Biblio Library

The third novel in Carolyn Wells ‘Patty Fairfield’ series of children’s books, in ‘Patty in the City’, we follow Patty as she moves to New York City with her father and grandmother and starts a new school. Despite being a kind and thoughtful young girl, Patty struggles to make friends at first. She soon finds her way however, and even starts a club with the goal of spreading cheerfulness. A sweet and charming story from the prolific American author.

Carolyn Wells (1862-1942) was a prolific American novelist and poet, best known for her children’s literature, mystery novels and humorous verse. Following school in New Jersey, Wells worked as a librarian, where she developed her love of reading. It was during 1896 that Wells' first book ‘At the Sign of the Sphinx’ was published. From 1900 she dedicated herself to her literary career, writing over 170 novels in total across a range of genres. Some of her most loved works include the ‘Patty Fairfield’ and ‘Marjorie Maynard’ series for girls, as well as the ‘Fleming Stone’ mystery series for adults. Wells is also well-known for her humorous nonsense verse, and was a frequent contributor of verse to magazines. She published an autobiography ‘The Rest of my Life’ in 1937. Wells died in New York City in 1942.