Summary
Summary of Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore
Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 3 h 55 min3 h 5 min fast, 4 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 55,600 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1922by Josephine Chase
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Key ideas
Key idea 1
Friends return knowing the way
Marjorie Dean, Jerry Macy, Muriel Harding, Veronica Lynne and Lucy Warner return to Hamilton College as sophomores. Once they stood alone on the station platform; now Leila Harper and Vera Mason are waiting with cars and hugs. That welcome marks a change in their place on campus.
They return to traditions and loyal friendships, but also to a stubborn rivalry with Leslie Cairns and the Sans Soucians. Their new confidence will be tested by people with a very different idea of college life.
Key idea 2
Marjorie chooses purpose over revenge
The friends enjoy their warm welcome, but dinner at Baretti's brings an unwelcome reminder of last year.
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Key idea 3
Miss Remson needs loyal friends
Miss Remson privately tells the friends that her complaint about the Sans has turned against her.
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Key idea 4
New arrivals reveal their values
Helping freshmen at the station gives Marjorie and Jerry a close look at different newcomers.
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Key idea 5
Kindness becomes a campaign tool
Leslie wants Elizabeth Walbert to become freshman president because her family has millions.
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Key idea 6
Carelessness meets a quieter strength
During a gathering storm, Leslie's roadster strikes Katherine Langly.
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Key idea 7
Fair play goes beyond rules
Elizabeth narrowly defeats Phyllis for freshman president, but Phyllis accepts the loss gracefully.
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Key idea 8
A false appeal draws Marjorie away
Preparations for the Valentine masquerade give way to concern when Marjorie receives a note signed with Anna Towne's name.
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Key idea 9
Hamilton belongs to every student
Across the school year, the conflict keeps returning to the same question: should Hamilton be governed by fairness or by money and cliques?
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Who it’s for
You will love this book if you enjoy college stories, close friendships, fair play on the basketball court and a heroine who answers meanness with courage and good humor.
What this book is
What happens when five friends who once stood alone on a station platform come back as the ones who know the way? Marjorie Dean, Jerry Macy, Muriel Harding, Veronica Lynne and Lucy Warner step off the train at Hamilton College as sophomores. This time Leila Harper and Vera Mason wait with cars and hugs.
Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore is the second of Josephine Chase's stories about Marjorie and her friends. It follows one school year, from the September return to the first of May. You meet a campus full of traditions, loyal friends and a stubborn rivalry with Leslie Cairns and her club, the Sans Soucians. The author writes with warm humor, quick talk and a clear sense of right and wrong.
In this summary
- 1Friends return knowing the wayFree
- 2Marjorie chooses purpose over revenge
- 3Miss Remson needs loyal friends
- 4New arrivals reveal their values
- 5Kindness becomes a campaign tool
- 6Carelessness meets a quieter strength
- 7Fair play goes beyond rules
- 8A false appeal draws Marjorie away
- 9Hamilton belongs to every student
The sophomores return and meet old shadows
The book opens at Hamilton station with five friends who now call themselves sophomores. Muriel announces that this September it does not matter whether anyone meets them, since they know what to do. Jerry grumbles about the platform last year, where they stood like a flock of dummies.
Helen Trent, Leila Harper and Vera Mason wait outside with cars and warm greetings. Nine girls sort themselves into two cars. Muriel says the best part is being cherished enough to be met at all. In Leila's roadster Marjorie says the best fight is a quiet one, built on Hamilton's traditions rather than money. Then the campus comes into view, green and velvety, and she greets it as her first friend.
That evening the nine dine at Baretti's. Jerry tells of an afternoon at a seaside pavilion, where Leslie and her friend Rowena Farnham cornered her, and she reads aloud a typed letter signed by Leslie. In it Leslie boasts that she planned the cold welcome of last year and promises worse for this one. Helen doubts the signature is Leslie's own, which would let her deny everything. Marjorie answers with a calm plan to push the Sans into the background by being honest, kind and honorable.
A good answer to bullying starts with steady purpose rather than with revenge.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Check yourself
How does Marjorie plan to oppose the Sans?
Right. “Marjorie answers with a calm plan to push the Sans into the background by being honest, kind and honorable.”Not quite. “Marjorie answers with a calm plan to push the Sans into the background by being honest, kind and honorable.”
Why does Leslie want Elizabeth Walbert to become freshman president?
Right. “She wants Elizabeth Walbert to be freshman president, because the Walberts have millions.”Not quite. “She wants Elizabeth Walbert to be freshman president, because the Walberts have millions.”
What makes the juniors' soft talk unfair?
Right. “They learn what the coach calls the soft talk, a steady murmur of friendly remarks meant to distract players.”Not quite. “They learn what the coach calls the soft talk, a steady murmur of friendly remarks meant to distract players.”
Go deeper: the whole of Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore
About 4 h to read.Start freePaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 55,600 words
- Reading timeAbout 3 h 55 min
Questions about Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore
What is Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore about?
It follows Marjorie and her friends through their second year at Hamilton College. They welcome freshmen, face a rival club called the Sans Soucians, and try to protect fairness in elections, sports and friendships.
Who are the Sans Soucians?
They are a club of eighteen wealthy juniors led by Leslie Cairns. The name means without care. They use money, cars and dinners to gain popularity and influence over freshmen.
Do I need to read the first book, Marjorie Dean, College Freshman, first?
The story stands on its own. The early chapters recall last year's events in clear terms, so a new reader can follow the friendships and the quarrel with the Sans without difficulty.
Who is Anna Towne?
Anna is a shy freshman from Omaha who lives in a modest boardinghouse off campus. Marjorie and Jerry welcome her at the station, and Phyllis Moore becomes her loyal friend.
What is the main message of the book?
True college spirit grows from honesty, kindness and loyalty rather than money or show. Marjorie answers unfair behavior with courage and good humor, and she builds friendships that welcome everyone.
Cite this edition
Chase, Josephine. Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/marjorie-dean-college-sophomore.
Chase, J. (2026). Marjorie Dean, college sophomore. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/marjorie-dean-college-sophomore (Original work published 1922)
Chase, Josephine. Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/marjorie-dean-college-sophomore.
@book{chase2026marjorie,
author = {Chase, Josephine},
title = {Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/marjorie-dean-college-sophomore},
note = {First published 1922}
}
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