Jean Webster: About the Author

Jean Webster (Alice Jane Chandler Webster), born in Fredonia, New York in 1876, came from a renowned family: her great uncle was Mark Twain, and her father was the publisher Charles Webster. She changed her name to Jean after becoming roommates with another Alice at the Lady Jane Grey School, a finishing school she attended for three years after graduating with a concentration in china painting from the Fredonia Normal School in 1894. The concentration in china painting helped develop young Jean’s skills in illustrating her works.

In 1897, at the age of 21, Webster entered Vassar College. Declaring English as her major, Webster studied literature, wrote plays, worked and published for the college journal, edited and illustrated the yearbook, and wrote a “chatty” news column for the local newspaper. Webster’s other concentration was economics. She was inspired by Dr. Herbert Mills' course on “Charities and Corrections” and began work with the College Settlement House, a connection that lasted a lifetime. Webster demonstrated her social consciousness, rallying for the Socialist ticket for the presidential election of 1900.

Upon graduating from Vassar in 1901, Webster moved to New York City, where she worked as a freelance writer for various New York magazines. Altogether Webster wrote eight novels, many plays, and several unpublished stories. Daddy-Long-Legs was Webster’s most popular work. Webster’s works, though light and witty, were subversive commentaries against the patriarchal Victorian society of the early 1900’s when women still did not have the vote. Many of Webster’s works addressed social ills of the day, such as the state of orphan asylums in the country. Daddy-Long-Legs directly challenged this issue; the promotion of Daddy-Long-Legs leagues and the sale of Daddy-Long-Legs dolls went towards placing orphans in suitable families. Daddy-Long-Legs has been translated in over 18 languages.

An avid traveler, Webster visited many countries in her lifetime. She married Glenn Ford McKinney in 1915. Around this time Daddy-Long-Legs was touring across the nation to successful reviews, and Webster completed her final novel Dear Enemy, a sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs. Webster divided her time between New York City and a home on Tymor Farm. In 1916, shortly after giving birth to a daughter, Webster died from complications of childbirth. She was 39, at the height of her success as a storyteller and social activist.

Webster was renowned for her good humor, and her stories, even when addressing serious matters, were always accessible and keen, as were the quirky line drawings which often accompanied her work and became well loved in their own right.

(по материалам: Vassar Encyclopedia, http://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu)

Daddy-long-legs by jean webster

Part I: “Blue Wednesday”

I. Find the words and word combinations given below in the text:

1. haste

2. an orphan

3. to accomplish

4. orderly

5. dignity

6. to face

7. to blur

8. keen

9. to snatch

10. erratic

II. Translate the words and word combinations given above and describe the situations in which they were used in your own words.

III. Translate into English the following sentences using the words from Task I:

1. Даже в самом страшном сне она не могла представить себе, что ей придется столкнуться с этим человеком лицом к лицу.

2. Покидая гостиницу в ужасной спешке, Элис оставила свой плащ в шкафу номера и очень расстроилась из-за этого.

3. Основные идеи этой революционной теории Альберт выдвинул еще в ранних работах, но по-настоящему смог завершить свой научный труд только к концу жизни.

4. В лице миссис Хевенли было столько достоинства и сознания собственной правоты, что Джордж не нашел в себе сил упрекать ее в чем-либо.

5. Этот политик обладает острым умом и быстротой реакции, его невозможно застать врасплох.

6. Несмотря на то, что у Морин был внушительный капитал и положение в обществе, в этой компании она чувствовала себя бедной сироткой при богатых родственниках.

7. Деревенька была невероятно милой, с ее ровными рядами опрятных домиков, белыми калитками и маленькими садиками.

8. Тeтя Дафна не одобряла столь эксцентричного поведения с его стороны, но ей пришлось смириться с неизбежностью.

9. Взгляд женщины затуманился от слез, когда она смотрела, как поезд с ее сыном все дальше удаляется от нее.

10. Увидев в комнате грабителя, Кэрол схватила бронзовую статуэтку и с воплем бросилась на испуганного беднягу.