This impressive set of almost forty books is one of my cherished possessions. I collected most of them when I was twelve or thirteen years old, the same age as the title character. How I lived and breathed them, as did all my friends. I used to lend my copies around, and we'd all have great times rehashing them. We even attempted to set up a similar club to the Bob Whites of the Glen, which Trixie established with her friends and brothers. In retrospect, I find it awesome how a popular mystery series captured the imaginations of a whole bunch of Gen X tween girls to the extent that all we wanted to do in our leisure hours was read them.
Nostalgia has made me set this personal challenge. I intend to revisit the lot, from start to finish, just to see how they hold up decades down the track. I actually skimmed a few in the late nineties, when I was pregnant with my daughter, and found they helped distract me from feeling sick. Their easy-reading yet fascinating style was just what I needed at the time.
In these intervening years, I've read far more widely, including plenty of classics which have been deemed 'Must Reads'. I've completed an English degree, two graduate diplomas, and written novels of my own. I've delved into works of literary fiction which have been spoken up far and wide by learned people with lots of clout. Now I want to find out if the modest Trixie Belden books have managed to retain their charm and magic. For I can't deny that as far as pure fun is concerned, I've enjoyed these far more than some of those other more lofty books I've mentioned. I'm going to make allowances for the fact that I'm no longer the target audience age and find out how well they've worn.
I'll review them in blocks of three every few weeks. They're sadly out of print now, but secondhand copies may be floating about. If you're able to get your hands on some (and I believe there are kindle copies here and there) please join me.
I love that you skimmed a few when pregnant. They are indeed a distraction and a door to another world. Not the best writing but there's something so comforting about the characters.
ReplyDeleteExactly! They are like comfort food in story form.
DeleteThat's it, exactly.
ReplyDeleteI read these as well as the Three Investigators when I was a kid (The McGurk Organsation too-written by a Brit, takes place in the States-what else could be better for a rural Canadian kid like me?)
ReplyDeleteI liked the later books best because they were new when I read them and felt more contemporary (The first book was written in the 40s, whilst the last few were written in the 80s) *By the way, how can I be notified when there are replies to my comments?
This sort of style book is great, isn't it, these old syndicated series. Sounds like you are as far across the world from me as you can possibly be. I'm a native of South Australia. Born and bred down under. I'm not at all sure if notification of replies is possible. I might do a bit of research and see if I can find out.
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