Transgressions

By Sarah Dunant

Elizabeth is a modern woman. Smart. Independent. As sexual as she wants to be–with whomever she wants to be. But a breakup with her academic boyfriend has hit her harder than she cares to admit. And while her latest gig, translating a glitzy Czech thriller into English, offends her literary sensibilities, it arouses others with its steamy scenes of eroticism, violence, submission, and dominance.

Then, when her favorite Van Morrison CD disappears from its rack and her house is inexplicably violated, Elizabeth is afraid she’s starting to lose it–she even consults a local vicar about the possibility of poltergeists.

But what this woman in the lovely Victorian is experiencing is not supernatural. Nor is it madness. For in the dead of night, she will suddenly come face-to-face with her tormentor. She will smell him, she will touch him, and she will make a choice. Then the real haunting will begin.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 14, 2005
• ISBN: 9781588364821

Sarah Dunant

Sarah Dunant has written eight novels, including The Birth of Venus and three Hannah Wolfe novels—Birth Marks, Fatlands, and Under My Skin. She has worked widely in print, television, and radio. Now a full-time writer, she lives in London and Florence.

Reviews for Transgressions

[judithproctor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my Dreamwidth friends recently mentioned "Daddy Long Legs" in her journal. My brain went "You can get it free on Project Gutenberg!" and about half an hour later, I had it on my ebook reader. It's an absolutely delightful book. I originally read this when I as young and never forgot it. I was pleased to discover that I enjoyed it even more as an adult.It's a series of letters from an orphan to the mysterious benefactor who is paying for her college education. She doesn't know what his name is, but the deal is that he supports her education as long as she writes him a regular letter about what she's doing. As she's only even seen his elongated shadow, she nicknames him "Daddy Long Legs".She tells him about what she's learning, what she thinks of it, cheerfully berates him for never writing back, tells him of what she gets upto with her friends, comments on all kinds of things with a cheerful irreverence. (She knows that one of the reasons he chose to help her is that she wrote a humorous school essay mocking the trustees' annual visit to the orphanage)It's partly a wonderful window into the world of 1912, from the social attitudes to orphans, to the clothes worn by young women, but it's also very funny. I laughed out loud several times while reading it.There's a romance that develops between Judy and a relative of one of her college friends, but she is concerned about her background and the fact that he comes from an upper-class family. (Orphans really were low status back then)It reminds me a little of "84 Charring Cross Rd". There's the same love of literature, and the same cheerful, humorous, slightly disrespectful but fond attitude towards the correspondent.You can get it for free! Read it. Far more fun than most classics.

[anneofia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story, told in a series of letters, follows an orphan from her youth in the orphanage to college, which is provided by an anonymous benefactor who only asks that she keep him updated as to her progress. I loved this book as a child and read it many times.

[riofriotex · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The audiobook reader, Julia Whelan, sounded the right age (17-21), but read too fast, not pausing enough between the letters. Predictable ending. Couldn't view the downloadable material which supposedly includes some very childish stick-figure drawings (some referred to in the text) by Webster. Sounds like it is no great loss.

[booksovertv · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it, very entertaining. A reread for sure.

[lycomayflower · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I never read this as a kid, but I remember a friend carrying it around with her a lot. @foggidawn reviewed it a little while ago, bringing it back to my attention, and it sounded like fun. I loved it and got very caught up in all the little details of women's college life in the 1910s. The identity of the "mysterious" Daddy-Long-Legs seemed very obvious to me, though I rather suspect I might not have thought so if I had read this when I was ~nine. While some of the story is a bit dated, very little terribly much bothered my modern sensibilities, especially as I think Jersuha would have been a fairly forward-thinking and "modern" woman in her time.

[foggidawn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Seventeen-year-old Jerusha Abbott has spent her entire life at the John Grier Home, an orphanage. When one of the trustees takes an interest in her (due to a humorous but unflattering essay on visiting day at the orphanage) and decides to send her to college. He elects to remain anonymous; all Jerusha knows is that he is tall (she caught a glimpse of him silhouetted in the doorway on his way out), rich, and has only ever sponsored the education of boys before. One of the conditions of her education is that she is to write him monthly letters on her progress, with the understanding that he will not respond in any way. This book comprises that one-way correspondence, and readers will soon find themselves charmed by Jerusha's youthful exuberance and zest for life. But will she ever discover the identity of her mysterious benefactor?Some aspects of this book are indicative of its time, but all in all, I think it holds up pretty well. I know of readers who are bothered by certain aspects of the book, particularly the ending, but I find I don't mind them, even on a second reading. All in all, I found it a pleasant, quick reread, and will probably read it again at some time in the future.

[strandbooks_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I picked this up at the Books on Tap book club at Forager. It was recommended by one of Rochester's librarians as one of her favorites as a kid. It surprised me that it was written in 1912. The story follows Jerusha, an orphan, who is picked by a secret trustee of the orphanage to go to college. The story is predictable, but fun to read. I know if I had read it at age 12 it would have been a favorite like Anne of Green Gables, David Copperfield and Oliver Twist. Books about orphans seem to be a successful formula for pre-teens!

[jean_sexton-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

How did I miss this book for so long? It was a thoroughly delightful book that made me smile and laugh out loud. There are really two main characters in the book. Jerusha Abbott writes letters to her benefactor whom she calls Daddy Long Legs, well, most of the time. The other is the unseen Daddy Long Legs.I fell in love with Jerusha. She's remarkable independent, especially considering the time period the book was written in. She has a keen eye for people and the ability to make the reader see them, too. Her letters are clever, amusing, and yet filled with insight. I loved watching her grow up.If you enjoy well-written books, this should interest you. Be aware there are illustrations that matter to the book, so be sure the version you get has those illustrations.

[seasonsoflove_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think it can be really hard to pull off a book that is solely in letter form-especially when the letters are only from one character-but Webster does a great job of making Judy's world come alive. Judy is a vibrant, entertaining, highly likable character (an orphan sent to college by a mysterious anonymous benefactor, to whom she writes), and this is a quick, delightful read.

[schatzi_5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I first read this book when I was about eight or nine years old, and I loved it from the start. The whole "writing letters" method of storytelling has always appealed to me since, and I really blame (or give credit) this book for that, because Judy comes so alive in her letters. We don't see her "in action" after the first chapter in the book, but that doesn't matter, because her letters are so funny and heartfelt. And the other characters, whom we never "see" outside of her letters, come alive as well: Sallie, Julia, Jervie, and even Daddy-Long-Legs, from whom we hear so little.Rarely a year goes by when I don't skim through this book. I usually read the first chapter (when Judy is still in the orphanage and gets her scholarship from a benevolent trustee) and read some of the more meaningful (to me) letters, and then I turn to the back and read the last six or so letters. Without fail, even though I have done this almost annually for almost thirty years, I still get the "awwww" fuzzies at the end. Just reading those last few letters can snap me out of a bad funk.I've seen people online say that they wish that they could read Harry Potter for the first time again, without knowing what is going to happen. Harry Potter's an okay series (although I never got obsessed with it like so many have), but forget it - I'd rather be able to read this book again for the first time! I remember when I read it for the first time, I was SO SURPRISED that Jervie was Daddy-Long-Legs. I may have squealed a bit on the bus. Don't judge me. Although it's great to go through the book and watch Judy mention Jervie multiple times (giving Jervie the hint that she returns his feelings, which I'm not sure he would have had had if she hadn't spilled out her heart in her letters to her Daddy-Long-Legs), it'd be amazing to go into this book not knowing and see if I'd figure it out as an adult.Child-me would have given this book five stars without question. Adult-me gives it four and a half. This book was written in a different world, really, one that was only a hundred years ago! It's hard to believe how much has changed since then. Judy is talking about women needing the right to vote and how, if she marries, it's rather expected that she gives up aspirations for a career, although she sees that it might be possible to have both a husband and a career. Jervie is a socialist (which is all kinds of YAY, because blatant socialists almost never appear in books, at least as "good" characters) and a social reformer. He is quite hot-headed and demanding, which is one of the reasons why I lower the book half a star. He has a tendency to be rash and even insulting (at one point he calls Judy a "child" because she is trying to do the RESPONSIBLE thing and work for the summer instead of going to Europe). And Judy freely admits that she molds her personal opinions to fit his, which...rubs me wrong. I try to tell myself that it was a different time. Yes. And it may be a little creepy to have Jervie reading all of these letters to him, letters in which Judy is frank about her emotions in a way that he would never have known had he not been the recipient. It's weird reading her describe him to him, all without her knowing. It almost feels like an invasion of her privacy, like he should have let her know that he didn't want to hear about her love life (he's a bit brusque with her a few other times, so I think this would have fit his "Daddy-Long-Legs" character). I still love me some Jervie/Judy, though. That ending letter. Yum.Besides the stuff under the spoiler cut, I guess my only other real complaint is that this book is too short! I'd love for it to be at least four times longer than it is, perhaps supplemented with letters from Judy to other characters (she mentions that she's writing to both Freddie and Jervie, and I would KILL to read some of her letters with Jervie back and forth) or third-person chapters (like the first one) showing what they're doing. I'd love for more Jervie/Judy scenes; I will not lie. But, alas, it's not meant to be, and I really don't care all that much for the "sequel," Dear Enemy, so...yeah. I'll just fill out the story in my mind. ;)

[haklh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I first read this in my teens and I really loved it - I found it funny, and charming, and romantic. I loved the cheerful but unsentimental tone of the story, and I loved how fresh and vivid and likeable Judy was.

BUT
I re-read this recently, and while I still enjoyed its humour and its happy ending, I am a bit more ambivalent about the Judy/Daddy-Long-Legs relationship. Now that I am older and more aware of things like the connection between relationships and power, I can see instances where Daddy Long Legs' behaviour is controlling and possessive (e.g. when he ordered Judy to head to the farm for the summer, rather than spend it with her friend Sallie (and her brother Jimmy).

I think part of my unease is because I can't see how the romance has developed, based on the one-sided communication - perhaps he just wants her because she is totally under his control!? Dear Daddy Long Legs, I want to know how you fell in love with Judy. I want to see your actions justified in the name of jealousy borne out of infatuation. Please tell your side of the story!

[karin7-11 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

5 stars and a heart

Written and set in pre-WWI Northeastern USA.

Jerusha (Judy) Abbott grew up an an orphanage, but is offered a full college education with allowance by an anonymous trustee who appreciates a witty high school essay she wrote about life in the orphanage. Her one form of repayment is to write him a letter each month and to address it to Mr. John Smith. Having seen his shadow and knowing he had long legs, she starts writing to Daddy Long Legs after the second letter, and her colourful, illustrated letters take us through her four years of school including the summer breaks.

If you've never read it, it's really something that, while totally different, is right up there with Anne of Green Gables (from a similar time; I'm not sure why it hasn't stayed as popular other than she is older than Anne when Anne starts out. There's no sentimentality, but it is definitely a fun read.

[theeditrix · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A most delightful book. A charming, fluffy, sweet little literary morsel. The only downer is. . . the heroine decides to become a Fabian Socialist. NOOOO!!!

But other than that, a truly delightful read, as I believe I mentioned. Highly recommended for fans of L.M. Montgomery, Grace Livingston Hill, and other similar authors.

Now, to read the sequel: "Dear Enemy". And I must also watch the Fred Astaire musical and the Mary Pickford silent film, though I doubt either will be half as magical as the book.

[audacity88_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A charming novel, which is apparently a classic but which I had never heard of as a child - presumably because the winter-spring romance that develops would now be considered scandalous. But I found it enjoyable and not too implausible as far as romances go, and enjoyed the letter format - reminiscent of Pride & Prejudice.

[sunflower38_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it, very entertaining. A reread for sure.

[murphy4jacobs · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Of course I have seen the movie a dozen times so I started looking for the book a few years ago. In many ways, of course, the book is better -- the movie replaced the social commentary and sparks of independent woman with musical numbers and 1950s sauciness and a lot of Fred Astaire (which is fine in a musical but...). in fact, i was a bit suprised how closely the movie did adhere to the spine of the novel...although only to the sweet parts of the spine.

The book was published in 1912 but the thoughts and feelings of the young protagonist felt so very contemporary and fresh. As an epistolary novel it is unusual because we see only one person, really, writing, so it is more of a diary in letter form, but that works quite well to reveal the characters sussinctly.

I have the next book waiting (Dear Enemy) waiting for me.

[kathleen586 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book apart from the socialist propaganda, but that kind of ruined it. One of Judy's diary entries is basically, "Dear Diary, Should I become a Communist or a socialist?"!

[readermom68 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this story! While it is definitely outdated in many ways it is still a charming escape.

[knitcrazybooknut · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quiet, well-written novel about an orphaned girl with a private benefactor she's never met. The story, while slightly formulaic, is very well-written, and the voice is completely engaging and believable.

[victoriaeva_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book I read in English. I studied the language with my beloved teacher, Galina Vasilievna, in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). I would have 2-3 private classes a week, and she would usually give me an obscene amount of home work - well, thanks for that! After some time spent with study books, I came to a point when she suggested 'additional reading' and gave me this book. I was supposed to prepare a couple of pages of reading once a week. By 'prepare' I mean exactly what it sounds like - PREPARE. Translate every word - understand it in context. Write it down. Translate, write down the definition and construct in writing 5 sentences with the phrases underlined by my teacher. Usually those were expressions, like 'dragged itself to a close' - Gosh, I still remember it!Well, I have to say that I have never finished the book in the way Galina Vasilievna wanted me to. In about half a year I just wanted to know 'what's up?' and flipped through the many remaining pages in one evening, grasping the meaning over the words I did not know. Proud, I said to the teacher "I can tell you the story!" "It is not reading, my dear! I need you to learn the expressions!" she replied as calmly, as usually.I have read many books after that time. Most of them have been in English language. I am getting my Master's degree in International Relations, reading, writing everything in English. I write a weekly column in English for a newspaper. For about four years 85% of my communications are in English. I am thrilled with the bookstores. And the door to all of this, the door in terms of Books, is my very first one: Daddy-Long-Legs, read when I was about 15-16 years old.As for the book itself: it was cute. I may read it once again, just to have a complete picture, un-fragmented with my initial page-a-week jumps.

[byroade · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Judy Abbott, a bright young orphan, is the first girl sent to college by one of the orphanage's trustees. Her only obligation is to write a monthly letter summing up her studies. Her benefactor is anonymous, so she bestows the name "Daddy-Long-Legs" on him because she's only seen his tall shadow. The novel is told in her letters to him, relating her college experiences which reveal not only her lively intelligence but the deprivations of her institutional upbringing. It is one of the more completely satisfying stories I have ever read. It provides a vivid slice of life at a woman's college early in the 20th century. Webster was a graduate of Vassar College.

[francescadefreitas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a wonderful classic, I first read it as a teenager, and I have read it several times since. The story is told through an orphan girl's letters to her mysterious benefactor, as he pays her way through college. There is a delightful sense of the ridiculous in Judy's depiction of her daily life and studies. I find it entertaining both as a simple romance story, and also as a historical look at what life was like at a women's college in the early 1900's.There is a excellent sequel, Dear Enemy, telling the story of Judy's room mate Sally, and her work as the new head of the Judy's childhood orphanage.

[merrymary_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a delight! A wonderful book that refuses to age. The college experience, while different in detail from modern times, is still very accurate when it comes to friendship, love, and the growing of a heart.

[katylit · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sweet old story about an orphan writing letters to an anonymous benefactor who pays for her college education. The orphan, Judy, is a delightful character, very likeable, such a joy in learning. Lots of innocent humour.

[reneh-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a fantastic and witty little book. Another reviewer here wrote that only women should read it. Well, I'm a man and I enjoyed it tremendously. Maybe it was written for young adults in the first place, but I believe that anybody, man or woman, of any age, will - and should - enjoy this 100 years old pearl of literature. Five stars, there can be no doubt about it.

[msstephie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my first kindle novel, it was free and the only book that interested me, mainly because I'd seen the Fred Astair film, I didn't know it was a book. I loved it, and wish I'd come across it years ago. An easy enjoyable read, I'd recommend it to anyone.
Judy was a likeable heroine, a bit like Anne in Anne of Green Gables.

[ashishg_50 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this long time ago so I don't remember details much. However, I do remember that book is collection of letters of girl to his (fictional) father. It did have some nice moments and definitely is an unconventional book worth going through.

[musicmom41 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In 1912 Webster wrote a delightful epistolary novel (a favorite style for me when it is well done) about an orphan girl who is sponsored anonymously to go to college. The only stipulation is that she must write a progress report to her sponsor each month without expecting to get any replies. It is a delight to accompany Judy as she discovers the world and discovers herself. My recommendation and rating are based entirely on my personal passion for this book.

[whisper1_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I tremendously enjoyed this poignant tale of young orphaned Jerusha Abbot brought up in the John Grier Home where daily submission and repeated groveling is expected.When a board of trustee member provides funds for her college education, she escapes the confinements of the home and ventures into the world of elite privilege.With no knowledge of social mores, she develops a spirit tough enough to know she is of equal intellect, but pliant enough to know she has a lot to learn. Jerusha's paradoxical feelings of self assuredness and insecurity are excellently described and keenly felt.Unaccustomed, she bubbles along, feeling out of place, but, she is also spunky enough to overcome the ackwardness of a life of poverty.Writing letters to her unseen, mysterious benefactor whom she only glimpsed as he walked away from the home, and, noting he was tall, she now pens heart felt missives to "Daddy Long Legs."This is a book that grabbed and kept my attention. It is wonderfully written with a keen sense of the need for social justice and of the tenacity of the human spirit.Highly recommended.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jerusha is an orphan at the John Grier home, a teen who has worked for her room and board since graduating early from high school. When one of the orphanage trustees anonymously provides her with money for college, she has the opportunity of a lifetime. Her story is conveyed in the letters she sends her benefactor - whom she calls Daddy-Long-Legs after a glimpse of his tall shadow - as she grows to know the wide world beyond the orphanage.This book was written in 1912, and I couldn't help but make comparisons to the story of another orphan, published only four years before. Like Anne Shirley, Jerusha is full of life and humor, quirky phrases, and sometimes swinging from emotional highs to the depths of despair. She never knew a family, and she wants to be an authoress. But there are substantial differences as well. The format is almost entirely letters, and the author often calls attention to the fact that this is a story - Jerusha, who quickly renames herself Judy, often makes comments like "if we were in a storybook" or "if we were story characters." Judy also talks more about what she's learning academically, discussing such subjects as languages, biology, and philosophy. She has rather more progressive politics than Anne, who, I daresay, would find some of Jerusha's educated opinions shocking (and Rachel Lynde would have found them downright blasphemous). An entertaining read, but one that I would expect would interest adults interested in classic young adult literature or the history of women's colleges than today's teens.