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The Blue Envelope
“An Adventure Story for Girls”
Marian and Lucille seem to be in for the time of their lives ... in the worst sense.
First, they find a boy who seems exhausted from swimming, who must have been lost overboard from another boat. Taking him to their camp, they feed him and watch him fall asleep by the fire.
Then, later in the night, they hear a strange sound ... and discover the boy is gone — and along with him is their rowboat! Two young girls, trapped on an island off Alaska!
"The Blue Envelope" is a novel of danger and startling adventure, and of two girls who have the wits and stamina to face anything Fate throws at them!
Marian and Lucille seem to be in for the time of their lives ... in the worst sense.
First, they find a boy who seems exhausted from swimming, who must have been lost overboard from another boat. Taking him to their camp, they feed him and watch him fall asleep by the fire.
Then, later in the night, they hear a strange sound ... and discover the boy is gone — and along with him is their rowboat! Two young girls, trapped on an island off Alaska!
"The Blue Envelope" is a novel of danger and startling adventure, and of two girls who have the wits and stamina to face anything Fate throws at them!
140 pages, Kindle Edition
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26 people want to read
About the author
Roy J. Snell
245 books8 followersRoy Judson Snell wrote more than 84 novels for young adults under his own name and also using the pseudonyms David O'Hara, James Craig and Joseph Marino.
His tales were mostly directed at boys, though he wrote at least one series of mysteries for girls. He also wrote some animal fantasy tales for younger children and they began with 'Little White Fox and His Artic Friends' (1916). He was later to say that he sold the book for "the great sum of $6.24".
He also wrote a series entitled 'Radio- Phone Boys', which began with 'Curly Carson Listens In' (1922).
Born in Laddonia, Missouri, Snell moved to the Sycamore area and there he learned his father's trade of erecting windmills. He entered Wheaton academy after his 19th birthday, graduated, and then worked his way through Wheaton College, finishing with the class of
1906.
His brother's death led to him entering the ministry and he accepted the pastorate of a small church in rural Southern Illinois. After only a year he became principal of a church supported
school in the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky. "A person could just as
likely get shot as not there," Snell once remarked, and he added, "It was a constant struggle to see who would
take over the school — the big boys or me." He eventually won and gained the respect of his students and their parents alike.
He then spent two semesters' graduate study at Harvard, after which he went as a Congregationalist missionary to Alaska. While there he was responsible for over 350 Eskimos and 2,500 reindeer. He returned to
the area the following year, and afterwards he earned his B.D. degree at Chicago Seminary and his master's degree from the University of Chicago.
He briefly served in France with the Y.M.C.A. during World War 1, service which interrupted his new-found writing
career. Once he returned to the United States he began to write in earnest.
A dozen books flowed from his pen, most of them on adventure and mystery themes for youngsters, and then the author began lecturing and for the following 30 years he gave illustrated talks about his many travels.
He had a lengthy career as a novelist, claiming that he often wrote 2,000 words per hour, and was later to say, "You have to develop a second personality to write. It's a hard thing to do. Oftentimes I felt like giving up the whole business."
He continued, "I had all the luck on my side. If I were a young man today, I'd hesitate going into a writing career. I wouldn't know where to start. Kids don't read as much today with TV and movies. No I've had my day and I got out of it just what I wanted."
Readers also got what they wanted for as a testimony to his skill, more than one and one-half million copies of his books were sold.
He died in Wheaton, Illinois.
His tales were mostly directed at boys, though he wrote at least one series of mysteries for girls. He also wrote some animal fantasy tales for younger children and they began with 'Little White Fox and His Artic Friends' (1916). He was later to say that he sold the book for "the great sum of $6.24".
He also wrote a series entitled 'Radio- Phone Boys', which began with 'Curly Carson Listens In' (1922).
Born in Laddonia, Missouri, Snell moved to the Sycamore area and there he learned his father's trade of erecting windmills. He entered Wheaton academy after his 19th birthday, graduated, and then worked his way through Wheaton College, finishing with the class of
1906.
His brother's death led to him entering the ministry and he accepted the pastorate of a small church in rural Southern Illinois. After only a year he became principal of a church supported
school in the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky. "A person could just as
likely get shot as not there," Snell once remarked, and he added, "It was a constant struggle to see who would
take over the school — the big boys or me." He eventually won and gained the respect of his students and their parents alike.
He then spent two semesters' graduate study at Harvard, after which he went as a Congregationalist missionary to Alaska. While there he was responsible for over 350 Eskimos and 2,500 reindeer. He returned to
the area the following year, and afterwards he earned his B.D. degree at Chicago Seminary and his master's degree from the University of Chicago.
He briefly served in France with the Y.M.C.A. during World War 1, service which interrupted his new-found writing
career. Once he returned to the United States he began to write in earnest.
A dozen books flowed from his pen, most of them on adventure and mystery themes for youngsters, and then the author began lecturing and for the following 30 years he gave illustrated talks about his many travels.
He had a lengthy career as a novelist, claiming that he often wrote 2,000 words per hour, and was later to say, "You have to develop a second personality to write. It's a hard thing to do. Oftentimes I felt like giving up the whole business."
He continued, "I had all the luck on my side. If I were a young man today, I'd hesitate going into a writing career. I wouldn't know where to start. Kids don't read as much today with TV and movies. No I've had my day and I got out of it just what I wanted."
Readers also got what they wanted for as a testimony to his skill, more than one and one-half million copies of his books were sold.
He died in Wheaton, Illinois.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 29, 2016
Roy J. Snell wrote a ton of books for young readers, mostly during the 1920's to 40's. I was curious enough after seeing his name pop up so much at Gutenberg to make a list of his titles. I hadn't gotten to them until for a challenge I needed a book published in 1923 to replace one that has such tiny print my eyes refused to look twice at it. So the rest of the story is that the third title in Snell's Girl's Mystery Series was published in 1923. But of course I simply cannot knowingly skip any books in a series, so here we are with title #1.(I've already started #2, and #3 will probably be read in July. The point is, I am now nearly all set for that particular challenge task!)
But ya ya, enough trivia. What about The Blue Envelope? Well, it is interesting in many ways and annoying in many others. For one thing, the author has a preface which says that yes, all of the things that happen to our two main characters, cousins Lucile and Marian, could actually happen, and he goes on to cite various incidents of such escapades from real life. He also states that he spent time in the North himself so does understand how things work there. Was all of this a clever hook to get young ladies of his day to read? Because it felt like a defensive apology to me. But anyway....
Lucile and Marian are spending a month camping before they go on to their planned winter jobs in Cape Prince Of Wales, Alaska, where Lucile will teach in a 'native school' and Marian will sketch the life of the Eskimo for a ethnological society. Both girls are familiar with life in the outdoors. Marian grew up around Nome, Alaska, and Lucile's father has a fishing fleet in Washington state. They hunt, they fish, they can row boats and fend for themselves quite handily. But of course Lucile is slender, curly-haired, and practical; while Marian is chubby and artistic. Grrr. But it is Marian who
is the more active of the two throughout the story. Lucile spends a lot of time just sort of following along and sometimes whole chapters go by without a mention of her at all.
The envelope comes into things when they arrive at Cape Prince Of Wales and Marian takes over mail duty. Not as big a deal as it seems, since mail comes only by dogsled and usually only about ten letters or so at any one time. But one day a college boy shows up asking for a certain letter addressed to Phi Beta Ki. And Marian just gives him the letter without asking for any identification or proof of ownership! Then she frets about that, especially when a big hairy faced man asks about the same letter and demands that he be given any which might show up in the future. Which one was the true owner? And what could have been in the letter to have made two such different men so
interested?
There are assorted Northern adventures: a blizzard, the arrival of the pack ice which freezes the ocean, a trip across the Strait to Siberia, a chase by wolves, a mad dash across the pack ice. The story itself is pretty exciting, one of those that is hard to stop reading for fear of leaving the characters sliding to their doom, you know? But I couldn't help but wonder about the cold. It's the Bering Strait in winter, there are blizzards, pack ice, so on and so forth, and the girls are wearing skirts and petticoats?! They must have had native coats or other cold weather clothing but other
than a timely find of furs that they made into a sleeping bag, I don't remember any mention of such things. Perhaps I missed it in the rush to save them from their doom.
So, this was a fun and only slightly irritating book. I will say that Snell set the scenes quite nicely, and I was quickly transported to the icy seas with our cousins, and even though the solution of the mystery about the blue envelope turned out to be just a bit of a letdown to me, overall this book was interesting enough to have me looking forward to the second one.
But ya ya, enough trivia. What about The Blue Envelope? Well, it is interesting in many ways and annoying in many others. For one thing, the author has a preface which says that yes, all of the things that happen to our two main characters, cousins Lucile and Marian, could actually happen, and he goes on to cite various incidents of such escapades from real life. He also states that he spent time in the North himself so does understand how things work there. Was all of this a clever hook to get young ladies of his day to read? Because it felt like a defensive apology to me. But anyway....
Lucile and Marian are spending a month camping before they go on to their planned winter jobs in Cape Prince Of Wales, Alaska, where Lucile will teach in a 'native school' and Marian will sketch the life of the Eskimo for a ethnological society. Both girls are familiar with life in the outdoors. Marian grew up around Nome, Alaska, and Lucile's father has a fishing fleet in Washington state. They hunt, they fish, they can row boats and fend for themselves quite handily. But of course Lucile is slender, curly-haired, and practical; while Marian is chubby and artistic. Grrr. But it is Marian who
is the more active of the two throughout the story. Lucile spends a lot of time just sort of following along and sometimes whole chapters go by without a mention of her at all.
The envelope comes into things when they arrive at Cape Prince Of Wales and Marian takes over mail duty. Not as big a deal as it seems, since mail comes only by dogsled and usually only about ten letters or so at any one time. But one day a college boy shows up asking for a certain letter addressed to Phi Beta Ki. And Marian just gives him the letter without asking for any identification or proof of ownership! Then she frets about that, especially when a big hairy faced man asks about the same letter and demands that he be given any which might show up in the future. Which one was the true owner? And what could have been in the letter to have made two such different men so
interested?
There are assorted Northern adventures: a blizzard, the arrival of the pack ice which freezes the ocean, a trip across the Strait to Siberia, a chase by wolves, a mad dash across the pack ice. The story itself is pretty exciting, one of those that is hard to stop reading for fear of leaving the characters sliding to their doom, you know? But I couldn't help but wonder about the cold. It's the Bering Strait in winter, there are blizzards, pack ice, so on and so forth, and the girls are wearing skirts and petticoats?! They must have had native coats or other cold weather clothing but other
than a timely find of furs that they made into a sleeping bag, I don't remember any mention of such things. Perhaps I missed it in the rush to save them from their doom.
So, this was a fun and only slightly irritating book. I will say that Snell set the scenes quite nicely, and I was quickly transported to the icy seas with our cousins, and even though the solution of the mystery about the blue envelope turned out to be just a bit of a letdown to me, overall this book was interesting enough to have me looking forward to the second one.
August 18, 2020
of course i loved this charming story...mystery adventure and exotic places but most of all i loved it because it was written by my grandfather....He actually wrote more like 84 books of which only a few are listed here.
March 29, 2018
The only real disappointment I had with this book was how quickly and abruptly it ended; we went from 60 to 0 in about three pages. Although the story is set up like a mystery, it plays out more like an adventure, and after spending the entire book wondering about the strange blue envelope, it was a bit anti-climactic to get the resolution in such a quick, "oh, by the way, I might as well tell you" manner.
That said, the adventure itself was riveting! Two girls, an old dog, and a mysterious boy stranded in the unpredictable icy expanse between Alaska and Siberia--what could possibly go wrong? ;)
Content--a few mentions of native religious beliefs and superstitions and a white man who exploits them
That said, the adventure itself was riveting! Two girls, an old dog, and a mysterious boy stranded in the unpredictable icy expanse between Alaska and Siberia--what could possibly go wrong? ;)
Content--a few mentions of native religious beliefs and superstitions and a white man who exploits them
June 2, 2014
This book, an oldie that had that quality of innocence, yet so much high adventure--would two teenage girls really, honestly be alone in that environment in those days? Beyond the fact that I don't really think so, I'd like to think maybe I'm wrong :-)
I loved the decriptions and the heart-pounding adventures, and of course, the happy ending. The setting made it so that you didn't even notice that they didn't have cell phones or computers, they probably wouldn't have worked anyhow, so it was an easy transition. Just the kind of book I love. I thought about this one for days after I read it because I wasn't expecting it to affect me like it did.
I loved the decriptions and the heart-pounding adventures, and of course, the happy ending. The setting made it so that you didn't even notice that they didn't have cell phones or computers, they probably wouldn't have worked anyhow, so it was an easy transition. Just the kind of book I love. I thought about this one for days after I read it because I wasn't expecting it to affect me like it did.
November 27, 2013
Quite enjoyed this. Interesting story of travel in Alaska, by women, in the last century.
November 16, 2023
Published in 1922, this remarkable tale of two girls marooned on an iceberg between Russia and Alaska seems almost incredible. This is a survivalist tale, and usually such tales had in mind boys or young men as a target audience. The girls, two cousins keeping house for their father and brother, go hunting game, when a blizzard traps them far from home, and blots out all traces of any recognisable landmark. The girls wander into Siberia, into the land of the Chuckchi Eskimo, whence they are led back into Alaska by a friendly Chuckchi, but even here, they are stranded by the ice and the sea. Only ingenuity and courage help them stave off starvation and the deadly sleep.
There is a subplot buried here someplace, with a handsome young college boy and a grim bearded miner, but it is of no real interest.
Snell’s stories are meant for young adults, many based in Alaska and the Arctic, and several of them feature girls as protagonists. The problem with all adventure stories is that the plot takes over, leaving little scope for character build-up. Only Snell’s gifts as a storyteller allows him to let us see a difference in the characters of the two girls, one a dreamy artist and the other more practical, but neither able to survive without the other's skills.
There is a subplot buried here someplace, with a handsome young college boy and a grim bearded miner, but it is of no real interest.
Snell’s stories are meant for young adults, many based in Alaska and the Arctic, and several of them feature girls as protagonists. The problem with all adventure stories is that the plot takes over, leaving little scope for character build-up. Only Snell’s gifts as a storyteller allows him to let us see a difference in the characters of the two girls, one a dreamy artist and the other more practical, but neither able to survive without the other's skills.
December 14, 2019
A very good book this was indeed!
Two girl cousins- Lucile and Marian- embark on an adventure to Siberia so Marian can paint the natives and thus earn money by selling her sketches and paintings to attend a professional art school.
Vivid descriptions are drawn throughout of the vast ice-covered bodies of water, the frigid tundras, the seals and whales and fish and reindeer used by the eskimos and chukches in various uses, and the great dangers these northern countries contain.
This book is more of a survival and adventure story, for the mystery was lamely written, and not developed. Phi Beta Ki's real name was never even mentioned, and his search for the whalebone was not mysterious at all.
I enjoyed this book purely because of the Alaskan and Siberian geography, and of the adventures the two girls experienced.
I will definitely read more from this author!
Two girl cousins- Lucile and Marian- embark on an adventure to Siberia so Marian can paint the natives and thus earn money by selling her sketches and paintings to attend a professional art school.
Vivid descriptions are drawn throughout of the vast ice-covered bodies of water, the frigid tundras, the seals and whales and fish and reindeer used by the eskimos and chukches in various uses, and the great dangers these northern countries contain.
This book is more of a survival and adventure story, for the mystery was lamely written, and not developed. Phi Beta Ki's real name was never even mentioned, and his search for the whalebone was not mysterious at all.
I enjoyed this book purely because of the Alaskan and Siberian geography, and of the adventures the two girls experienced.
I will definitely read more from this author!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2018
I really enjoyed this adventure/mystery from 1922. Two cousins, Marion and Lucile, both graduating from high school, work their way across the Arctic,and from adventure to adventure. They deal with questionable traders, friendly and unfriendly native folks, and of course, the arctic environment.Here's the interesting thing, this was written in 1922, and the young ladies survive quite well without the guidance of a man. It looks like the women's movement made it to Alaska. The down side to the book is that the "mystery" was really downplayed, and like a lot of other books from this era, the ending was abrupt. It was fun to immerse myself in the wilderness on dogsleds without GPS. A fun read from a 1920's time capsule.
November 29, 2020
I found this girls’ adventure book to be delightful! Marion and Lucille are teenage cousins who have spent most of their lives in rugged outdoor activities. They face numerous treacherous hazards out on the floating ice islands in the seas of northern Alaska with great resourcefulness, facing a chain-reaction of one life-threatening problem after another. They join forces with a level-headed college boy they meet in relation to the blue-envelope mystery, and an old sled dog. There’s a rough miner who takes the part of the “bad guy” they try to avoid, and along the way they help several others in great distress. Details about the lives of several different bands of Alaskan natives are fascinating. Written in 1922, this book is the first of three about these spunky girls.
July 21, 2020
Although the author insists in the foreword that this story is possible, I still found it highly unlikely and improbable! Set mainly in the Alaskan wilderness in the early 1920s, two girls of about eighteen spend a winter there alone, one as a schoolteacher; the other an artist, making drawings of the natives. Their cabin also serves as a post office, which is where the Blue Envelope of the title comes in. Since it is oddly addressed, Marian is unsure if she has given it to the right person, when a second asks for it. This is followed by an trip to Siberia, and dangerous return across the ice, facing possibly hostile natives. Quite exciting, but . . .
April 16, 2018
Pleasant young girl’s tale about a harrowing Alaska adventure. Well narrated and free at Librivox. Recommended for adults as well.
February 10, 2019
An old book.
Interesting to read this old style book. It is adventurous. You get a sense of the culture of the time. An interesting read.
Interesting to read this old style book. It is adventurous. You get a sense of the culture of the time. An interesting read.
March 20, 2025
I found this tale quite enjoyable... even though I am not a girl.
May 14, 2024
A bit boring and not much of a mystery. Maybe that is of it's time?
October 13, 2015
I discovered that this is actually the first book in a series about two girl cousins. I found this book a bit odd. I might have liked it better if we learned more about the girls but there were very few details about them. The story is about two girl cousins who are camping in the Arctic Circle in Alaska and then go to Siberia so that one girl can paint the native Eskimos for Ethnology magazine. They had many adventures. I did like learning about Alaska's ice floes.
February 2, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A wonderful tale of two girls in Alaska on an adventure.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews