Trixie Belden Series 1-3 review

This is the year I reread this beloved and nostalgic mystery series from my past to see how they hold up. Please join me if you have them on hand. I plan to share three books every three weeks.   

1) The Secret of the Mansion

Here's the little book that got the ball rolling. It's summer vacation and Trixie is feeling frustrated and lonely because her two older brothers are at camp. But then his miserly old neighbor, Mr. Frayne, collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Rumor has it that he hid a fortune somewhere inside his atrociously run-down house. At the same time, the mansion on the other side is finally occupied by a wealthy family with a daughter Trixie's age. The girls strike up an instant friendship, although Honey Wheeler seems a little fearful to Trixie. They stumble upon a red-haired boy named Jim, who claims to be Mr. Frayne's only heir. Jim ran away from his cruel and unscrupulous stepfather, who would love to get his hands on any money that was lying around.    

* The setting, along the Hudson River in New York state, is well established from the start. The Belden family live two miles from the village of Sleepyside, at Crabapple Farm, the only modest, cozy house in a group of three. The other two are mansions; one being the grand Manor House, recently purchased by the millionaire Matthew Wheeler, and the other being Ten Acres, the run-down home of the elderly Mr. Frayne. The nearest large city appears to be White Plains.

* Trixie is a lovable, what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of girl, but it soon becomes clear that her weaknesses include impulsiveness and overconfidence. She is ready to attempt daring feats with complete confidence that she will perform them perfectly the first time. She also has a way of accidentally offending people with her direct approach.

* His younger brother, Bobby, seems demanding and a bit spoiled. Everyone loves him so much, but they wait for other family members to take turns entertaining him. It's easy to see why. Who wants to go to the trouble of reading Peter Rabbit fifty times? His family seems to take the path of least resistance and give in to his demands rather than stand up for themselves and occasionally call the shots.

* It seems to me that her parents place a lot of responsibility on 13-year-old Trixie's shoulders. It's a school holiday, but she takes care of Bobby, tends chickens and spends hours helping tend the vegetable garden in drought conditions. Okay, they're helping her earn money to buy a horse, and when her two older brothers are home, they split the load between them. But still, what a responsible young man!

*Don't get me wrong, I like Mr. and Mrs. Belden. They are really cool parents who have really developed their own rounded characters.

* Honey is as sweet as her name. Melancholy, diplomatic and always intuitively discovering how others feel. This is more than enough to offset your anxiety.

* Jim is the kind of determined boy whose hard-luck, David Copperfield-style story wins the target audience's devotion. To this day, when looking back on the series, several middle-aged friends say, 'I had a crush on Jim.' He's a nice guy, even under stress, although a little rude at times.

* There are mixed messages about the Beldens' religious affiliations. For one thing, they don't seem to be a church-going family, as Trixie always rides her bike to Mr. Lytell's general store to pick up the New York newspapers on Sunday mornings. However, Mrs. Belden hears Bobby say his prayers every night, when he sometimes reveals 'secrets' to God, like what Trixie bought her for Christmas.

* We are told that the Belden family struggles to make ends meet as their father's salary, earned from working at a bank, must spread to cover the outstanding demands of four children's college tuition. However, it seems they can still afford to do their laundry outside the home. (We know this because Honey almost collided with a laundry truck pulling into Belden's driveway while she was learning to ride a bike. Maybe the driver was looking for Manor House and accidentally made a wrong turn. After all, the Wheelers have just moved in road.)

* We have good information about some of the Manor House staff who will become important recurring characters. Regan, the groom, is a friendly, easy-going guy with a dark past as a teenage runaway orphan. And Miss Trask, the elegant gray-haired housekeeper was once Honey's math teacher and accepted the new position after they formed a bond. It suits her because the higher salary can help her take care of her invalid sister.

* I'm glad there aren't too many descriptions that could date the story too badly. The kids walk around in generic t-shirts and jeans, while Mr. Belden drives a simple pickup truck. No contemporary popular music or telltale brands are mentioned. Of course, they use a landline and it is clearly defined before the days of the internet. Perhaps this could occur anywhere between its original publication date of 1948 to the mid-1990s. My gut feeling tells me that the late seventies to mid-eighties is a good fit.

* Unfortunately, I wouldn't really consider this an ideal mystery story. Trixie, Honey, and Jim don't really solve anything by deduction, but they have a tendency to make significant revelations by complete accident. I know from my past enjoyment that this doesn't set a precedent for the rest of the series, but if this was my first read, I might be a little worried.

* And what's with the growling yellow dog? I thought he would have a much more significant role and I was saddened by his fate in this book.

*However, overall, so far so good. Affirmative.

2) The mystery of the red trailer 

 

This story begins exactly where The Secret of the Mansion ends. Trixie and Honey go in search of Jim, who ran away without knowing that he is now the heir to a half-million fortune. They decide to look for him first at some of the boys' camps, where he planned to ask about job opportunities. Miss Trask is the volunteer driver and they take the Wheelers' luxurious silver trailer to sleep in. (As an Australian, I know them better as 'caravans'). at the first stopping point. Their dog-like behavior doesn't seem to match their flashy vehicle, and they're certainly not in vacation mode. What's more, the girls discover that there are bandits in the area, stealing trailers, removing their contents for the black market, and then abandoning them. Could the strange family have something to do with the racket? And most importantly, how will Trixie and Honey find Jim?

*I love the rural setting of upstate New York. It reminds me of the National Park areas and caravan parks where I live. A good story makes the world seem smaller.

*The first book makes it seem like the state was suffering from drought conditions and people's dams and tanks were struggling to hold back a trickle. However, in this story, torrential rains occur just a few days later. I'm happy to accept that, but funny no one mentioned what a welcome relief the change was.

* Taking two dogs with me seems like a bad idea. Reddy and Bud wreak havoc, and the fact that they are allowed to freely roam the area dates this book for me. In modern times, pets cannot run free in environmentally protected areas. And rightly so! They are no longer allowed even in most decent caravan parks. Trixie and Honey are also indisputably pests, for insisting that these nuisances appear.

* Riding in the moving trailer also dates the story. This is strictly illegal now. Additionally, I'm amazed at how many car and RV owners leave their keys in the ignition, practically inviting thieves to steal them. What a blast from the past. Did people really trust their fellow human beings so much?

* We meet the first member of the extended family that appears throughout the series. It's Honey's cousin, Ben Riker, who is staying at one of the camps for part of the vacation. He is a prankster and can be a pain in the ass, judging by his reminiscences about their shared childhood at his grandmother's house.

* Jeff, the careless and malicious waiter at the park headquarters gave me a few laughs.

* We get the first mention of the Lynch family, but revealing why would be a spoiler for this book.

* Honey finally gets her adopted older brother, who coincidentally looks a lot like her red-haired father. How cool is that! However, having said 'finally', the action of Books 1 and 2 takes up just over a week in total.

* Trixie mentions when passing an old tenant house on Honey's property at home. Be careful, this will be an important factor in the third mystery.

3) The mystery of the concierge

Trixie, Honey and little Bobby set out to explore the old gatehouse where carriage visitors were welcomed to the Manor House in times gone by. Bobby trips and cuts his knee on a sharp, glassy-looking stone that Honey identifies as a dazzling diamond. Trixie convinces her not to turn him over to his parents right away, as she wants a chance to solve the mystery of how he got there. This decision draws jewel thieves onto the girls' trail instantly, especially when an eavesdropper hears exactly what they did to her. Meanwhile, Trixie's brothers Brian and Mart finally arrive from camp and form great friendships with Jim and Honey, like Trixie before them. Together, the five try to solve the mystery of the diamond and also form a club, the Bob Whites of the Glen. 

* Finally Brian and Mart, hooray!!! The level of fun and frolic reaches a new level when these two arrive home. I always remember all the games with as much nostalgia as the mysteries themselves.

* We find out that Regan is only 22 years old! Practically a child in my books. And to think that I relegated him to the sober world of old people. He looks at least ten years older.

*Trixie and Mart are considered 'twins' for the month of May, as he was only 11 months old when she was born. Her birthday is May 1st and his is June 1st. It's worth mentioning in case it's useful for records.

* The Wheelers maintain a large staff, including a cook, a laundress, three maids, Regan, Miss Trask, a new gardener named Nailor, and a new driver named Dick. This time their pomp surprises me as they have staff members actually waiting for them at dinner time. A cook I can understand, but isn't that going too far? Come on guys, get over yourself! You're just rich, not royalty or 19th century nobility. You can certainly prepare it for yourself.

* Although we haven't seen much of Honey's mother yet, whenever we see or hear from her, she strikes me as a spoiled princess. I far prefer Mrs. Belden's style. 

* It's fascinating how Jim proves that two different people's impressions can be very different. When they see Dick, the new driver, Trixie describes him as a weasel, while Honey finds him quite attractive. They consider the tint of your car to be different colors as well. We should never assume that the person next to us is watching the same scene as us. 

* Mart comments that he has no idea why pickpockets are called 'dips'. Come on Mart, a smart kid like you should be intuitive enough to figure out that it's because they stick their fingers in other people's pockets. 

* Miss Trask likes to watch wrestling on TV! I'm afraid this will make me laugh. It's very easy to believe that Regan is such a fan that she would be glued to the screen. But Miss Trask! It takes a great effort of imagination. 

* This final observation probably shows my age. Trixie had no right to hold that diamond for even a minute. She was being very naughty and soooo overdoing herself. Honey and the boys became guilty for agreeing to accompany her. I'm especially surprised by Jim. If they had turned him over directly to the police, as they should have, he would have returned directly to his owner, and many dark dramas at the mansion would have been avoided. However, perhaps the bandits would not have been caught, or at least not so quickly. This is certainly how Trixie's most loyal fans would defend her.

*Okay, this is actually my last observation. My favorite quote in the book comes from Regan. This comes right after he berates Trixie for withholding the diamond. Brian comments that their father will be mad at all of them. Then Regan asks, 'How do your parents put up with you kids?' I think he will have the opportunity to ask this question many more times. 

Wow, it was so much fun. These guys have already had three mysteries, all in the last few weeks of their summer vacation. Please join me at the end of next month for the next three books in the series. Full marks for pure pleasure and great memories so far.