'Elsie Dinsmore' Summary

The books take place on plantations in the American South, starting before the start of the Civil War. Elsie is an eight-year-old girl who has been living with her paternal grandfather, his second wife (Elsie's step-grandmother), and their six children: Adelaide, Lora, Louise, Arthur, Walter, and Enna. Elsie's mother died soon after giving birth to her, and her father has been traveling in Europe. She is good friends with Rose Allison, with whom she studies the Bible. The first book begins as Elsie's father, Horace, returns from Europe and she goes to live with him. The developing story hinges on Elsie's attempts to gain her father's love while maintaining her Christian ethics and her refusal to turn in those who bully her.