What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Hi! This might be kind of a tough request to solve, but I'm hoping that someone out there remembers these books too. I only have a vague memory, because I read them when I was kind of little.

I'm looking for a very long series of books, probably around 8 or so, revolving around a large family. I remember each book having an updated family tree at the beginning, with a silhouette above each name--that stands out a lot to me. The detail I remember most is that I read them in a beautiful hardback with a purple flower pattern on the front, with an oval (real, I think) photo of one of the characters on each book. The photo I remember most clearly is of a young girl with auburn/dark curls.

I read them in the mid-2000s, maybe '05 or '06 or somewhere around there, although I got them from the library so I'm not sure when they were published. The books were fairly new and nice, though, so it's likely that they were newish. It was a historical fiction series. Unfortunately, I can't remember what specific time period it was, but I believe it was in the 1900s. I remember that a lot of the book was centered around family life. I think the father was rather controlling (?) and I remember that having children was a big deal and the family tree was pretty big. It's possible that one of the daughters was sickly. It had almost a juvenile Downton Abbey kind of feel to it. Over the course of the books, a few characters definitely died. The series may also have a 'sister' series of yellow hardback books taking place more recently, although I'm not sure if my mind is making that up or not.

Sorry if there weren't many details--I will post more if I remember! I've tried lots of vague search terms in a lot of different places to no avail and not knowing the title is just frustrating, lol. Hopefully someone out there has read these books!

It sounds like the Dear American series, such as: A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620, except all of them are about different girls from different time periods.

Jill wrote: "It sounds like the Dear American series, such as: A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620, except all of them are about different girls fro..."

It is not that series, unfortunately, but I did absolutely love those books! I definitely know that the series followed the same big family throughout. Thank you, though--I might have to read those again, too.

Allie, do you know if this might have been a Christian series?

Holly wrote: "Allie, do you know if this might have been a Christian series?"

Actually, it definitely might have been! It may have even been a Christian publisher, that feels very familiar and right.

Maybe the Elsie Dinsmore series by Martha Finley? I believe they were abridged and reprinted in the early 2000s, which could be why they seemed new.

Yes yes yes!!! It was the new abridged version. I did some Google-ing and it looks like they aren't as great as I remember, haha. Thank you so much. I can sleep easy now. You are honestly the best.

You're welcome! It took me about 20 minutes to remember the name "Elsie Dinsmore" but I had a hunch that was what you were looking for. I haven't read them myself, but I've heard of them.

Glad you found your book, Allie. Here's the series link - https://www.goodreads.com/series/4965...
The first book is Elsie Dinsmore by Martha Finley.

Kris wrote: "Glad you found your book, Allie. Here's the series link - https://www.goodreads.com/series/4965...
The first book is Elsie Dinsmore by Martha Finley."
Kris, I think Allie was looking for the abridged/adapted version: Elsie's Endless Wait (sorry, I was on my phone before and couldn't add it)

Holly, thanks for the clarification. I've added Elsie's Endless Wait to the group's bookshelf - but can change that if Allie says otherwise.