The Melendy Quartet, written by Elizabeth Enright, is a series of four children’s books titled The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, and Spiderweb for Two. The books are set in 1940’s America and are about the adventures of the Melendy children, Rush, Mona, Randy (short for Miranda), and Oliver, who live with their father and their housekeeper, Cuffy.
The Melendy Quartet contains examples of:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Averted by Mona in The Four-Story Mistake.
- Bookcase Passage: in The Four-Story Mistake.
- End of an Age: Growing up is one of the major themes of The Four-Story Mistake.
- Free-Range Children: The Melendy children are constantly going on adventures throughout New York City (in The Saturdays) and the countryside (in the later books) without adult supervision. That said, when six-year-old Oliver goes on an adventure on his own, it's considered a step too far.
- Fun with Acronyms: In The Saturdays, the children form the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club, or I.S.A.A.C.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!
- Happily Adopted: Mark, by the Melendy family in Then There Were Five.
- Hates Baths: Oliver
- Heartwarming Orphan: Mark Herron in Then There Were Five
- Indian Summer: The Four-Story Mistake
- Intergenerational Friendship: Randy and Mrs. Oliphant, also known as "the Elephant", develop one of these after Randy's Saturday. Also Oliver with Mr. Titus in THE FOUR STORY MISTAKE, and with Miss Bishop in SPIDERWEB FOR TWO.
- Kindly Housekeeper: Cuffy
- Meaningful Name: Rush names the stray dog he finds on his first Saturday outing "Isaac" after their club.
- Missing Mom: She died at some point in the past, but it's never made clear how.
- Nature Lover: All four children spend a great deal of their time exploring outdoors.
- Nuclear Family
- Old Retainer: Cuffy's been with the family at least since Mona was a baby.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: "Cuffy" is short for Evangeline Cuthbert-Stanley. Not that anyone ever calls her that.
- Outdoorsy Gal: Randy
- Pooled Funds: In The Saturdays, the Melendy children decide to pool their allowances and take turns going on an outing each weekend.
- Pursue the Dream Job: Mona eventually achieves her lifelong dream of becoming an actress.
- Slice of Life
- Standard '50s Father
- The All-American Boy
- The "Be Careful!" Speech: Mostly coming from Father and Cuffy.
- Treehouse of Fun: Rush builds a treehouse in The Four-Story Mistake.
