Dec 292018
 

by Margaret Penrose (Stratemeyer Syndicate)

Setting 1908 to 1917.

  1. Dorothy Dale: A Girl of Today 1908
  2. Dorothy Dale at Glenwood School 1908
  3. Dorothy Dale’s Great Secret 1909
  4. Dorothy Dale and Her Chums 1909
  5. Dorothy Dale’s Queer Holidays 1910
  6. Dorothy Dale’s Camping Days 1911
  7. Dorothy Dale’s School Rivals 1912
  8. Dorothy Dale in the City 1913
  9. Dorothy Dale’s Promise 1914
  10. Dorothy Dale in the West 1915
  11. Dorothy Dale’s Strange Discovery 1916 (unavailable online)
  12. Dorothy Dale’s Engagement 1917 (unavailable online)

Still under copyright

13. Dorothy Dale to the Rescue 1924

  7 Responses to “Dorothy Dale”

  1. Thank you so much for posting this link Maggie! I just love old fashioned stories like this.

  2. I do too! Dorothy Dale is a highly moral and sometimes passive heroine, much in the idealized Victorian theme, but her best friend Octavia is strong and willful and tends to save Dorothy from her own self-sacrificial tendencies. It’s an interesting series because it travels the transition between classic Victorian martyr-type heroines and the plucky independent spirit of say Nancy Drew, which was first published in 1930. Dorothy Dale is more interesting than Elsie Dinsmore, who is so good and perfect that she’s almost boring. But Dorothy is not quite up to changing her own tires, like Nancy. I am repeatedly thankful that so many of these old books are free, online.

    • Good reads! Dorothy is usually saving Tavia, not other way around. Alas, too often, the boys end up being relied on to rescue the girls! I thought there was a great shift from book one to later books, too. A couple of later ones become stronger.

      Alas, the free online books seem to peter out after Dorothy Dale in the West, yet there are a bunch before 1924, the new public domain year. For example, I can’t find her DD’s Strange Discovery anywhere!

      If you like these, you’ll enjoy Angela Brazil’s books — less formulaic, more characters, and more boarding school life. They are marvels.

  3. Use to read my Grandmothers old books from the early 1900’s. Love these kind of books. Good clean stories.

  4. I read a lot of old girls books as a girl. Both of my grandmothers had a variety of them. They always made me feel virtuous and like striving be a better person was a worthwhile use of my time. I still like to read them because they still make me feel that way. I read a lot of modern literature too, and I gotta admit, none of it impells me to develop good character. It’s nice to go back to the old books and revisit that feeling. And with all the free books available these days I can do it as often as I like. I think the best things in line really are free.

  5. One correction. I wrote a bunch more, but there are only 3 after In the West. Still would be good to know if anyone’s found them!

    • The last few books in a series are usually the hardest to find because there are fewer copies printed. Dorothy is a great heroine, I agree. One day all of books will be online. I am really looking forward to it.

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