Ebook388 pages10 hours
The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this ebook
The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells is the first biography of one of the “lost ladies” of detective fiction who wrote more than eighty mysteries and hundreds of other works between the 1890s and the 1940s.
Carolyn Wells (1862–1942) excelled at writing country house and locked-room mysteries for a decade before Agatha Christie entered the scene. In the 1920s, when she was churning out three or more books annually, she was dubbed “about the biggest thing in mystery novels in the US.”
On top of that, Wells wielded her pen in just about every literary genre, producing several immensely popular children’s books and young adult novels; beloved anthologies; and countless stories, prose, and poetry for magazines such as Thrilling Detective, Life, The Saturday Evening Post, Harper’s, and The New Yorker. All told, Wells wrote over 180 books. Some were adapted into silent films, and some became bestsellers. Yet a hundred years later, she has been all but erased from literary history. Why? How?
This investigation takes us on a journey to Rahway, New Jersey, where Wells was born and is buried; to New York City’s Upper West Side, where she spent her final twenty-five years; to the Library of Congress, where Carolyn’s world-class collection of rare books now resides; and to many other public and private collections where exciting discoveries unfolded.
Part biography and part sleuthing narrative, The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells recovers the life and work of a brilliant writer who was considered one of the funniest, most talented women of her time.
Carolyn Wells (1862–1942) excelled at writing country house and locked-room mysteries for a decade before Agatha Christie entered the scene. In the 1920s, when she was churning out three or more books annually, she was dubbed “about the biggest thing in mystery novels in the US.”
On top of that, Wells wielded her pen in just about every literary genre, producing several immensely popular children’s books and young adult novels; beloved anthologies; and countless stories, prose, and poetry for magazines such as Thrilling Detective, Life, The Saturday Evening Post, Harper’s, and The New Yorker. All told, Wells wrote over 180 books. Some were adapted into silent films, and some became bestsellers. Yet a hundred years later, she has been all but erased from literary history. Why? How?
This investigation takes us on a journey to Rahway, New Jersey, where Wells was born and is buried; to New York City’s Upper West Side, where she spent her final twenty-five years; to the Library of Congress, where Carolyn’s world-class collection of rare books now resides; and to many other public and private collections where exciting discoveries unfolded.
Part biography and part sleuthing narrative, The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells recovers the life and work of a brilliant writer who was considered one of the funniest, most talented women of her time.
Author
Rebecca Rego Barry
Rebecca Rego Barry is a writer and editor who lives in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her articles and essays about books, history, and collectibles have appeared in Financial Times, Literary Hub, CrimeReads, Atlas Obscura, Lapham’s Quarterly, Smithsonian Magazine, The Guardian, The Public Domain Review, Fine Books Magazine, and elsewhere. Her first book, Rare Books Uncovered: True Stories of Fantastic Finds in Unlikely Places, was published in 2015.
Related to The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells
Related ebooks
The Christmas Egg Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Parnassus on Wheels (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMurder in the Bookshop Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Moon's Crossing: A Novel Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5In the Shadow of the Dreamchild: The Myth and Reality of Lewis Carroll Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlice's Adventures in Wonderland and Other Classic Works Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A landscape painter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsParnassus on Wheels (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tao of Humiliation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCalled Back Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Rogue’s Life by Wilkie Collins - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHide and Seek by Wilkie Collins - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdventures Among Books Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Life of Robert Burns Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Treasury of the Fantastic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Diary of a Provincial Lady Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Card From Angela Carter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thirteen Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Highwayman and Mr. Dickens: An Account of the Strange Events of the Medusa Murders Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Queen of Hearts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBooks and Authors: Curious Facts and Characteristic Sketches Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Trumpeter of Krakow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lewis Seymour and Some Women (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMary Shelley The Dover Reader Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVirginia Woolf: Her Greatest Works Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsListening to the Page: Adventures in Reading and Writing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and the Secret History of Wonderland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5O Caledonia: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5’Twixt Dog and Wolf Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5
Literary Biographies For You
The Very Best of Maya Angelou: The Voice of Inspiration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Incest: From "A Journal of Love": The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1932–1934 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Murder Your Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing into the Wound: Understanding trauma, truth, and language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and His Black and White Ball Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Henry and June: From "A Journal of Love," The Unexpurgated Diary (1931–1932) of Anaïs Nin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1931–1934 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Molly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Albert Camus: Existentialism, the Absurd and rebellion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Party Monster: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writers and Their Notebooks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Distance Between Us: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confessions of a Bookseller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Aloysius X. L. Pendergast: A Mysterious Profile Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Real Lolita: A Lost Girl, an Unthinkable Crime, and a Scandalous Masterpiece Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shakespeare: The World as Stage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glass Castle: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Letters from Max: A Poet, a Teacher, a Friendship Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dad on Pills: Fatherhood and Mental Illness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Writer's Diary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells - Rebecca Rego Barry
Ѵe book_preview_excerpt.html }nID7 HEMB(%ZB=FFxfF12"*.Le=C?-až,zzz_{d9fIv.qq777;fvuפ7Y}_7|m]9o*ɻ6-6:lڄiUtZ'*yu,<̞>7]&mئu,IVo|mӾ I>7k"nbUdI:wM'6}
Y.).Y
qaS!9x~ dBؽ/x)G˟K> ò[`D!隶Xoz& m
ca,ſ:yI]CP:L)y
I_'k>iU߾6q)?qջP\vwb8(bBC.8gu}m&OX!e,WCyh*I]-[˲Mj6$K9 ~UR|IX+'VYw}Ru E|"JN6EcA>:NA$+BK\4
hPJXR\Xۢ'amҬeB.)SE1oZ*ݚlxA6E]
NUBYӦYWmF-IR>$z8w?}3S);Lr6E[/6(]KO0>"4\&)̒3>V=cMu
wZa"k쌎s^MH)4R46vlcT>-n롭jҤ~0vy2N94hv-%.{ӄ~9
0W4Y~ٹu9*vT|څ`O`2\V6rOԡn
^SXPnחEԦõ}
E $yU$slyrVBoOz2)(Um8__{x!G0`2EXF'疧6u1-i*
Kx3m!Ľ{k}iƍn(г~m06$(&J``ɜj5l`fxK7o/e]c-m6
lTJyv5Ƙ{I[FG,SVvU2{ס+Z`C&tuy%62KfRkz6XʖqGRtϵ#HOwo/W_'ޟ]^&}ٛ'}W_<:zŃ/_'ۗ=A̓i/r7M^Fer+w&<