I began reading the first Billie Bradley book, Billie Bradley and Her Inheritance. Billie's full name is Beatrice Bradley, and she is described as having brown eyes and hair. She is a mischievous girl, and in the very first chapter of the book, she accidentally breaks a statue that is worth $100.00. In 1920, $100.00 was a lot of money.
Billie has to find a way to pay for the statue, and her family has no extra money. Billie's hopes of attending Three Towers Hall, a boarding school, with her best friends is now impossible. Billie's family cannot possibly help her pay for the broken statue and also pay for her boarding school tuition.
The Billie Bradley series is a Stratemeyer Syndicate series and was written by Elizabeth M. Duffield Ward, according to this post by James Keeline in the Nancy Drew Sleuths group. The feel is very similar to other Syndicate series of the time, such as Betty Gordon and the Girls of Central High. I have greatly enjoyed the books that I have so far read by Elizabeth M. Duffield Ward from the Blythe Girls, Outdoor Girls, and Ruth Fielding series. This series ought to be a treat.
Since the Billie Bradley series is a Syndicate series, the plots will be predictable. I am only in the first couple of chapters of the book, yet I already have a very good idea of how Billie will ultimately pay for the statue, since the title of the book is Billie Bradley and Her Inheritance. I also am certain that I already know whether Billie will be able to afford the tuition to Three Towers Hall, since the second book is titled Billie Bradley at Three Towers Hall.
The titles of the early Statemeyer books tend to reveal what happens to the protagonist as the series progresses. However, we already know that all Stratemeyer protagonists are ultimately successful in all of their endeavors, so the revealing titles are of little significance. The fun is in the journey.
2 comments:
I actually just read this book recently. I thought it was nice but not particularly individual. Except for the relationship between Billie and Teddy(?)--did that seem a little overdone to you?
Now that I have finished the book, I can say that I found it kind of boring at times. It definitely is not one of my favorites. I like the second book much better.
The relationship between Billie and Teddy was overdone from the start. That type of relationship is usually a bit more subtle at least in the the early volumes of a series. Even though they are still so young, I almost feel like they are already boyfriend and girlfriend or are engaged.
My next post on Billie Bradley will be tomorrow.
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