Daddy-Long-Legs

[igenlode]

While throwing out my old exercise-books I discovered the following document embedded amongst discussions of "My Family and Other Animals" and analyses of the character of Julia Pendleton.

It was evidently something we were set to do at school, and on reading on further in my schoolwork I discovered that it is actually fan-fiction for a 1912 novel entitled Daddy-Long-Legs (and having discovered the original on Project Gutenberg, I'm quite impressed by how well I managed to capture the character's canon voice!) Possibly the first piece of fan-fiction I ever did, if you don't count things like "write an account of the events of 'Romeo and Juliet' in the form of a newspaper article showing a clear bias towards either the Montague or Capulet side".

The funny thing is that I have absolutely no recollection of ever having read the novel at all -- and I thought I remembered every book I ever knew. We must have studied it in some detail, for there are three or four references to it in that term's work! The other funny thing is that my rough notes contain the instruction to use 'fudge episode', and yet this particular episode doesn't seem to appear in the book at all...

---

Nov 2nd

Dear Daddy-Long-Legs,

Julia and Sallie and I have been having very earnest discussions about our New Year's resolutions — at least Julia has been stating hers and suggesting ours! Sallie and I meekly agreed with everything she said and then went away and decided on something different. Unluckily Julia found out and is very offended.

Do you make New Year's resolutions, Daddy? I think that you might make one to write to me! But I mustn't complain, and you did send me a card — once.

If only you would write me a letter, it would help me to know what sort of a person you are. You know, Daddy, you can always tell a lot about a person by reading a letter they wrote. Is that why you won't write to me?

It's really very silly of you to keep your identity such a secret, but I expect you have your reasons — and they're probably selfish ones!

No, I didn't really mean it, Daddy dear.

I got into a very awkward discussion with Sallie about brothers this morning. She could talk about Jimmie McBride but I hadn't got anything to talk about except you, and I couldn't seem to compare you with Jimmie, as portrayed by Sallie — although I didn't recognise her description!

Were you ever a naughty little boy? I'm sure you weren't.

We made fudge again on Saturday. From my letters you must have the impression that we live on a perpetual diet of fudge! This batch was very successful — it would have been better if I had not accidentally broken the thermometer. The fudge got boiled a little too hard and almost became caramel.

However, I think I did very well to boil the mixture properly at all without a thermometer. After that we had a grand fudge-party — even Julia joined in!

There was such a rumpus that one of the Seniors came up to stop it. And would you believe it, the very next day the sermon was about behaving in a pious and lady-like fashion, and not losing femininity through education! I was sure that the clergyman was looking right at me. I could happily have vanished into the ground.

(Also I fancy that the cook will not be too pleased about the thermometer.)

I had a grand repentance session afterwards. Master Jervie came to see Julia and said that I was being very silly. Do you think he was right? I'm beginning to have dreadful suspicions myself.

Your very silly

and truly remorseful,

Judy Abbott

Comments

[pedanther]

The fudge episode is in the letter dated 4th May:

Perhaps you think, last night being Friday, with no classes today, that I passed a nice quiet, readable evening with the set of Stevenson that I bought with my prize money? But if so, you've never attended a girls' college, Daddy dear. Six friends dropped in to make fudge, and one of them dropped the fudge—while it was still liquid—right in the middle of our best rug. We shall never be able to clean up the mess.

Followed by another (apparently less incident-filled) fudge-making attempt in the letter dated 14th December.

The specific incident described in your letter isn't in the book, but then I wouldn't expect it to be.

[igenlode]

There also seems to be an earlier occasion when they had a 'candy-pull' in the college kitchens, which I suspect influenced my account (judging by the reference to the thermometer belonging to the 'cook', which wouldn't have been the case if they were making fudge in their rooms -- I wonder how? Over the study fire?)

Ironically, being now old enough to have made fudge for real on my own account, I know that you don't actually need a thermometer at all to test for the right heat... and in that era they would certainly have done it the way my old recipe instructs, by boiling the mixture and testing it consecutively through the 'thread', 'pearl' and 'soft ball' stages in cold water. Fudge is actually the easiest of the boiled sweets to do, as the sugar stays at the 'soft ball' stage for quite a long period as you heat it before getting any harder.

I did question mentally whether it was canonical for Judy to refer to 'Master Jervie' at that stage in the story, but the fudge references in fact come quite late on -- after the stay at the farm -- so it's appropriate after all. Almost certainly by coincidence, I imagine, since I wasn't nearly so fussy about that sort of thing at the age of eleven!