The 1915 sequel to Jean Webster's 1912 book Daddy-Long-Legs is titled,
Dear Enemy. In 1916, it was one of the ten best-selling books in the
United States. The narrative is told through a collection of letters
sent by Judy Abbott's classmate and best friend from Daddy-Long-Legs,
Sallie McBride. Judy, Jervis Pendleton, Judy's husband and the head of
the orphanage where Sallie is serving as interim superintendent until a
new superintendent can be hired, Gordon Hallock, a wealthy Congressman
and Sallie's later fiancé, and the orphanage's doctor, bitter Scotsman
Robin "Sandy" MacRae, are among those who receive the letters. Sallie's
decisions regarding what to recount to each of her correspondents reveal
a lot about her relationships with them, and Webster effectively uses
the epistolary framework. In the same way, as Daddy-Long-Legs followed
Judy Abbott's development from a small child to an adult, Dear Enemy
demonstrates Sallie McBride's development from a naive socialite to a
wise and capable. It also tracks Sallie's interactions with affluent
politician Gordon Hallock and the orphanage's doctor, Dr. Robin MacRae.
Sallie's early reluctance to dedicate herself to her profession and her
gradual awareness of how joyful the work makes her and how incomplete
she'd feel without it have an impact on both relationships.