Written by Margaret Sidney starting in 1881, the Five Little Peppers series chronicles the lives of five siblings named Pepper as they age over a dozen books. The series covers the Peppers' lives from small childhood up to the womanhood of the youngest Phronsie. Episodic in style, the books cover such topics as poverty, friendship, disease, and change as experienced by a poor family in late-nineteenth century America.
The books are the basis for a series of films by Columbia Pictures released in 1939/1940. The films star Edith Fellows as Polly, there promoted to eldest sibling. More of a loose adaptation (about a 2 on the Sliding Scale of Adaptation Modification), Columbia Pictures nonetheless made four films for the series.
The wikepedia page for the series can be found here
. Most of the books are available on Project Gutenberg (sorted alphabetically) here.
Five Little Peppers contains examples of:
- As the Good Book Says...: Margaret Sidney is not afraid to espouse her Christian views through the words of her characters.
- Big Brother Instinct: Ben is very aware of his responsibility to his siblings. Jasper also acts this way towards both the Peppers and the Whitneys, despite not being brother to either group. Elyot King does have the instinct to protect his sister Barby, but often only when his (same-age) uncle King picks on her.
- Big Friendly Dog: Prince is aptly named.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Phronsie has frequent bouts of whimsy, even as an adult.
- Cool Uncle: Jasper is only a few years older than the Whitney children and they adore him.
- Death of a Child: There are multiple instances in the books of one or more of the children being in mortal peril. Phronsie's little friend Helen is the only on-page death, however.
- Defrosting Ice King: Mr. King starts the series as a crotchety, fussy man prone to hypochondria and yelling. Although he remains fidgety and stern, the Peppers (and his grandchildren the Whitneys) soften him up considerably over the years. Phronsie specifically begins the process.
- Disappeared Dad: The Peppers' father died many years ago. This is lightly subverted with the Whitneys, as their father is merely away on an extended business trip.
- Dumb Blonde: Alexia is book-dumb, flighty, and shallow. Her greatest ambition in life is to enjoy her status as a wealthy socialite and she has conniptions if her plans are altered even slightly. She's still one of Polly's closest non-related female friends, however.
- Phronsie is a downplayed example. She's childlike and innocent even into her twenties and to modern readers can come off a bit of a ditz.
- Even Evil Has Standards: When a burglar attempts to attack Phronsie to silence her his partner stops him mid-strike.
- Eye Scream: Polly nearly loses her eyesight to measles.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Phronsie is blonde and is as sweet as the come.
- Heartwarming Orphan: There are two that become secondary characters: one is already orphaned at their introduction and the other is orphaned due to a train crash. In later books there's an entire school of these that plays some significance to the plot.
- Honor Before Reason: It's a sign of changing values, but the entire primary cast following Mr. King's word—regardless of the consequences—can look this way to modern readers. From declining good marriage proposals to putting aside their dreams if Mr. King disapproves, everyone will acquiesce to the patriarch of their clan no matter his reasoning or the result.
- Honorary Uncle: "Grandma" Bascom is treated as such by the Peppers, despite being an unrelated old lady.
- Mr. King is called and treated as "Grandpa" by the Peppers. Considering what he does for them, the affection is obviously returned.
- Interclass Friendship: The friendship between the Peppers, the Kings, and the Whitneys is this.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Despite his gruff exterior, Mr. King is absolutely devoted to Phronsie. He warms to the other Peppers extremely quickly as well.
- Long-Lost Relative: Mrs. Pepper and Mr. Whitney are cousins who had thought each other lost.
- Kissing Cousins: Van and Dick both propose to Phronsie (their second cousin) multiple times when they're grown. Van gets over her rejections easily and engages to someone else, while Dick loses out to Roslyn May. However, Dick and his attentions are an afterthought in the narrative and there's no mention of how he takes Phronsie's marriage to Roslyn.
- Maybe Ever After: There's some Ship Tease with Ben/Charlotte Chatterton as well as Joel/Amy Loughland. However, as all of it is contained within the last book chronologically (and is mostly confined to the last chapters of said book), nothing comes of either pairing.
- Missing Mom: Jasper's mother died some time ago.
- Moe: Although all of the children are cute, Phronsie is explicitly considered this way by everyone who meets her.
- Nice to the Waiter: The second book opens with a scene of Phronsie going to the kitchen to make Polly a treat, with the Black cook to help her. Jefferson, the cook, is clearly devoted to Phronsie and she even says that she loves him because he's so good to her.
- Notably, Mr. King is not automatically this and requires several remonstrations from the Peppers and snubs by affronted servants/workers to get better.
- Mrs. Chatterton is horrible to everyone, including Polly (when she nurses the old woman) and her maid. Which probably precipitates said maid's attempt to steal Mrs. Chatterton's jewels and run.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Mrs. Pepper and Mr. King have complete control over who their respective children marry—Mrs. Pepper also allows Mr. King a voice in who her children marry, due to being the clan/family patriarch and her children's benefactor.
- In an inversion, Mrs. Pepper allows her children to veto her marriage to Dr. Fisher, but they are all ecstatic to have the doctor as a stepfather (after they explain the situation properly to Phronsie).
- Mr. King vetoes Roslyn May at first due to not wanting to give up Phronsie as his companion (although his excuse is Roslyn's career as a poor artist). It's only when Roslyn becomes deathly ill and Phronise becomes severely depressed that he relents, allowing them to marry as a means to inspire Roslyn to get better.
- They unanimously veto Livingston Bailey for Polly (who agrees). Mrs. Pepper doesn't veto Mr. Loughland but he's beaten out by Jasper in the end. Pickering Dodge is never even really in the running (and thus not approved or vetoed), and he remains bitter about this for years.
- Relationship Upgrade: Mrs. Pepper and Doctor Fisher get one in the second book while Polly and Jasper get one in the third.
- Shipper on Deck: Mr. King is a huge fan of Polly/Jasper. Alexia is vocally not a fan of Polly/Pickering because she doesn't think that he's good enough for Polly. Doesn't stop Alexia from marrying Pickering herself, though.
- Ship Tease:
- Polly and Jasper are increasingly close throughout the books. They eventually marry.
- There's some subtle ship tease between Ben and Charlotte Chatterton in the last book chronologically.
- There's even less for Joel and Amy Loughland: their one major tease is locking eyes at Phronsie's wedding.
- Slice of Life: The books are very episodic, with most chapters covering one event or scene in the daily lives of the characters. Even overarching plots such as the Peppers and the Whitneys being related almost always show up in a single chapter. This trend disappears in the later books.
- Spoiled Sweet: Marian Whitney is kind, lovely, and sweet despite living in luxury her entire life. Eventually Polly and Phronsie become this as well, due to being supported by the Kings and the Whitneys from young childhood.
- Struggling Single Mother: Mrs. Pepper does whatever she can to provide for her children but just can't seem to get ahead. The first book deals extensively with the Peppers' poverty.
- The third book features a minor character as one of these.
- The Dandy: Mr. King is an elegant, finicky man who loathes discomfort. David grows into one as well.
- Unknown Relative: The Peppers are cousins to the Whitneys, who they have been living with as charity boarders. Although the adults know that their relatives exist somewhere, the children are blindsided.
- Grace Tupper, Polly's boarder in the fourth book, just happens to be the cousin of Phronsie's suitor Roslyn May.
- Unwanted Harem: Polly collects no fewer than four young suitors in the third book but only has eyes for one of them. She chooses Jasper. Of the rejects, one appears in the fourth book married but still bitter, one leaves with his dignity intact and doesn't appear again (despite his sister remaining an important secondary character), and one (a primary character) marries Polly's close friend—and also remains bitter for some time.
- Victorious Childhood Friend: Polly and Jasper meet when she's ten and he's twelve. The book implies that Jasper is the first boy outside of Polly's immediate family that she's ever met. Of her four serious suitors as a young woman, she chooses Jasper.
