The Katy series is a set of novels by

Sarah Chauncey Woolsey Sarah Chauncey Woolsey (January 29, 1835 – April 9, 1905) was an American children's author who wrote under the pen name Susan Coolidge. Background Woolsey was born on January 29, 1835 into the wealthy, influential New England Dwight famil ...

, writing under the

pen-name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Susan Coolidge. The first in the series, ''

What Katy Did ''What Katy Did'' is an 1872 children's book written by Sarah Chauncey Woolsey under her pen name "Susan Coolidge". It follows the adventures of a twelve-year-old American girl, Katy Carr, and her family who live in the fictional lakeside Ohio to ...

'', was published in 1872 and followed the next year by ''What Katy Did at School''. ''

What Katy Did Next ''What Katy Did Next'' (1886) is a children's book by Sarah Chauncey Woolsey, working under the pen name Susan Coolidge. It follows the stories ''What Katy Did'' (1872) and ''What Katy Did At School'' (1873) and tells the adventures of Katy Carr ...

'' was released in 1886. Two further novels, ''Clover'' (1888) and ''In the High Valley'' (1890), focused upon other members of the

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

character's family. The series was popular with readers in the late 19th century. The series was later adapted into a TV series entitled ''Katy'' in 1962, and two films, one also called ''Katy'' in 1972 and ''What Katy Did'' in 1999.

Novels

* ''

'' (1872) * ''What Katy Did at School'' (1873) * ''

'' (1886) * ''Clover'' (1888) * ''In the High Valley'' (1890)

Adaptions

* ''Katy'' (TV series, 1962) * ''Katy'' (film, 1972) * ''What Katy Did'' (film, 1999) * '' Katy'' (retelling by

Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her lar ...

, 2015) * '' Katy'' (TV series based on Wilson's retelling, 2018)

Literary criticism

Critics are divided about how much the series played into period gender norms and often compare the series to ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the lives ...

''.Sicherman, Barbara. Well-Read Lives: How Books Inspired a Generation of American Women. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2010. Project MUSE.Kutzer, M. Daphne. "Little women and their books." The Lion and the Unicorn, vol. 20 no. 2, 1996, pp. 288-292. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/uni.1996.0016Clark, Beverly Lyon. Regendering the School Story: Sassy Sissies and Tattling Tomboys. Routledge, 2001. Foster and Simmons argue for its subversion of gender in their book ''What Katy Read: Feminist Re-Readings of ‘Classic’ Stories for Girls'' by suggesting the series “deconstructs family hierarchies”.

Influence

The series is unusual for its time by having an entry which focuses not on the family life at home but at school in ''What Katy Did at School''.Hunt, Peter, and Sheila G. Bannister Ray. International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. Routledge, 2014. In a 1995 survey, ''

'' was voted as one of the top 10 books for 12-year-old girls.

References

External links

Series details at Fantastic Fiction

''Katy series''
at

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