Daddy-Long-Legs

Told entirely through letters, Daddy-Long-Legs follows Jerusha Abbott, an orphan at the John Grier Home, whose life changes when a wealthy trustee agrees to fund her college education, on one condition. She must write him monthly letters about her progress. Jerusha never sees his face, only his shadow in the orphanage hallway: all arms and legs, like a daddy-long-legs. So she addresses her letters to him by that name, and what begins as a formal obligation becomes something else entirely, a young woman finding her voice. She navigates new friendships, academic challenges, and her dream of becoming a writer, all while her imagination runs wild wondering about the mysterious man behind her freedom. The novel is sharp, self-aware, and surprisingly contemporary in its treatment of a woman's journey toward independence. It endures because at its heart it's about claiming the right to exist fully, as a thinker, a writer, as someone who matters. For readers who love epistolary novels, coming-of-age stories, or any book with a protagonist too brilliant to stay small.