Trixie earns a $5 allowance per week for doing chores around the house. When I read the books in 1983 to 1984, I received $5 per week, so I thought the amount was fine. I didn't know that the book was first published in 1948. $5 in 1948 is now worth over $50. We are expected to believe that the Beldens are poor, yet their daughter is given the equivalent of over $200 per month. I assume Brian and Mart would have received similar amounts. The Beldens aren't so poor after all.
I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as I once did. The problem is that I practically have the story memorized. Also, I always have trouble switching from one type of book to another. I read this book right after reading the last Augusta Seaman book, and the style is quite different. Trixie is also skewed younger than Seaman's books, so I struggled with that as well, which is what I expected.
The cover art of this edition depicts the scene where Trixie finds Joeann's cut-off pigtails. This is a bizarre choice for the cover art, although it is interesting.
I enjoyed this book mostly as much as I did when young. Like the first book, I pretty much have the story memorized, but I still enjoyed it just about as much as ever.
1 comment:
Do you have the Whitman books pictured in your blog? Those were reprinted in the 1970s, so perhaps the text was changed to up Trixie's allowance to $5 from its original amount. In the original text of SECRET OF THE MANSION Trixie jumps on the running board of her dad's car, which is not in the 1970s editions. I have noticed this in reprints of other older books. I have a Betty Cavanna book which was reprinted about ten years ago and the name of the girl's boyfriend was changed from "Dick" to "Rick," very obvious because the typeface did not quite match.
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