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Vesper Holly #5
The Philadelphia Adventure
Vesper Holly has foiled murderers, crossed mountains, and narrowly escaped earthquakes. Now she's home in Philadelphia, where she can relax-until President Ulysses S. Grant asks for her help. The Centennial Exposition of 1876 is about to begin, and luminaries from around the world will be there. But so will Vesper's arch-nemesis, the evil Doctor Helvetius. There's only one person who can thwart his evil plans-Vesper Holly!
150 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
1 person is currently reading
421 people want to read
About the author
Lloyd Alexander
134 books2,105 followersLloyd Chudley Alexander was an influential American author of more than forty books, mostly fantasy novels for children and adolescents, as well as several adult books. His most famous contribution to the field of children's literature is the fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain. The concluding book of the series,
The High King
, was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1969. Alexander's other books have also won the National Book Award and the American Book Award. He was also one of the creators of Cricket Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 16, 2014
Five books into the Vesper Holly series, Lloyd Alexander finally switches up his formula, and it's a welcome change.
I don't mean that Dr. Helvitius isn't present - hahahaha no, sadly, this useless villain is still the main antagonist, and it's gotten to the point where I don't even want to discuss him in my reviews because I'm so tired of him - but this isn't a typical Vesper Holly adventure in every other sense.
First and most importantly, (as one can immediately tell from the title) this story doesn't take place in some made-up exotic land, but almost literally in Vesper's backyard. Not only is the story set in a real location, but the plot revolves around real people and events from history: the story starts with Ulysses S. Grant ("call me Sam" he tells Vesper, as presidents do when conversing with twenty-year-old women they have just met) coming to Vesper's mansion and informing her that that dastardly villain Dr. Helvitius (cue eyerolling and muttered, "Christ, already?" from yours truly) has kidnapped the two young children of the emperor of Brazil. The reason that Grant has come to Vesper for help is because Helvitius is demanding that the ransom for the kids be delivered by Vesper herself. Because that's a good idea. At this point, I'm starting to think that Helvitius just has a crush on Vesper and, in true rom-com style, keeps coming up with increasingly ridiculous plots just so Vesper can show up and foil them. The ransom itself involves the emperor basically handing over control of Brazil's economy to Helvitius, and it's reminiscent of Dr. Evil's demand for ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS in exchange for not blowing up the world.
Anyway, Vesper leaps into action with the whole Vesper Holly Gang - Brinnie, Smiler, and Slider - and a new addition to the group. His name is Tobias Passavant, his nickname is The Weed, and he has apparently been living in the Holly mansion for several months while he uses Dr. Holly's library for his research. His introduction is about as abrupt and nonsensical as that time Dawn Summers joined the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the end of season four (as I did when I compared Vesper to Lara Croft, I'm crediting Alexander with taking inspiration from something that didn't exist yet - this book was published in 1990, long before Buffy and the gang showed up). Anyway, The Weed is basically a human Deus Ex Machina, appearing whenever Vesper and the others are in trouble and having an unimaginably vast sphere of allies - they include sailors, hunters, a Philadelphia pretzel vendor, and President Grant. He and Vesper are obviously going to bang.
The plot moves at typical Vesper Holly breakneck pace, and culminates with the gang trying to locate a bomb that Helvitius has placed at the Centennial Exposition (an event that actually happened in 1876, which the Emperor of Brazil did in fact attend). The ending is a little anticlimactic ("I found the bomb!" "Oh no!" "It's cool, I disarmed it." "Hooray!") but the rest of the story moves along at an appropriately fast clip. Also my favorite character, Aunt Mary, makes a brief appearance where she outwits Helvitius, cementing her status as the most capable person in the book. I know that there's only one more book to go in this series, but I still hold out hope that Mary will be our final narrator. There's also a nice little Sherlock Holmes reference, where Brinnie witnesses Vesper and Helvitius grappling with each other and plunging into a river - neither one of them is dead, obviously, because like I said, we still have one more book.
It's weird to say that I liked this book so much because it was rooted in reality, because realism has never been a selling point of the Vesper Holly books. But this story is proof of the saying that the truth is stranger than fiction - the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition might not have actually been threatened by an incompetent supervillain, but all the other details Alexander provides are true, including the little detail about how the Emperor of Brazil was responsible for making sure everyone noticed the little display by an unknown man named Alexander Graham Bell. There's a nice afterword where Lloyd Alexander explains all of his historical inspirations for the book, and it was enough to make me wish that the entire series had been like this: Vesper Holly has fantastical adventures in real cities while sneakily teaching kids about awesome real stories from history. But since the final book in the Vesper Holly series is called The Xanadu Adventure, I doubt that this is the direction Alexander will take things.
It's not a typical Vesper Holly story, but The Philadelphia Adventure is a fun little digression from the usual formula. Appreciating a Vesper Holly adventure because it's rooted in reality is not something I would have expected, but Vesper has always been able to surprise me.
I don't mean that Dr. Helvitius isn't present - hahahaha no, sadly, this useless villain is still the main antagonist, and it's gotten to the point where I don't even want to discuss him in my reviews because I'm so tired of him - but this isn't a typical Vesper Holly adventure in every other sense.
First and most importantly, (as one can immediately tell from the title) this story doesn't take place in some made-up exotic land, but almost literally in Vesper's backyard. Not only is the story set in a real location, but the plot revolves around real people and events from history: the story starts with Ulysses S. Grant ("call me Sam" he tells Vesper, as presidents do when conversing with twenty-year-old women they have just met) coming to Vesper's mansion and informing her that that dastardly villain Dr. Helvitius (cue eyerolling and muttered, "Christ, already?" from yours truly) has kidnapped the two young children of the emperor of Brazil. The reason that Grant has come to Vesper for help is because Helvitius is demanding that the ransom for the kids be delivered by Vesper herself. Because that's a good idea. At this point, I'm starting to think that Helvitius just has a crush on Vesper and, in true rom-com style, keeps coming up with increasingly ridiculous plots just so Vesper can show up and foil them. The ransom itself involves the emperor basically handing over control of Brazil's economy to Helvitius, and it's reminiscent of Dr. Evil's demand for ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS in exchange for not blowing up the world.
Anyway, Vesper leaps into action with the whole Vesper Holly Gang - Brinnie, Smiler, and Slider - and a new addition to the group. His name is Tobias Passavant, his nickname is The Weed, and he has apparently been living in the Holly mansion for several months while he uses Dr. Holly's library for his research. His introduction is about as abrupt and nonsensical as that time Dawn Summers joined the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the end of season four (as I did when I compared Vesper to Lara Croft, I'm crediting Alexander with taking inspiration from something that didn't exist yet - this book was published in 1990, long before Buffy and the gang showed up). Anyway, The Weed is basically a human Deus Ex Machina, appearing whenever Vesper and the others are in trouble and having an unimaginably vast sphere of allies - they include sailors, hunters, a Philadelphia pretzel vendor, and President Grant. He and Vesper are obviously going to bang.
The plot moves at typical Vesper Holly breakneck pace, and culminates with the gang trying to locate a bomb that Helvitius has placed at the Centennial Exposition (an event that actually happened in 1876, which the Emperor of Brazil did in fact attend). The ending is a little anticlimactic ("I found the bomb!" "Oh no!" "It's cool, I disarmed it." "Hooray!") but the rest of the story moves along at an appropriately fast clip. Also my favorite character, Aunt Mary, makes a brief appearance where she outwits Helvitius, cementing her status as the most capable person in the book. I know that there's only one more book to go in this series, but I still hold out hope that Mary will be our final narrator. There's also a nice little Sherlock Holmes reference, where Brinnie witnesses Vesper and Helvitius grappling with each other and plunging into a river - neither one of them is dead, obviously, because like I said, we still have one more book.
It's weird to say that I liked this book so much because it was rooted in reality, because realism has never been a selling point of the Vesper Holly books. But this story is proof of the saying that the truth is stranger than fiction - the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition might not have actually been threatened by an incompetent supervillain, but all the other details Alexander provides are true, including the little detail about how the Emperor of Brazil was responsible for making sure everyone noticed the little display by an unknown man named Alexander Graham Bell. There's a nice afterword where Lloyd Alexander explains all of his historical inspirations for the book, and it was enough to make me wish that the entire series had been like this: Vesper Holly has fantastical adventures in real cities while sneakily teaching kids about awesome real stories from history. But since the final book in the Vesper Holly series is called The Xanadu Adventure, I doubt that this is the direction Alexander will take things.
It's not a typical Vesper Holly story, but The Philadelphia Adventure is a fun little digression from the usual formula. Appreciating a Vesper Holly adventure because it's rooted in reality is not something I would have expected, but Vesper has always been able to surprise me.
January 19, 2020
3.5 stars
The first Vesper Holly book I ever read, and the first to fully take place in Vesper's hometown, Philadelphia! What stands out most in this one is the pacing and the characters, especially Toby, who is pretty enjoyable and a bit of a foil to Brinnie. Things move very quickly in this particular book and don't always feel like they were developed to their full potential, but it's still a nice rainy day book if you want an adventure that isn't too intense.
The first Vesper Holly book I ever read, and the first to fully take place in Vesper's hometown, Philadelphia! What stands out most in this one is the pacing and the characters, especially Toby, who is pretty enjoyable and a bit of a foil to Brinnie. Things move very quickly in this particular book and don't always feel like they were developed to their full potential, but it's still a nice rainy day book if you want an adventure that isn't too intense.
June 29, 2007
Okay, so time to revisit my childhood. First of all I loved everything that Lloyd Alexander wrote, he was my favorite author! The Vesper Holly series is like Indiana Jones except it has a beautiful, witty and resourceful heroine instead of Indy. I am fairly certain that had I met Vesper Holly at the time I would have proposed marriage, I had a huge crush on a literary character. Its true, I am not ashamed of it! :*)
January 23, 2019
The Philadelphia Adventure is the laziest book in a fairly lazy series (to date; I haven't read the last entry yet).
Vesper Holly is a nice trope of a character--brilliant, charming, eternally morally righteous, rich, etc. She is a millionaire gentleman, globetrotting, teenage woman. Nothing too interesting, but not necessarily a bad sketch. The narrator of this series, Brinnie, is a more interesting character, being at once stuffy, impetuous, cowardly, and not without resource. Some have suggested they are characters from Indiana Jones, but they feel to me more like weak caricatures of Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Their perpetual antagonist, Dr. Helviticus, seems like a poorly realized sketch of Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget--eternally armed with plots to conquer the world through a preposterous network of agents and planning. Alas, he is also afflicted with the James Bond villains' immortal flaw of exposition and willful imprisonment of nemeses that he should obviously just off.
As trope adventures, the books in this series are generally fine—light, unchallenging reads with occasional bits of humor and cleverness. The trouble with the Philadelphia entry, which I vaguely recall looking forward to reading 2 or 3 books back in the series as a radical departure in setting, is that it is the most decidedly self-referential of the books. Dipping liberally into references to previous adventures and characters that have neither relevance nor bearing on the story itself, the book is often tiresome. Indeed, the whole concept for the series seems very tired by this novel, and that rather dampens the few cute/clever moments that arise. Alexander did do some research for this entry, and he clearly takes great relish in a few of the descriptions of setting, seeing as it is set in his own childhood stomping grounds. These high points don't really elevate the novel though, and it is a decidedly disappointing read from someone as technically talented and imaginative as Alexander.
Vesper Holly is a nice trope of a character--brilliant, charming, eternally morally righteous, rich, etc. She is a millionaire gentleman, globetrotting, teenage woman. Nothing too interesting, but not necessarily a bad sketch. The narrator of this series, Brinnie, is a more interesting character, being at once stuffy, impetuous, cowardly, and not without resource. Some have suggested they are characters from Indiana Jones, but they feel to me more like weak caricatures of Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Their perpetual antagonist, Dr. Helviticus, seems like a poorly realized sketch of Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget--eternally armed with plots to conquer the world through a preposterous network of agents and planning. Alas, he is also afflicted with the James Bond villains' immortal flaw of exposition and willful imprisonment of nemeses that he should obviously just off.
As trope adventures, the books in this series are generally fine—light, unchallenging reads with occasional bits of humor and cleverness. The trouble with the Philadelphia entry, which I vaguely recall looking forward to reading 2 or 3 books back in the series as a radical departure in setting, is that it is the most decidedly self-referential of the books. Dipping liberally into references to previous adventures and characters that have neither relevance nor bearing on the story itself, the book is often tiresome. Indeed, the whole concept for the series seems very tired by this novel, and that rather dampens the few cute/clever moments that arise. Alexander did do some research for this entry, and he clearly takes great relish in a few of the descriptions of setting, seeing as it is set in his own childhood stomping grounds. These high points don't really elevate the novel though, and it is a decidedly disappointing read from someone as technically talented and imaginative as Alexander.
July 18, 2022
I might give this one a four if it wasn't the same villain all over again. Or if he had vanished from the last two books and popped up again in this one, I think he'd be more imposing. It's an extreme plan, but the scale is impressive. Given the place in the series, I like that they set something in Vesper and Brinnie's hometown rather than sending her out. It'll be interesting to see if The Weed sticks around for the last book.
I do appreciate that Alexander incorporated more real history and included a letter than clarified what was reality vs. imagination. Nice in any historical fiction, but extra nice when it's for a kid audience. It's often the anecdotes and odd ball minutiae that makes history come alive.
I know I put in a lot of my reviews how adaptable to a film or series the book is. This series... eh. I think there are elements that can work, but nothing that hasn't been done or done better elsewhere. I'd be extremely happy to see the Prydain series or Westmark Trilogy, but I think even something like Time Cat I would rather see adapted first.
Where I think Vesper Holly might work is a video game format. Kind of Tomb Raider-ish but aimed younger with some real geography/history mixed in ala Carmen Sandiego, but with more emphasis on the hero than the villain.
I do appreciate that Alexander incorporated more real history and included a letter than clarified what was reality vs. imagination. Nice in any historical fiction, but extra nice when it's for a kid audience. It's often the anecdotes and odd ball minutiae that makes history come alive.
I know I put in a lot of my reviews how adaptable to a film or series the book is. This series... eh. I think there are elements that can work, but nothing that hasn't been done or done better elsewhere. I'd be extremely happy to see the Prydain series or Westmark Trilogy, but I think even something like Time Cat I would rather see adapted first.
Where I think Vesper Holly might work is a video game format. Kind of Tomb Raider-ish but aimed younger with some real geography/history mixed in ala Carmen Sandiego, but with more emphasis on the hero than the villain.
September 19, 2019
Another exciting installment in the Vesper Holly Adventure series. And whereas the previous four books in the series have a quality reminiscent of "historical fiction," The Philadelphia Adventure is actually something closely akin to that genre, set not in some realistic imaginary country, but in the real context of 1876 Philadelphia. Although the villain returns yet again, of course, the plot and story line follow a somewhat different track than the previous books, providing some fresh change of pace. And as the setting is the more-or-less lifelong home of the author, there is a a pleasant and tender affection to be found in his telling of the tale.
November 16, 2023
It was a fun adventure and the first Vesper Holly book that I have read. I have to admit though I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would as the narrator grated on my nerves. Still a fun read with some great characters.
August 18, 2017
I like Philadelphia, it seems.
August 5, 2011
Instead of adventuring in a fictional place, this fifth book in the Vesper Holly series is set in 1876 Philadelphia and concerns a real event, the Centennial Exposition. President Ulysses Grant (fictionally) asks Vesper's assistance with the kidnapping of two children connected with the delegation from Brazil. Vesper, Brinnie, and a new interesting character and possible future love interest for Vesper, "Weed," have their usual exciting adventures in the greater Philadelphia area.
I loved the more authentic setting and the author's note at the end of the book about the time and place and how much is true.
I loved the more authentic setting and the author's note at the end of the book about the time and place and how much is true.
March 18, 2016
Genre: realistic fantasy
Summary: Vesper Holly is the most perfect heroine in the world. A mix of Sherlock Holmes with Indiana Jones, Vesper continually thwarts the plans of her archenemy, Dr. Helvitius. This book is set during the world exhibition, where Vesper must save two children belonging to the ruler of Brazil who Helvitius is attempting to blackmail.
Response: I love Lloyd Alexander. I love these books, especially for a young, smart girl reader. Vesper is such a good heroine. The books aren't too dense (content-wise) but just a fun read.
Summary: Vesper Holly is the most perfect heroine in the world. A mix of Sherlock Holmes with Indiana Jones, Vesper continually thwarts the plans of her archenemy, Dr. Helvitius. This book is set during the world exhibition, where Vesper must save two children belonging to the ruler of Brazil who Helvitius is attempting to blackmail.
Response: I love Lloyd Alexander. I love these books, especially for a young, smart girl reader. Vesper is such a good heroine. The books aren't too dense (content-wise) but just a fun read.
January 3, 2013
A great series in the style of Doc Savage and other pulp heroes. Holly Vesper is a stong, opinionated young lady, very different from many of her ilk in 1876 Philadelphia. She is a hometown girl and, with her erstwile compatriots (including our humble narrator), she is excited to see the World's Fair and her country's centennial happen so near to her home (Lloyd Alexander was also a Philadelphian native).
When she finds that there is a plot afoot to kill the president (and ruin the Fair!) she does what she always does- takes extrodiany measures to keep that from happening!
When she finds that there is a plot afoot to kill the president (and ruin the Fair!) she does what she always does- takes extrodiany measures to keep that from happening!
February 27, 2008
Lloyd Alexander is an awesome writer of children's books. But his best stories are the Prydain chronicles and the stand alone books like The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen, the Wizard in the Tree, etc.
January 6, 2010
One of the Vesper Holly Adventures, this book is sure to give you a fun ride. These books are quick reads, both well-written and easily read. My only complaint is for lack of depth. These books compare closely with popular series such as National Treasure, Indiana Jones, and the Tombraider video game series--very much the crowd pleasers, but not necessarily a lot more than that.
July 29, 2011
I liked this wrap-up. I won't exactly miss Vesper Holly, but I'm glad I met her. A new character appears who keeps reminding Brinnie of all the friends they've met along the way while exasperating him completely, so I know we've left Vesper in good hands!
I especially liked the Author's Note at the end, so don't skip that.
I especially liked the Author's Note at the end, so don't skip that.
May 27, 2010
"Beans!"
Enter The Weed! Annoyance for Uncle Brinnie, Delight for the rest of us!
Enter The Weed! Annoyance for Uncle Brinnie, Delight for the rest of us!
July 11, 2013
What's not to like about adventure, travel, and Vesper Holly?
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