Cherry Ames is the central character in a series of 27 mystery novels with hospital settings published by Grosset & Dunlap between 1943 and 1968. Helen Wells (1910-1986) wrote volumes #1-7 and 17-27, and

Julie Campbell Tatham Julie Campbell Tatham (June 1, 1908 – July 7, 1999) was an American writer of children's novels, who also wrote for adults, especially on Christian Science. As Julie Campbell she was the creator of the Trixie Belden series (she wrote the first ...

(1908-1999), the creator of

Trixie Belden Trixie Belden is the title character in a series of "detective" mysteries written between 1948 and 1986. The first six books were written by Julie Campbell Tatham, who also wrote the Ginny Gordon series; the stories were then continued by variou ...

, wrote volumes #8-16. Wells also created the Vicki Barr series. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the series encouraged girls to become nurses as a way to aid the war effort. ''Cherry Ames'' original editions are prized by collectors and fans. The series generated a few spin-off items, including a Parker Brothers board game; some titles have been reprinted.

Character

The series stars a job-hopping,

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

-solving

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

in the

Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a fictional character appearing in several mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Crea ...

mold, named Cherry Ames. Cherry (short for Charity) hails from Hilton, Illinois (based on Wells' hometown of

Danville, Illinois Danville is a city in and the county seat of Vermilion County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 33,027. As of 2019, the population was an estimated 30,479. History The area that is now Danville was once home to the Miami, K ...

), and was steered into nursing by Dr. Joseph Fortune, an old family friend. Cherry's training at the Spencer Hospital School of Nursing is chronicled in the first two books. There, she meets the classmates who become lifelong friends. With the third book in the series ''Army Nurse'', Cherry joins the Army Nurse Corps, and, after the war, she moves to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. Whenever Cherry isn't working with the Visiting Nurse Service, Dr. Joe sends her on assignments in various parts of the country. Unlike other nurses of girls' fiction, such as Sue Barton, Cherry remains unpartnered throughout her career, although an occasional beau will crop up, such as Dr. "Lex" Upham.

Evolution of character

Cherry's early adventures are set during World War II. In these early adventures, Cherry solves problems and captures criminals when men in authority have failed to do so, "demonstrating that women can succeed in the public, working world."

Books

The books were written by Helen Wells and Julie Tatham and published in the United States by Grosset & Dunlap between 1943 and 1968. They were extensively printed in the United Kingdom in the 1950s and 1960s. The books are an example of the "girls' series" genre. Girls' series books follow a girl in her late teens or early twenties, usually with an interesting job, who goes on adventures either on her own or with a small group of friends. The genre was occasionally criticized for its formulaic plots and the poor construction of the books themselves. Beginning in 2005, the Cherry Ames series was licensed to the Springer Publishing Company and are currently being re-printed. In addition, a new edition of ''Cherry Ames, Student Nurse'' was released by the Palm Healthcare Foundation, Inc., through its Palm Publishing LLC subsidiary. Proceeds from the sale of the books were used to support nursing scholarships.

Titles

1. ''Cherry Ames, Student Nurse'' (1943)
2. ''Cherry Ames, Senior Nurse'' (1944)
3. ''Cherry Ames, Army Nurse'' (1944)
4. ''Cherry Ames, Chief Nurse'' (1944)
5. ''Cherry Ames, Flight Nurse'' (1945)
6. ''Cherry Ames, Veterans' Nurse'' (1946)
7. ''Cherry Ames, Private Duty Nurse'' (1946)
8. ''Cherry Ames, Visiting Nurse'' (1947)
9. ''Cherry Ames, Cruise Nurse'' (1948)
10. ''Cherry Ames, At Spencer'' (1949)
11. ''Cherry Ames, Night Supervisor'' (1950)
12. ''Cherry Ames, Mountaineer Nurse'' (1951)
13. ''Cherry Ames, Clinic Nurse'' (1952)
14. ''Cherry Ames, Dude Ranch Nurse'' (1953)
15. ''Cherry Ames, Rest Home Nurse'' (1954)
16. ''Cherry Ames, Country Doctor's Nurse'' (1955)
17. ''Cherry Ames, Boarding School Nurse'' (1955)
18. ''Cherry Ames, Department Store Nurse'' (1956)
19. ''Cherry Ames, Camp Nurse'' (1957)
20. ''Cherry Ames, At Hilton Hospital'' (1959)
21. ''Cherry Ames, Island Nurse'' (1960)
22. ''Cherry Ames, Rural Nurse''Re-printed as ''The Case of the Dangerous Remedy''. (1961)
23. ''Cherry Ames, Staff Nurse'' (1962)
24. ''Cherry Ames, Companion Nurse'' (1964)
25. ''Cherry Ames, Jungle Nurse'' (1965)
26. ''Cherry Ames: The Mystery in the Doctor's Office'' (1966)
27. ''Cherry Ames: Ski Nurse Mystery'' (1968)

Spin-offs

Between 1957 and 1964, the ''Cherry Ames Girls Annual'' was printed and distributed in the UK, usually before Christmas. Each annual had two original Cherry Ames short stories by Helen Wells, and additional stories by other authors. In 1959, ''Cherry Ames' Book of First Aid and Home Nursing'' was published by Helen Wells for adolescents as a companion volume to the series. Also in 1959, '' Cherry Ames' Nursing Game'' was published by American

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

titan, Parker Brothers Inc. Designed for 2 to 6 players, the game consists of a center-seamed, illustrated game board depicting various rooms in a hospital, 6 colored tokens, 36 colored rings, 20 directional cards, and a spinner. The object of the game is to travel about the board, gather six rings, and then leave the board at the space marked 'graduate.'

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Grosset and DunlapSpringer Publishing Company
*
The Cherry Ames Nursing Stories 1-4 (Box Set) Deluxe Hardcover Edition
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' April 6, 2006
"Cherry Ames, a Rebel With a Cause, Who Would Surely Shake Up the VA"

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May 27, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Cherry Book series introduced in 1943 Literary characters introduced in 1943 Characters in American novels of the 20th century Female characters in literature Fictional female detectives Ames, Cherry Juvenile series Novel series Books featuring nurses Fictional amateur detectives Fictional American nurses Children's mystery novels