Betsy comes home from Europe to a whirlwind marriage with her soulmate, Joe Willard, at long last. And they move into a cozy apartment, where Betsy Ray finally learns to cook, and they encourage one another with their writing, and send stories to magazines that sometimes even sell! Meanwhile Joe works at the newspaper, money's tight, Tacy's raising her son and Tib, as always, is flitting around to wherever the fun's at.

And in the end, Joe goes off to fight in World War I, promising that when he comes home they will continue to write together, and publish, and be the authors they always knew they would be.

(And since these stories are autobiographical, and since Maud and Delos Lovelace wrote many things together after the war, we can take comfort in knowing it's true.)

n  "Nothing in the whole world could come between you and me, Betsy. We're . . . woven together. You know that. And darling, when I come back we'll have our little home again. We'll have Bettina."

"How do you know all these things?" Betsy asked through her tears.

"I know," he said. "I feel it in my bones."n


No words at the moment. Just extreme joy. I want to draw hearts all over this book.

Sigh. Betsy and Joe will from now on definitely feature in my list of favourite fictional characters.

They are the best.

in which betsy comes home from europe and marries jooooooooe!!
and they buy a cute little house.
and try to set up tib with a new york millionaire.
and join a writing group and sell their stories to magazines.
and aunt ruth moves in with them. (i love this part. i love how betsy didn't want it to happen but she knew that joe wouldn't be joe unless he took care of his aunt, and it all turned out ok!!)
and america goes to war. it is so interesting to me how different the attitude was towards worlds wars I & II compared to wars our country fights today.

i'm so sad that the series is done.

What a wonderful end to a delightful series. I thoroughly enjoyed Betsy’s first few years of marriage- something we rarely get to see girls’ lit heroines go through. Joe’s supportiveness of her writing was a nice touch, though I wish we’d seen more of her professional success.

Again, Lovelace can write nostalgia like no one I’ve ever read. When Betsy and Tacy were climbing the Big Hill, reminiscing over childhood, I felt a tightness in my own chest, as if I too were remembering our shared childhood.

There is an unfortunate mention of a great picture, The Birth of a Nation (gross). But overall the book and the series have aged well. I look forward to returning to this series again and again.

I can never decide which of the Betsy-Tacy books are my favorite. I think that's because I love them all (especially the ones from her highschool years on) equally. They are all so sweet and perfect and I love them. But Betsy's Wedding has a special place in my heart.

Why? Well, y'know. Betsy and Joe are (big spoilers ...) married in this one. They are adorable. Like, they must be the cutest couple ever! They get along so well, and even when they disagree, they manage to get through it together. It's a hard time for a young couple to get started in the world (yet another spoiler: WW1), but they get through it together. I only wish Lovelace had written just one more book! At the end, Joe goes off to war. I mean, seriously?! Was there ever a worse cliffhanger in the history of books?!?!?! Yet another author I have to look up in Heaven (you know, assuming ... but I'm sure she's a Christian!) and yell at. And force to write a sequel. If one is allowed to write in Heaven ... but I'd assume you would be. :P

And we get to see the whole Crowd settled. Tacy (ohmygosh!!!), Cab (which was cute), Carney, Sam ... we even hear Tony mentioned, I think. And of course Tib. *giggles* That was possibly the cutest subplot ever. Oh, wow, am I glad she didn't end up with Rocky! He was suuuuch a stinker! No way was he husband-worthy material for Tib! But the guy Tib did marry was awesome for her.

Also, I was juuuust a wee bit disappointed that Betsy and Joe didn't have a baby. I mean, Betsy even admits on several occasions that she wants a baby, and they talk about having kids. But then they don't. I suppose it would be kinda inconvenient because of the war and all ... but still. I really wish they could've had a baby before the series ended! So yeah. Yet another reason we need an 11th Betsy-Tacy book.

I wonder if Lovelace just thought ten was a nice even number or ...? WELL SO IS TWELVE!!! I wouldn't complain at all. *is so sad*

But yep, this is one of my favorite books of all time, and I just can't get enough of it! :)

Kellyn Roth, Reveries Reviews

IM GOING TO EXPLODE!!! I actually feel like I'm going to explode!!!! I've reverted back to my 12 year old self I haven't felt this mood in a couple years by this point but it hit me HARD reading this book. I'm going to scream what is going on. They're all married and going to war and not all of them will survive and I don't even know who will and AAAA? ??????? sob I don't even know I think I need sleep I'm almost 18 why am I like this.
Thank God the old Crowd showed up in this book I was actually going to commit a crime if the majority of them didn't. WHY was everyone in Minneapolis I missed something and I also miss Deep Valley don't read 5?6? books in a day like I do I lost count.
ALSO WHERE'S TONY I MISS HIM edit: I also just remembered Dave and that football dude and the other boys i completely forgot the names of. I also miss them

So it wasn't as much like Anne's House of Dreams as I feared it would be. Really, Tacy is the one who gets the house of dreams, and the babies. Betsy and Joe are wonderful together, even though sometimes Betsy would say something about how she wanted Joe to have the final word in all things and I would be like, harumph. But then it would be all right, because until Joe felt that Betsy approved (like in the case of his Aunt Ruth coming to stay with them), everything was wrong between them. And they both continued to write, and make big plans, and Betsy learned how to cook (shades of Meg March!), though not how to sew. I was glad that Betsy was still Betsy, and that Tacy came into herself when she got married and had a home of her own, and Tib was still quirky and crazy. And I'm glad the book ended before Joe and all of the other men went off to the war, because frankly, I don't want to know what happens to them. I'm going to leave this series with Joe and Betsy dancing on the porch during Tib's wedding.

The last book in the Betsy series. I enjoyed seeing World war 1. Seeing tib fall in love after the too old boyfriend and the toxic boyfriend .She finally found her Prince charming. I did wish she stay unmarried but the time in which the books were set wouldn't allow it

I liked this one more than Betsy and the Great World, but it still didn't have as much plot as I would have liked.

And here we have it–the long-awaited grand finale to the Betsy-Tacy books! Betsy’s Wedding fulfilled all of my desires for happy endings and brought everything together wonderfully.

This book would probably be more appropriately titled Betsy’s Marriage, as the wedding takes place within the first couple of chapters. The only slightly unbelievable part of the entire story is that Betsy and Joe have been estranged for three years, and yet decide to get married within two weeks of being reunited. But still, more power to them! They settle down in Minneapolis, near Betsy’s family, and begin their life together, and it’s adorable and sweet and profound, just like the rest of the books.

One that that has been incredibly annoying is that all the forewords of these beautiful new editions are invariably written by a rabid feminist who insists that Lovelace was a rabid feminist as well (apparently because she wrote about girls who were happy and not very good at cooking), so hopefully you will excuse me while I address a few of the issues raised on this topic.

First off, the foreword of this book insists that Betsy is a wonderful example of a feminist because she always wanted to be a writer, not a housewife. And yet the entirety of Betsy’s Wedding is about Betsy being a housewife, and loving every moment of it. In fact, Betsy actually bemoans, on multiple occasions, the fact that she didn’t devote more time growing up to learning housewifely skills. At one point, Joe has been working for a lady named Mrs. Hawthorne, but has now been promoted to working for a major newspaper, owned by Mrs. Hawthorne’s husband.

After dinner, when Joe’s transfer to the Courier was being discussed, Mrs. Hawthorne turned to Betsy.

“It will be hard for me to fill Joe’s place,” she said. “Would you like to try? I know you write. You might enjoy working in a publicity office.”

Betsy was very pleased but her answer came promptly. “Oh, Mrs. Hawthorne, I know I’d love it! Joe has told me how delightful your office is. But, Mrs. Hawthorn, I already have a job.”

“You have?” She sounded surprised.

“Yes. And it’s important, and very hard. It’s learning how to keep house.”

Ah yes, she definitely sounds like a career woman, doesn’t she?

Later in the book, Betsy and Joe have their first real trouble when Joe’s aunt (who raised Joe) wants to come and live with them. Betsy is sad to see their happy honeymoon time broken up, and although she’s agreed, she knows that her heart is still in rebellion. And so, she goes to church to pray.

Betsy dug her head into her arms. “Help me, God! Please help me!” she prayed.

This was the first real problem of their marriage. Up to now, everything had been perfect. Her struggles with cooking, Joe’s low moods hadn’t mattered, really. This was different. This was a real disagreement.

Joe had decided it. “But I wanted him to. one person in a family has to have the final word. I want it to be Joe, always.”

Betsy’s prayers help her to realize that by asking Joe to tell his aunt no, she is actually asking Joe to be less than himself–to do something that his conscience tells him would be wrong. But the point is, Betsy makes an important decision at this moment. It’s more than agreeing that Joe’s aunt can come stay. It’s acknowledging that she wants Joe to be the leader in their home. Betsy will always tell her thoughts and opinions and share her insight, and Joe will always listen, but she has decided that when it comes down to it, she wants Joe to have the final say, because she knows that a harmonious home exists when each person fills the role they were meant to play.

All this to say–I think that Betsy is a beautiful example of true femininity. She is intelligent, she has dreams, she is true to herself, she is independent, but she also embraces her role as a housewife, prioritizes her husband and household’s needs above her own, and in general tries to mature into a true woman–changing and shaping her character because that’s what maturity does: it changes us from selfish, self-absorbed, self-adulating children, into outward-focused, selfless adults.

The feminist of the foreword (Anne Quindlen, if you’re interested) insists that Betsy (and, consequently, Lovelace) was a feminist because she had dreams and aspirations. But I believe that that simply makes her a person. It is Betsy’s goodness and yearning to do what’s right that helps her to grow into a woman. Betsy becomes content and happy with her life when she is filling the role of a help meet–for Joe, for her parents, for her friends–because Betsy has learned that dreams are good and beautiful, but that no shame is to be found in simple loving service.

Well, that was lazy and colorless and then very war-loving all at once... gave me war flashbacks to Rilla of Ingleside personally.