Written in epistolary style, in the point of view of just the one writer, this tells the story of a young socialite who accepts the position of superintendent of a orphaned children's home. It's part romance, part homily, especially on the subject of proper care and feeding of orphans. One surprising topic that is discussed very positively and authoritatively is eugenics. By the studies of the letter writer, it would seem that eugenics was accepted as the scientific method of sorting out the orphans who could be helped and those who could not, and she quite agreed that "mental defectives" should be separated from the general population. It wasn't so pervasive as to ruin the story, but it definitely dated it. We've come a long way, baby. 
 Daddy Longlegs is still my favorite by Jean Webster. I also have one called Just Patty that I am reading today. Cute, so far.