Summary
Summary of Daddy-Long-Legs
Key ideas
Key idea 1
An offer opens a new life
Jerusha Abbott grows up in the John Grier Home, where strict rules and charity shape her choices. When a trustee notices her writing talent, he offers to send her to college. His condition is unusual: she must write regular letters about her progress, but he will not reply. She sees only a glimpse of him and his enormous shadow, giving her a private name for this unknown helper: Daddy-Long-Legs. The opportunity opens her future while leaving the person behind it a mystery.
Key idea 2
Judy wants more than an education
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Key idea 3
Imagination gives awkward moments a purpose
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Key idea 4
Friendship reveals different worlds of money
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Key idea 5
Gratitude does not settle every question
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love witty letters, college friendships, and hopeful romances, Judy’s mix of gratitude, stubbornness, and ambition offers plenty to enjoy.
What this book is
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster is a novel told through the letters of an orphan whose mysterious benefactor sends her to college but keeps his identity secret. Readers return to it for Judy Abbott’s lively humor, her delight in discovering the world, and her struggle to accept help without surrendering her independence.
In this summary
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Key point 1 of 5
Jerusha Abbott grows up in the John Grier Home, where children live by strict rules and depend on other people’s charity. Her prospects change when a trustee notices her talent for writing. He offers to pay for college on one unusual condition: she must write him regular letters about her progress, though he will not answer them. She catches only a glimpse of him, with an enormous shadow stretching across a wall, and gives him a private name: Daddy-Long-Legs.
That’s 1 of 5 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
What condition does the trustee attach to paying for Jerusha’s college education?
Right. “He offers to pay for college on one unusual condition: she must write him regular letters about her progress, though he will not answer them.”Not quite. “He offers to pay for college on one unusual condition: she must write him regular letters about her progress, though he will not answer them.”
How does Judy use imagination as she adjusts to college?
Right. “Her imagination becomes both a shelter and a tool: she turns awkward moments into stories and begins to take her ambition to write seriously.”Not quite. “Her imagination becomes both a shelter and a tool: she turns awkward moments into stories and begins to take her ambition to write seriously.”
What does Judy want alongside her benefactor’s support?
Right. “Judy is grateful, but she also wants the right to make choices, earn her own way, and decide whom to love.”Not quite. “Judy is grateful, but she also wants the right to make choices, earn her own way, and decide whom to love.”
Who’s who
- Judy Abbott
- An aspiring writer raised in an orphanage, Judy attends college with financial support from an anonymous benefactor.
- Daddy-Long-Legs
- Judy’s anonymous benefactor pays for her college education and requires letters describing her progress without answering them.
- Sally McBride
- Sally is Judy’s warmhearted college friend, whose family offers companionship and experiences unfamiliar to Judy.
- Julia Pendleton
- Julia is Judy’s wealthy college friend, whose privileged upbringing contrasts sharply with Judy’s childhood in an orphanage.
- Jervis Pendleton
- Jervis is Julia’s uncle, who takes an interest in Judy as she discovers life beyond the orphanage.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 43,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 2 h 50 min
- Listening time4 h 45 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary; paperback, hardcover and large print at cost
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
