Susan Coolidge Books In Order

Publication Order of Katy Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Susan Coolidge aka Sarah Chauncey Woolsey was a noteworthy American writer of children’s books. She was famous for writing the Katy Did series of novels under her pen name. Coolidge was born into the rich and influential Dwight Family of New England on January 29, 1835, in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents had quite an influence during their time. Poet and author Gamel Woolsey was Coolidge’s niece. During her childhood, she lived in New Haven, Connecticut following her family’s relocation to the place in 1852. After growing up, Coolidge served as a nurse at the time of the American Civil War. When the War came to an end, she began writing and settled down as a writer. Coolidge never married and lived in her family house in Newport, Rhode Island, until she breathed her last. Coolidge credited to have edited The Diary and Letters of France Burney and The Autobiography & correspondence of Mrs. Delaney.

Author Coolidge made her debut as a writer of full-length novels with the 1872 book called What Katy Did. After the nationwide success of the book, she developed a series featuring the main characters by writing and publishing a few more books. This series revolves around a fictional family called the Carr family. Based on this family, the series is also known as the Carr family series. Coolidge modeled this family based on her own and the central character Katy Carr was inspired by her own self. Katy Carr’s brothers and sisters were influenced by the siblings of Coolidge. In addition to this renowned series, Coolidge had written numerous standalone books in her career. Some of the most prominent ones include Not Quite Eighteen, The Rule of Three, A Guernsey Lily, Two Girls, A Little Country Girl, etc.

The mischievous and vivacious heroines depicted by Coolidge in her books presented a famous contrast to the norm of that time. Author Coolidge was believed to have developed an interest in reading and writing at a young age. In 1870, following the death of her father, her family moved to Newport and settled there. By that time, Coolidge had already released a few magazine articles. She had also started to write in earnest through the influence of a close friend named Helen Hunt, in part. In 1871, Coolidge published her first collection of stories in The New Year’s Bargain. It was written for girls in their teenage years.

It was also the first time that she used the pen name, Susan Coolidge. After that, she continued releasing all her books under the same name. Many critics have noted that the factors that set Coolidge’s books apart from all the other contemporary literature are her high-spirited and good-natured heroines. They helped the books to retain their popularity for many decades. Besides her full-length books, Coolidge had released 3 volumes of poetry. The third one, Last Verses, was published in 1906 posthumously. She had also translated the book, My Household of Pets, originally written by Theophile Gautier in 1882.

The Katy Did series written by author Susan Coolidge is comprised of 5 books released between 1872 and 1890. Each book of this series features the lead character in the form of a girl named Katy Carr. Other essential characters created by Coolidge for the series include Clover Carr, Dory Carr, Phil Carr, Cousin Helen, Johnnie Carr, Elsie Carr, Imogen Carr, Aunt Izzie, Cecy Hall, Philip Carr, etc. The debut book of this series is entitled ‘What Katy Did’. It was released in 1872 and follows the life of a 12year old American girl named Katy Carr. Katy lives with her family in a fictional Ohio town called Burnet during the 1860s. Coolidge has described Katy Carr as a tall, untidy tomboy, who wishes to be beloved and beautiful. When she meets a terrible accident and remains ill for 4 years, her recovery teaches her to be kind and good to others to become beautiful from inside.

After this book, Coolidge wrote two more books featuring Katy’s adventures and two further books revolving around her younger siblings. All five books have undergone multiple reprints over the years and are now available online. The debut book opens by introducing Katy Carr as living with a single father, three sisters, and two brothers in Burnet. Her father works as a doctor and remains very busy with his work. The children are mostly looked after by Aunt Izzie. Headstrong and bright Katy keeps getting into mischievous activities almost daily and seems remorseful afterward. She shows kindness towards children and hopes to do something big with her life someday. After her mother’s death, Katy promised to perform all the duties of a mother for her siblings. But, she ends up becoming the impatient big sister, who takes them to exciting adventures.

Inspired by her cousin Helen’s beauty and kindness, she also aspires to be like her. But, she quarrels with Aunt Izzie for petty things and hurts her younger sisters in her rage. Because of her rebellious nature, she goes to try out a swing that her aunt had forbidden to use. Unfortunately, she meets with an accident and is left bedridden for four years. This incident teaches an important lesson about life to Katy and motivates her to behave properly with older and younger ones alike.

The second volume of the series is known as ‘What Katy Did at School’. It was published by the Dodo publication in 2007 after its first release in 1873. This book opens by mentioning that Katy Carr’s father makes up his mind to send Katy and her sister Clover to boarding school for one year. They resist to move out of their house and away from their siblings. But, their father does not listen to any of their excuses. At first, the new school appears to be a strange place for the girls. But, after a few days, they get the instinct that the place might actually be a lot different and fun-filled than they expected. And when they become friends with a girl named Rose Red, they become confident that their time at the boarding school is not going to be dull at all. This book entertained the readers just like the previous book and gave them more insights into the adventurous like of Katy Carr. Its success motivated Coolidge to write stories about Katy Carr and her siblings.