The Vesper Holly series is kind of like a female version of Young Indiana Jones.  The series takes place in the late 1800s.  When the stories begin, sixteen-year-old Vesper’s archaeologist father has just died and her father’s friend Professor Brinton Garrett and his wife, Mary, have arrived to take charge of her and be her new guardians.  Uncle Brinnie, as Vesper calls him, is rather surprised by what he finds.  His new ward is lively and sharp and not as traumatized by her father’s sudden death as he had expected.  He is impressed with the girl’s unusual and intelligent personality and her eclectic knowledge and range of skills, and she becomes his companion on many adventures.

The series goes out of its way to show that Vesper is definitely not a normal Victorian girl.  She’s smarter and more worldly and isn’t at all terrified of the idea of plunging into dangerous situations (on the contrary, she seems to like nothing better).  Personally, I think that Vesper’s skills and knowledge are too over-blown, not just what she already knows but the knowledge that she acquires during the stories comes way too quickly and effortlessly.  My overall impression of her is that she was designed too much to be impressive and rambunctious, and she just doesn’t have enough real feelings about anyone or anything.  With looks, a pile of money (both her father and her new guardian are rich), formidable intelligence (unrealistically so), and the ability to do pretty much anything she wants with her guardian’s assistance and admiration, Vesper comes across as a little too “perfect” as a character.  However, if you look at Vesper as solely the stuff of tall tales and adventure, she can be a lot of fun.

When she’s not off adventuring in foreign countries (which are mostly fictional, not real countries), Vesper lives with her guardians in Philadelphia.  She spends most of her time with Brinnie, but his wife Mary is an appealing character, too.  Mary is more ladylike than Vesper, but she’s also tough and can hold her own even in dangerous situations.  Unlike some children’s series, the characters are not frozen in time, and Vesper does age as the series progresses.  In the last book, Vesper is in her early 20s.  She marries and gives birth to a daughter, who she names Mary.

Vesper’s arch enemy throughout the series is the evil Dr. Helvitius.  He appears in every book with various evil schemes, like a villain from an old movie serial.  Vesper thwarts him each time, but somehow, he escapes to start his next evil scheme in the next book

Although these books take place at a definite time in the past, I don’t really consider them historical novels because many of the places in the books don’t really exist, so they aren’t really dealing with true history.  They’re more general adventure stories, kind of in the style of the old movie serials.

Books in the Series:

The Illyrian Adventure (1987)

Vesper convinces her new guardian to go with her to Illyria and continue her father’s work.

The El Dorado Adventure (1987)

Vesper and Brinnie go to Central America to see some land that Vesper has inherited and discover a plot to use her land for a greedy purpose that will harm the people who live in the area.

The Drackenberg Adventure (1988)

Vesper attends the Grand Duchess of Drackenberg’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration and finds herself involved with an invasion plot and a lost Leonardo da Vinci painting.

The Jedera Adventure (1989)

Vesper restores a rare lost book to an historical library in North Africa.

The Philadelphia Adventure (1990)

President Grant asks for Vesper’s help.  Foreign dignitaries are arriving for the 1876 Centennial Exposition, and Dr. Helvitius has kidnapped two children.

The Xanadu Adventure (2005)

Vesper goes to see the excavations of Troy and is captured by Dr. Helvitius, along with her family/traveling companions.