Elsie and the Raymonds

Elsie Dinsmore #15

by Martha Finley

As Elsie and her family--complete with newborn twin granddaughters--celebrate her fiftieth birthday, Max and Lulu and their father travel in the West, where they commemorate the Fourth of July and Lulu learns more about the value of obedience.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Historical

Paperback

First published January 1, 1889

About the author

Martha Finley was a teacher and author of numerous works, the most well known being the 28 volume Elsie Dinsmore series which was published over a span of 38 years. Finley wrote many of her books under the pseudonym Martha Farquharson.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_F... or, http://marthafinley.wordpress.com/

Reviews

[Katja Labonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars & 3/10 hearts. First Elsie book to not be rated 5 stars (since book 1). This is going to be a long review; you are warned.
- Okay so putting a gold chain on a two-week-old baby is already bad. But putting a coral necklace on a two-week-old baby is just.... what are they thinking?! Never mind that the necklace is pink and the baby is a boy.... 🤨
- I really love how awesome Lulu and Captain Raymond are. Just saying. I still love Elsie, and Horace Dinsmore barely showed up—and when he did he was good. (Except for the crazy lip-kissing between parents and kids... like was that really a thing in the 1860s??)
- The refutation of Mormonism was well done; also the remarks on Catholicism.
- *deep breath* so this is what really turned me off, and it was really because Finley crammed a bunch of it all at once at the end... if it had been spread out I wouldn’t have minded so much...? It was the excessive anti-England attitude, especially by Max, who I actually loved before! He got very out of character and started getting pretty offensive and unMaxish. I was also surprised the captain allowed him and Lulu to talk like that to a guest. Furthermore, the English kid was poorly done (stupid, unpatriotic, and unEnglish) and the English side wasn’t at all represented... And no I’m not saying the English did it all right—at all. The pressing of American sailors, for example, was unequivocally wrong. But I like to have sources quoted when you talk about history/geography/true occurrences, and I want both sides represented. Also, I was bugged by the constant bragging. Sorry. 🤷🏻‍♀️ And I didn’t agree with all the remarks on the Civil War, Revolution, or War of 1812. Finley was pro-Union and made the Confederates seem pretty bad... which is also biased and also annoying. If you’re gonna do history, please, show both sides. No side/country is ever 100% right. I know 1800s books are very one-sided and it doesn’t always bug me but this time I was particularly annoyed because it was good characters who got out of character and were offensive to another character and rather unChristian, and it was just all done in a way that really rubbed me wrong... I’ve read other books that are antiCanadian or antiFrench or antiBritish and was okay with them—it’s their POV and it’s the way they thought back then—but this one just really annoyed me to the point I almost ditched it. There, I’m done.
- Finally, I was also annoyed by the insertion of history in the midst of the story when I was way more interested in what was going to happen.
- However, I enjoyed seeing Max as a ventriloquist, and I liked the climax, and the new characters.
- So overall, this was a strike for me simply because I’m not American and don’t get the American mentality. It was good and next time I’ll just skip over the history lessons. I’m still eager to read the next books, and I still love the Elsie series. This one just wasn’t for me. :)

[Tarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elsie's children and family want to make her birthday a remarkable day. Many plans with lots of thinking produce just that. It was a glorious day for everyone, and even I agree with all the characters of the book that say Elsie has aged with great charm, wisdom, and still much youthfulness about her.

There are many other events taking place in the book though.
Cap. Raymond takes his two eldest children (Max & Lulu) on a business trip with him. While in their new temporary "home" for the trip, the Raymonds find excellent new companions to swap stories with. There were personal stories told, and stories of heroic leaders in battles.
Back home at Woodburn though, Lulu steps upon a new family in need. Max discovers a delightful, hidden talent.

I just LOVED this particular book from the series, and I can't express that enough. You just HAVE to read it for yourself.

[Margaret Fraleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elsie is celebrating her 50th birthday with family and friends.

Captain Raymond has planned a trip west and has taken Max
and Lulu.

While out west they celebrate the 4th of July.

An terrible accident occurs with two girls Lulu has come to
christ their friendship.

[Faith Burnside · Rating 1 out of 5]

An excellent story of destroying the spirits of a perfectly sweet and passionate child

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series is a bit Calvinistic in its theology, and it's also a bit uber-Christian; i.e., the Christians are really, really good and the non-Christians are really, really bad. The further into the series you get, the more boring the books get because there are too many historical lectures in the later books rather than actual plots.

[Olivia Cornwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read. It had lots of history discusses between the characters. It was especially interesting to watch Max and the young boy from England discuss the differences between America and England.

[Sarah Violet · Rating 1 out of 5]

By the time I got to this book, I was more then fed up with Elsie.
This series just goes on, and on... and on, and on. Bleh.