19th-Century Girls' Series

I've been researching series books for over twenty-five years. This page draws upon some of that research; it is devoted to bio-bibliographies and commentary about nineteenth-century authors of series books for girls and younger children as well as samples of some of their writing. It includes some of the century's most popular authors and a number of lesser-known figures whose works -- now almost forgotten -- show the evolution of the genre.

The most recent updates reflect my current interest in women authors, especially those slighted or omitted by traditional reference sources. Usually, such authors wrote only a few books or attained only modest success. Recovering their lives and works contributes to a better understanding of the development of series fiction and women's part in nineteenth-century publishing.

The table below alphabetizes authors by real names, using the Library of Congress authority file as a guideline; please check the comprehensive name index for pseudonyms and variants. The series bibliographies include links to etexts of volumes online at this site and elsewhere.