Mildred Keith Books

[roddma]

I was wondering if the Mildred Keith Books by Martha Finely were any better than Elsie Dinsmore. I downloaded the first book in the series on my Android but haven't read it yet.

[desertvixen]

I couldn't finish the first one.

[Mary C Doates]

I thought they were even more tiresome than Elsie Dinsmore, if you can believe it! It may be because I'd read some of the Elsie Dinsmore series first, so was pretty burnt out by all the weeping and cringing (Mildred Keith is nowhere as bad in that regard). I think I only made it though one of the series before giving up--just didn't find the character very interesting.

Of course, the price was right (free!), so at least you won't be wasting money on it if you end up disliking it.

[Trynn]

I thought the Mildred books were SO much better than Elsie Dimwit! I think it's because Elsie is being blatantly abused both before, during, and after her abuser's conversion. Mildred's parents might be control freaks, but they are not abusive. The sexism is also a bit more tolerable.

There is a bit less of an actual plot, but considering that the only plots this woman knows how to write involve beating a child into submission, I don't consider that a bad thing.

[mockingbird]

I read the A Life of Faith version of all of the first books. I thought Millie's (Mildred) was the best, because it had an actual plot. It was kind-of like a Christianized version of Little House on the Prairie or the Kirsten books from American Girl. Instead of Elsie beating herself up about how unGodly she is and going into a coma because her dad's abuse, Millie just had a normal prairie girl life and when something would come up where she got into trouble her parents would emphasize the God part of it (I don't remember any of the actual plot but say she did something mean to a friend, they would say something like that's a sin and doesn't please God or whatever). It sounds like they really changed that series, though.

[TrueRebel1]

It's been 10 years since I've read both series. I remember thinking that the Mildred series was a lot less enjoyable because the storyline wasn't as strong as the Elsie books. However, I think there may have been less strange religious-ness in the Mildred series.

[Trynn]

I read the A Life of Faith version of all of the first books. I thought Millie's (Mildred) was the best, because it had an actual plot. It was kind-of like a Christianized version of Little House on the Prairie or the Kirsten books from American Girl. Instead of Elsie beating herself up about how unGodly she is and going into a coma because her dad's abuse, Millie just had a normal prairie girl life and when something would come up where she got into trouble her parents would emphasize the God part of it (I don't remember any of the actual plot but say she did something mean to a friend, they would say something like that's a sin and doesn't please God or whatever). It sounds like they really changed that series, though.

I didn't realize exactly how much they'd changed the stories until I got my hands on the originals. The Life of Faith company changed A LOT about Millie's stories. For the most part, though, I think they did a good job of it. It was definitely a better read than the Life of Faith Elsie series.

I actually read the LOF version of the Elsie stories before I read the originals. The LOF version had me feeling like I was going to vomit. Stupidly, I thought the originals might actually be better...

[roddma]

Then there's a Violet Travilla series about Elsi'e daughter. I cana't find downloadable versions of them. The blog Forever in Hell use to give Elsie critiques or the Deconstruction of Elsie Dinsmore. I actually like Horace better in the later books but he is still controlling. It amazes me these books get 5 star ratings on Amazon.