Phyllis: A Twin

The Page Twins #2

by Dorothy Whitehill

The Page Twins series (generally just called The Twins), was written by Dorothy Whitehill. It is about Janet and Phyllis Page, identical twins who were separated at birth by their vengeful grandmother, and who don't discover each other until they are 13. The series features locales from Arizona to New York to Europe, and the characters are interesting. Janet and Plyllis both marry in the course of the series.

Genres: Fiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1920

Reviews

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this one more than I did, but unfortunately it's part two of a series and Whitehill simply didn't bother. We're given hints and scraps of Story One, but very little action in Story Two after the first couple of chapters. Lots of characters that the reader is supposed to know all about, and doesn't if they haven't found the first book (and as Gutenberg doesn't have it, I don't suppose I ever will). Most of the girls' fun times happen off-camera, with activities such as a visit or day out glossed over in one or two sentences after the fact. They build up to, say, a day spent helping Auntie with her "settlement girls"--then you turn the page and several days have passed, and it's all over! You never see how the day went. At one point one of the twins says, "I am so tired of dances and skate parties and afternoon teas. We've been going to them all winter." Well, the reader certainly hasn't! Even in 1920 New York City had a lot more to offer than Whitehill seems to care about--museums, concerts, ballet...but all we get are repeated (scamped-over) visits to the zoo to see the lion Akbar. Toward the end Phyllis says Jan can't tell a story of something that happened to her because "she leaves all the best part out." Well, so does Whitehill.

Did I say no action? Oh, there is, but not much to do with the girls themselves learning to live together. No, for that we have a less-than-believable kidnapping of a small child! I can't shelve this as "social realism" because nothing happens. It's a lazy regurgitation of the first book with a few added bits.

Huge disappointment.