Eleanor H Porter
1) Pollyanna
4) Miss Billy
A young woman is orphaned and has no surviving family members to turn to. Desperate and alone, she reaches out to the only "family" she has left—a college chum of her father's, after whom she was named. Based on the name she signs at the bottom of the letter she sends to him, William Henshaw insists that she come to live with him and his brothers. When she arrives at the house and Henshaw realizes his error, everyone has some adjusting to
...Pollyanna Grows Up is the first sequel to Pollyanna, and the only one written by Porter herself. Numerous following sequels have been written by various authors. Pollyanna's crippling spinal injury has been cured, and she begins to teach a new town the "glad game". She makes many friends and two of her childhood friends, Jimmy and Jamie, court her. Jimmy is an energetic, healthy young architect and Jamie is a crippled literary genius.
...How does being a lavishly spoiled child impact one's ability to function as an adult? It's an always-timely topic that Pollyanna author Eleanor H. Porter explores with insight and wit in the charming novel The Road to Understanding. As a boy, Burke Denby was showered with toys and sweets, and as a young man, his hedonistic mindset is impacting his ability to choose a suitable mate. Fans of early-twentieth-century domestic dramas will
...Though best remembered for her contributions to juvenile literature as the creator of the beloved Pollyanna novels, author Eleanor H. Porter also wrote a number of novels intended for general audiences. Her gift for creating memorable characters is on full display in Oh, Money! Money!, in which an idiosyncratic aristocrat decides to determine which of his relatives is worthy of being bequeathed his vast fortune by giving them each
...8) Dawn
Though starkly different from Pollyanna, the book that propelled author Eleanor H. Porter to worldwide acclaim, the engrossing novel Dawn plumbs some of the same themes as its predecessor, including the importance of always maintaining an optimistic outlook on life, no matter how dire the circumstances you are facing. Set against the backdrop of World War I, the novel's protagonist is a young man whose vision is gradually degrading.
...Like many impoverished children living in the slums of New York around the turn of the twentieth century, Margaret Kendall has faced more than her fair share of adversity in life. When a series of remarkable coincidences and events serve to reunite her with her mother, she is certain that her problems are over. But her new life back home comes with its own set of challenges and conflicts. Will this spunky protagonist be able to navigate the pitfalls
...10) Mary Marie
Though it was originally published almost a century ago, Eleanor H. Porter's novel Mary Marie tackles an issue that is as relevant as ever: divorce and its impact on the children in the family that has been torn asunder. Groundbreaking at the time of its original publication, the novel tells the story of a young girl whose divorced parents can't agree on anything about child-rearing—not even the name of their daughter! Will the doubly
...11) Pollyanna
Orphaned as a young woman, Miss Billy has had to struggle to make her way in the world. After finding a place in the family of her late father's dear friend, William Henshaw, she falls in love with his brother Bertram and helps bring him out of his shell. The two become engaged to be married, and though they are compatible in many ways, Billy begins to fear that she is making a grave error. Will the pair find happiness after all?
13) Just David
If you have a soft spot for Eleanor H. Porter's beloved novel Pollyanna, you should definitely add Just David to your reading list. Written just a few years after Porter penned her best-known work, this emotionally resonant and uplifting tale mines many of the same themes, albeit from a starkly different vantage-point. David is a young boy who has lived an extremely sheltered life in the mountains, with just his father and his beloved
...The final entry in Eleanor H. Porter's charming Billy series about a young orphan who finds love and acceptance in the family of her late father's college friend, Miss Billy Married concludes the trilogy with an account of the heroine's first few years as a newlywed. Through the ups and downs—including crossed wires with her new husband, difficulties in the domestic arena, and heartrending struggles with illness—Billy
...