Hildegarde's Neighbors

Hildegarde #4

by E. Laura Richards

Hildegarde Grahame and her mother establish a friendly relationship with their new next door neighbors, the Merryweather family, in this fourth book in Laura E. Richards' Hildegarde series.

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1895

Reviews

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am liking each Hildegarde book better as the series goes on. This was my favorite thus far. On to the last one!

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hildegarde Grahame makes a host of new friends in this fourth installment of Laura E. Richards' series devoted to her adventures, as she and her mother first become acquainted, and then intimately friendly with their new neighbors, the boisterous, fun-loving Merryweather family. From genial Mr. Merryweather and kind but absent-minded Mrs. Merryweather, to eldest daughter Bell (Isabel), a college girl on vacation, and her younger sister "Toots" (Gertrude), whose clumsiness is a byword in the family - not to mention those mischievous red-headed twins Gerald and Philip (better known to themselves by the nicknames Obadiah and Ferguson), and the younger children, Will and Kitty - the Yellow House, now renamed the "Pumpkin House" in honor of a popular children's story, is full to the brim with laughter and love. Hildegarde, who turns eighteen during the course of the story, is drawn naturally into their warm and friendly circle, finding a confidante and sister in Bell, and jolly companionship with all. When Mrs. Grahame is called away to care for Cousin Wealthy Bond - at whose home Hildegarde stayed, in Hildegarde's Holiday - our heroine is included in a camping trip on a nearby lake, where the first hint of romance - in the form of Mr. Merryweather's younger half-brother, Professor Roger Merryweather ("Roger the Codger" to his young relatives) - enters her life...

I enjoyed Hildegarde's Neighbors immensely, despite feeling at times, that little actually happened, during the course of the story. A large family moved into the house just next door to Braeside, the Grahames became acquainted with them, and Hildegarde went on a camping trip. Of course, there was her eighteenth birthday party, hosted by Colonel Ferrars (first encountered in Hildegarde's Home ), as well as the highly dramatic incident in which she and Roger were caught in a terrible thunderstorm, while canoeing on the lake. Not to mention the highly amusing visit from Hildegarde's former society-girl friend from New York City, the snobby, fashion-conscious Madge Everton, whose appearance, I suspect, is meant to highlight how much our heroine has changed, from her days as "Queen Hildegarde." So perhaps it would be fairer to say that, although quite a bit happens in the course of the book, it doesn't feel like the separate incidents move together, toward some final storytelling goal, or narrative climax.

Still, despite that fact, I enjoyed "visiting" with this character again, and seeing her develop more fully as a young woman - her realization that science is actually a fascinating subject, thanks to her discussions with Roger, is really quite charming - and finished the book with a desire to read more. I could have lived without the scene in which the Merryweather boys "play Indian," approximately midway through the book - plenty of shrieking, and talk of capturing the "squaws" - but this is thankfully brief, and is not, in my opinion, a central part of the story (although contemporary readers might want to bear it in mind, when approaching the book). All in all, this is an engaging entry in a very enjoyable vintage series, and I finished it with a strong desire to pick up the final title, Hildegarde's Harvest , to see how it all works out.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Merryweather family most heartily, especially how they accept each other's failings and foibles as normal and laugh with each other, without mockery. However.
I'm used to the Hildegarde series being episodic, with no real plot, but this instalment is just scrappy. Suddenly halfway through, with no set up, you turn a page and Hildegarde is sitting at "the lake shore" with Belle Merryweather washing "the dishes" for "the camp." What? Oh. Author sums up what could have been a promising subplot in about three sentences that get her adored Mammina out of the way for the rest of the book and sweep Hilda off to the Merryweathers' summer cabin at the lake, which is primitive in the extreme but all taken in stride. Ro-mance seems to be in the air with a new character, but we can't be sure. (Yeah we can.)

Her "bosom friend" Rose is married off to the surgeon who saved her legs, off page of course, and also told in two sentences. "I'm tired of this character, let's shuffle her off into matrimony."So of course she marries a much older man she's indebted to. Ick.

[Danada · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this sweet simple series about Hilda and the wonderful people she meets and makes friends with and often changes their lives for the better! In this story we meet Hilda's new neighbors The Merriweathers! What a merry family they are!