it was to Montgomery specifically, made me smile. Second, I had to laugh when the characters refer to the abnormally large size 7 shoes of one of their number! And you thought we had body-image problems these days...!… (altro)

In this third installment of Lizette M. Edholm's four-book series, all published in 1932, the eponymous Merriweather Girls head to Arizona, where they become entangled in the mystery surrounding Lost Canyon. Friendly Bet Baxter, earnest Shirley Williams, flighty Joy Evans, and western-girl Kit Patten, all join their new friend Enid Breckenridge ("discovered" in the second book, The Merriweather Girls on Campers' Trail), at her family's ranch. With a buried treasure, a lost Indian village, and all the excitement of outdoor activities like horseback riding, the girls soon find themselves involved in another summer adventure...

I discovered The Merriweather Girls through the fourth and final title of the series, The Merriweather Girls at Good Old Rock Hill, and enjoyed it so much that I soon sought out the other books. I generally find that vintage girls' and boys' series are better written than their contemporary equivalent, and have a charming, old-fashioned feel to them. They also, unfortunately, frequently contain anachronistic social views, whether of gender, race or class.

I had been congratulating myself on discovering Edholm's books, which seemed to have all the charm and little of the aggravation, when I came to The Merriweather Girls in Quest of Treasure, and was forced to revise my opinion. This entry in the series felt very different to me, both in writing quality and in content. While reading in this genre certainly requires some suspension of disbelief - the characters tend to be rather two-dimensional and the plot resolutions a little too pat - this particular novel had such glaring continuity errors that I wonder how it got past an editor. At the end of one chapter, the girls have just picked up a little old professor in their car. At the opening of the next, he is standing by the road, waiting for them to stop!

Even more disturbing are the frequent instances of racism, which I might have expected in a book of this era, had they not been (blessedly) absent in the other three Merriweather Girls titles. The "Mexicans" are all either stupid or villainous - in need of the girls' help, or easily outwitted by them. In one scene, Bet steps in and saves a young Mexican boy who is on fire, while his mother and the other elders of the village stand by "helplessly" wringing their hands. I was strongly reminded of a similar passage in Helen Randolph's The Mystery of Carlitos (another vintage girls' series book from this era), and that is NO compliment.

When Joy finds a young "Mexican" cowboy handsome, Kit informs her: "We don't make friends with the Mexican laborers," whom she refers to as "greasers" (119) later on in the book. Good enough to do the work, they nevertheless need constant supervision: "A Mexican miner has to have someone to keep him on the job" (181), and are not particularly difficult to fool, even when armed.

The portrait painted of the Indians is just as unflattering, despite Edholm's apparent belief that she had created a sympathetic character in Kit, who gets angry when she hears someone making the old "the only good Indian is a dead Indian" comment. I winced every time I saw the word "squaw," or read Edholm's notion of Indian "speech." Old Mary makes "grunts of satisfaction" as she looks at Kit's present, and "scurries" off to show her husband, who understands white(!) ways better, and offers his thanks. But even "Indian Joe" speaks in the stilted dialogue assigned to Native Americans in the literature of the time, as do the white characters themselves, when trying to communicate with the Indians.

Most astonishing of all is the "legend" of Lost Canyon, which tells of a terrible massacre of white settlers by the local Indians. Apparently, the chief's daughter was so upset by the "villainy" of her own people, that she cursed them, causing them to die out. Yep - it's all that Indian guilt at killing those helpless settlers...

Needless to say, my final experience with the "Merriweather Girls" was a real disappointment - all the more so since I had enjoyed the other three stories. I suppose I should have been expecting this, when I learned that it was set in the western United States... *Sigh*… (altro)

The Merriweather Girls go to summer camp in this second installment of the four-book series, all published in 1932. Friendly Bet Baxter, earnest Shirley Williams, flighty Joy Evans, and adventurous Arizona-girl Kit Patten all head to Camper's Trail, expecting a season of pure relaxation and fun. But the four girls find more excitement than they bargained for when their friendship with local mountain-girl Tilly, whom they nickname "The Waif of the Woods," leads them to the discovery of an old crime. Will Bet and the other girls discover the secret of Tilly's past in time to help their new friend...?

I first discovered Lizette M. Edholm's Merriweather Girls a year ago, when I stumbled across the fourth and final installment of the series, The Merriweather Girls at Good Old Rock Hill. Like many other books from these vintage children's series - with their old-fashioned vocabulary ("chums" rather than "friends," "roadsters" rather than "cars"), and less violent plots - it had a charm all its own, and I began to look around for other titles.

This second entry in the series, building upon the introductory The Merriweather Girls and the Mystery of the Queen's Fan, continues the story arc of the first book, from the girls' determination to live up to their heroine, Lady Betty Merriweather, to their ongoing conflict with the malicious Edith Whalen. The plot may be somewhat formulaic, and the resolution a little too contrived, but it's all in good fun, and provides a brief and entertaining read.… (altro)

The first installment of a four-book series published in 1932, The Merriweather Girls and the Mystery of the Queen's Fan introduces the reader to the eponymous Merriweather Girls, a club formed by four young women who name themselves after Lady Betty Merriweather, a fictitious heroine of the American Revolution. Bet Baxter, who lives at Merriweather Manor with her wealthy and very indulgent father, Colonel Baxter, and her two chums, flighty Joy Evans and serious Shirley Williams, are soon joined by transplanted Arizona girl Kit Patten, and the four vow to uphold the high standard of their role model. But when a valuable antique fan that once belonged to Marie Antoinette goes missing from the Colonel's study, and their good friend Phil Gordon falls under suspicion, they find that being heroines is more difficult than it looks...

My first encounter with the Merriweather Girls was through the fourth and final book of the series, The Merriweather Girls At Good Old Rockhill, and I enjoyed it so much that I immediately began to look around for the other titles. Vintage girls' series have a certain charm to them, with their old-fashioned vocabulary - "chums" rather than "friends," "roadsters" rather than "cars" - and less violent plots. Unfortunately, they also sometimes contain socially anachronistic views, whether of race, gender or class. Thankfully, The Merriweather Girls contains very little of this latter, and so the pleasure to be had from it is mostly unalloyed.

The author has a charming "girls can do" attitude, probably very modern at the time of publication, and her heroines like to assert that "girls are as good as boys" (very true), and wonder whatever possessed the women of previous eras to wear the uncomfortable clothing they did. While still good friends with a number of boys, who show up to save the day upon occasion, the focus (as is the case in all girls' series) is on the girls' adventures and resourcefulness.

Published during the Great Depression, it is interesting to note that the events of those tumultuous times, while not central to the plot, do figure in the story. The girls' efforts to collect toys to hand out to needy children at Christmas is a reminder of the general poverty of the times, as is the huge crowd of men who respond to the girls' advertisement for someone to repair those toys. I myself am charmed by the fact that the series takes place in the Hudson Valley, very close to my "neck of the woods," and recommend it as a pleasant read to anyone with an interest in girls' series from the first half of the twentieth century.… (altro)