7.6 /10 1 Votes
Illustrator Louise Fitzhugh Series Harriet the Spy Media type Print Originally published 27 October 1965 Preceded by Harriet the Spy Page count 275 (first ed.) | 3.8/5 Goodreads Country United States Publisher Harper & Row Pages 275 (first ed.) Followed by Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Genres Fiction, Children's literature Similar Louise Fitzhugh books, Children's literature | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Long Secret is a children's novel written and illustrated by Louise Fitzhugh that was released by Harper & Row on October 27, 1965. It is a sequel or "companion" to Harriet the Spy (1964), the only one published during Fitzhugh's lifetime.
Sport, another sequel to Harriet written by Fitzhugh, was published by the Dell imprint Delacorte Press in 1979.
Plot summary
Harriet and her family are spending their summer in the beach town of Water Mill (which is on Long Island). Her summertime friend, Beth Ellen, sometimes called Mouse, is also in Water Mill with her grandmother. Mysterious anonymous notes start showing up all over town; they have a religious slant and expose the faults of the recipients. Harriet is determined to find out who is leaving them. She suspects anyone who reads the Bible.
Harriet drags Beth Ellen along on spying expeditions directed against Bunny, the piano-playing manager of the local hotel, and the Jenkinses, an eccentric southern family preoccupied with money-making schemes. Harriet's friend Janie and Mrs Plumber from Harriet the Spy also appear.
Beth Ellen learns that her mother, who left when she was five, is returning from Europe with her new husband. Her grandmother expects Beth Ellen to be excited by the news but she is indifferent. Her mother Zeeney turns out to be a beautiful but shallow socialite who is dissatisfied with her shy and serious daughter. Beth Ellen's dislike of her mother finally explodes in a temper tantrum which clears her head, leaving her happier and more confident.