Carolyn Wells


Carolyn Wells was an American writer and poet.

Life and career

Born in Rahway, New Jersey, she was the daughter of William E. and Anna Wells. She died at the Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in New York City in 1942.
Wells had been married to Hadwin Houghton, the heir of the Houghton-Mifflin publishing empire founded by Bernard Houghton. Wells also had an impressive collection of volumes of poetry by others. She bequeathed her collection of Walt Whitman poetry, said to be one of the most important of its kind for its completeness and rarity, to the Library of Congress.
After finishing school she worked as a librarian for the Rahway Library Association. Her first book, At the Sign of the Sphinx, was a collection of charades. Her next publications were The Jingle Book and The Story of Betty, followed by a book of verse entitled Idle Idyls. After 1900, Wells wrote numerous novels and collections of poetry.
Carolyn Wells wrote a total 170 books. During the first ten years of her career, she concentrated on poetry, humor, and children's books. According to her autobiography, The Rest of My Life, she heard That Affair Next Door, one of Anna Katharine Green's mystery novels, being read aloud and was immediately captivated by the unraveling of the puzzle. From that point onward she devoted herself to the mystery genre. Among the most famous of her mystery novels were the Fleming Stone Detective Stories which—according to Allen J. Hubin's Crime Fiction IV: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749-2000 —number 61 titles. Wells's The Clue is on the of essential mysteries. She was also the first to conduct a annual series devoted to the best short crime fiction of the previous year in the U.S., beginning with The Best American Mystery Stories of the Year .
In addition to books, Wells also wrote for newspapers. Her poetry accompanies the work of some of the leading lights in illustration and cartooning, often in the form of Sunday magazine cover features that formed continuing narratives from week to week. Her first known illustrated newspaper work is a two part series titled Animal Alphabet, illustrated by William F. Marriner, which appeared in the Sunday comics section of the New York World. Many additional series ensued over the years, including the bizarre classic Adventures of Lovely Lilly. The last series she penned was Flossy Frills Helps Out, which appeared after her death.

Works

Adult fiction

;Fleming Stone mysteries
First published Lippincott's Magazine, February 1910
;Alan Ford
;Pennington Wise
;Kenneth Carlisle
;Other mysteries
;Other novels
;Story collections
;Patty Fairfield
  1. Patty Fairfield
  2. Patty at Home
  3. Patty in the City
  4. Patty Summer Days
  5. Patty in Paris
  6. Patty Friends
  7. Patty Pleasure Trip
  8. Patty Success
  9. Patty Motor Car
  10. Patty Butterfly Days
  11. Patty Social Season
  12. Patty Suitors
  13. Patty Romance
  14. Patty Fortune
  15. Patty Blossom
  16. Patty-Bride
  17. Patty and Azalea
;Marjorie Maynard
  1. Marjorie Vacation
  2. Marjorie Busy Days
  3. Marjorie New Friend
  4. Marjorie in Command
  5. Marjorie Maytime
  6. Marjorie at Seacote
;Dorrance Family
  1. The Dorrance Domain
  2. Dorrance Doings
;Two Little Women
  1. Two Little Women
  2. Two Little Women and Treasure House
  3. Two Little Women on a Holiday
;Other novels
;Collections

Anthologies (as editor)