The Saturdays: Elizabeth Enright

This weekend I finished listening to The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright (1909-1968), one of my all time favorite authors. The Saturdays is the first of four books about the Melendy children: Mona, Rush, Randy, and Oliver. Originally published in 1941, The Saturdays tells of several months in the life of the Melendys, as they live in their New York brownstone. The children's mother is dead, but they accept this with the equanimity of most children in books, and live securely with Father, their longtime housekeeper Cuffy, and handy-man Willy Sloper.

One rainy day, the four children conceive the idea of pooling their weekly allowances, and taking turns going off alone on adventures. They call it the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club (I.S.A.A.C.). Randy visits an art exhibit, and has tea with a family friend. Rush goes to the opera, and discovers the stray Isaac. Mona visits a beauty parlor, and hears the story of a young runaway. Even six-year-old Oliver manages an adventure on his own (though for the modern reader, the mental image of a six-year-old wandering around New York City alone is pretty harrowing). Other more dramatic adventures follow.

This story is set during the early years of World War II, before the U.S. has entered the war, but with the war as a dark cloud on the horizon. The war doesn't affect the main story, but references to it pop up at regular intervals, mostly from Cuffy or Father. My impression is that the war was weighing so heavily on Elizabeth Enright's mind as she wrote the book, that she had to mention it. Today, these references serve to anchor the book to a particular point in time.

For the most part, the story holds up remarkably well for being 65 years old. There is a scene in which 13-year-old Mona comes to the dinner table wearing bright red nail polish, and completely scandalizes her family. This will probably seem quaint to modern-day children, as will the Melendy children's 50 cent allowance, and the fact that the girls wear dresses and hats when dressing up to go out.

Still, much of the book is completely timeless. Elizabeth Enright clearly understands what makes kids tick. She is a genius when it comes to portraying the details of children's lives, and how they react to different situations. In the foreword to the audio book, she says that she writes about adventures that she would have liked to have as a child. She's quite successful at this.

I highly recommend all four of Melendy books: The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, and Spiderweb for Two. I can't wait to go back now and re-read the others, as well as my favorite Elizabeth Enright book, Gone-Away Lake.

© 2009 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Jen]

I discovered the Melendys in sixth grade, when my school library was giving away discarded books. "The Saturdays" was among them. Can you believe it? I still have the rejected library copy on my bookshelf.

[Kim]

I'll have to try this one. Saw your comment on Half-Moon. I agree. It is a good one for 12 year olds. What is the url for the Edge of the Forest?

[Jen Robinson]

Very sad indeed, Jen, to think of "The Saturdays" as a discarded book. But there was a recent re-issue, so hopefully the library replaced it. I can remember exactly which shelf Elizabeth Enright's books were on in my elementary school library - and I'm not normally a person with a good memory.

Kim, I do recommend listening to the Melendy books, though I find them a little overpriced for their length on Audible. The new issue of The Edge of the Forest should be available tomorrow (with my Half Moon review). You can find it here.

[Alkelda the Gleeful]

Reading Wilder's Little House books in 2nd grade (1979)officially began my voracious consumption of books, but The Melendy family solidified it. I read and reread the adventures of this family with fascination and longing. I was living in the backwoods of WVA, a mile away from our nearest neighbors. While I was lonely for friends my age, I felt lucky that I had the Melendy family. Randy, of course, was my favorite, but it was Rush and Mona who introduced me to opera and Shakespeare.

Everything the Melendys experience is possible and plausible, even if one might be incredulous that all of the adventures happen within one family. However, Enright approaches this with deftness, too: many times, the adventures actually happen to people telling their stories to the Melendys.

[Jen Robinson]

Hi Alkelda,

Thanks for the feedback. I love the Melendys, too! There is just something that Enright is able to capture that makes the kids real, and the adventures ones that any kid would like to experience. Gone-Away Lake is also one of my favorites. Thanks for visiting!