Dear Enemy

Jean Webster (1876-1916) was an American novelist, playwright, and social activist. During the start of the twentieth century (1912), Webster wrote "e;Daddy-Long-Legs"e;, an epistolary, best-selling novel that she developed into a play. It met with much success, and the characters were sold as dolls, the money from which going to charities to help fund orphan adoptions. In 1915, Webster published the sequel, "e;Dear Enemy"e;. Written in the same epistolary form, "e;Dear Enemy"e; met with best-selling acclaim as well. The novel is unique in that the story is propelled by crude, stick-figure animations, drawn by Webster herself, that add a whimsical air to the social issues addressed, the care of orphans and women's life choices in particular. Sadly, Webster died of childbirth fever in 1916, just a year after the success of "e;Dear Enemy"e;.