The Melendy Quartet, by Elizabeth Enright

     

    Here's a review on a hilarious series that my family and I have loved for a long time! The Melendy Quartet is the story of the Melendys, a family living in New York during WWII, who run into all sorts of funny adventures. Interestingly enough, the first name of this author is the same as that of the last two authors whose works I've reviewed on this blog. Either Elizabeth was a common name about fifty years ago, or it's just coincidence that some good books have been written by people named Elizabeth. Or both. Still, maybe I should find something a bit different next time. 
    Since this is a series, I'll give plot summaries of each book and then discuss the series as a whole. 

Plot Summaries:

Book 1 - The Saturdays: One rainy, boring Saturday, creative ten-year-old Randy comes up with a plan for the four Melendy children to spend their Saturdays. If they pool their allowances, there's enough money for each one to take turns going out alone on a Saturday and spending the day in the bustling New York City. This leads to a series of comic adventures, such as running into a fascinating friend at an art museum, getting lost when returning from the circus, rescuing a stray dog on the way home from an opera, visiting Central Park with catastrophic results, and more!

Book 2 - The Four-Story Mistake: The Melendys are moving from their home in New York City to an old house in the country known as The Four-Story Mistake (due to an old architectural flaw). Although not all of them are excited at first about the change, the four siblings grow to love the new house and run into a new series of adventures - swimming in the ice-cold brook, getting trapped in a treehouse during a storm, creating a play to put on to earn money for War Bonds, ice-skating, crashing a bicycle into a bus, and discovering a secret room. 

Book 3 - Then There Were Five: The intrepid Melendys are determined to earn some money to go toward the war, so Rush and Randy set out on a scrap drive. While collecting old metal, they meet the Addisons (a friendly farm family), Mr. Titus (an old man who loves fishing and bakes prize-winning desserts), and an abused orphan named Mark Herron. They befriend Mark quickly and he takes them on a series of adventures exploring the woods. But they have their own adventures, too - Oliver's caterpillar collecting and fishing adventures with Mr. Titus, running the house while the adults are away and undertaking a whole summer's worth of canning, and more. But when tragedy strikes for Mark, what will the innovative Melendys do?

Book 4 - Spiderweb for Two; A Melendy Maze: The older children are nearly grown up, and away at boarding school, leaving Randy to "the worst winter of her life" at home with Oliver. But these two younger Melendys are suddenly granted another adventure when a mysterious riddle arrives in the mailbox, sending them on an intricate journey of clues to search for. What's it leading up to? And who arranged it all? Whatever the cause, the winter is no longer boring for Randy and Oliver, who search diligently through forest, over field, in a cave, in their own house (including trying to go up the chimney), and generally puzzling everyone they come in contact with, because the first clue has told them not to tell anyone. 

Discussion: When I first brought these books home from the library several years ago, I was basically the only one who read them. Then my siblings started getting into them, and then we listened to them all in the car. We'd get as many of the CDs from the library as we could and take them on trips, listening to one after the other. This has gotten to the point that some of us are pretty tired of the CD of Then There Were Five, but we still love the books. This series is so much fun. It's very, very funny, and the characters are real and easy to relate to. Let's look at the characters. 
     Mona is the oldest of the Melendy four. In the first book she is thirteen, and very pretty, with blue eyes and long blond hair. Mona wants to be an actress, so she memorizes all the Shakespeare poetry she can and quotes it whenever she can. She is sensible and responsible (most of the time).
     Rush is the second oldest, with curly dark hair that he can't make lie down straight, no matter what he tries. Rush is mischievous and scheming, has a large vocabulary, and provides a lot of humor. He also loves to play the piano, and does so skillfully. As the author puts it in her introduction, he has "a propensity for getting into, and neatly out of, trouble."
     Randy (Miranda) comes next. She loves dancing and drawing, and practices both of these whenever she can. She is a lot like Rush, in dark curly-haired looks and in eager temperament. She tends to run into the most trouble, making some clumsy mistakes, but she always means well.
     Oliver is the youngest, a calm, placid boy who likes guns, tanks, fishing, and caterpillars. He is very sensible and practical, and avoids baths and going to bed for as long as he can.
    Cuffy is their housekeeper. Her real name is Mrs. Evangeline Cuthbert-Stanley, but it was shortened to Cuffy long ago. She is a comfortable woman who's always lived with the Melendys, since their mother is dead and their Father works for the government and often has to be away. She is plump, sensible and an excellent cook who runs the house lovingly, although she wants thorough tidiness. Cuffy is really a part of their family, and always is willing to let the children taste icing left over from frosting a cake. 
     There's also Willy Sloper, the general handyman who repairs things and is always around to help out. There's Isaac, the lovable stray rescued by Rush. There's fascinating old Mrs. Oliphaunt, who gives all the Melendys presents and supports them in their endeavors. And of course Father, who is understanding and very patient with his intrepid children.
       There isn't a whole lot of depth to this story and it's a very light read. Nonetheless, my family has really enjoyed it.

Overall: I definitely recommend this series! It's a great choice to read or listen to as a family. 

Have you read the Melendy Quartet? If so, what did you think?