Very Scarce First Edition. With illustrations by Addie Ledyard being a charming engraved frontispiece and three engraved plates, also with woodcut initials at the start of each chapter. 8vo, publisher's original royal blue cloth, the upper cover with gilt lettering and a design featuring cattails and grasshoppers in gilt and blind, the spine gilt lettered within elaborate gilt tooling. 274, [2] pp. A very nice copy of this rather scarce first edition, the text is clean and fresh, free of any staining or foxing, the hinges are sound though one of two of the signatures are a bit shaken, the cloth is bright with nice gilt, some rubbing and a few abrasions at the tips and extremities. SCARCE FIRST EDITION OF AN EXTREMELY POPULAR WORK IN ITS TIME, it would be reprinted extensively for decades well into the 20th century. It would also inspire two sequels. Written by Sarah Chauncey Woolsey under the Coolidge pen name, the story tells of the adventures of a twelve-year-old American girl, Katy Carr, and her family in Ohio in the 1860s. Katy is a tall untidy tomboy, forever getting into scrapes but wishing to be beautiful and beloved. When a terrible accident makes her an invalid, her illness and four-year recovery gradually teach her to be as good and kind as she has always wanted. Coolidge shared her publisher, Roberts Brothers, with Louisa May Alcott, and WHAT KATY DID helped satisfy the demand for naturalistic novels about girlhood that followed the 1868 success of LITTLE WOMEN. Like Alcott, Coolidge heightened the realism of her novel by drawing on her own childhood memories. The novel is also an interesting look into injury and infirmary, and societal attitudes towards them, in the later nineteenth century. After her accident, young Katy is given much love and care; but she lives confined in her bedroom, making the best of things and waiting, hoping, to outgrow her injury. She has a wheelchair, but never goes further than her bedroom window. The very idea that she could use it to go out and about into the world, or even just leave her bedroom, is barely even considered. Seller Inventory # 32816

Contact seller

Report this item

Bibliographic Details

Title: WHAT KATY DID. A Story

Publisher: Boston Roberts Brothers 1873

Binding: Hardcover

Store Description

Buddenbrooks has one of the finest selections of fine and rare books in several fields and we invite you to visit us at our new premises in Newburyport, Massachusetts where have an open "brick and mortar" bookshop. We are also available to meet with clients in Boston by appointment only, where we have maintained a presence for over 40 years. We offer a search service for any books, old or new, which you may have been unable to find. Please call for further information, we look forward to hearing from you.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Association Member

Members of these associations are committed to maintaining the highest standards. They vouch for the authenticity of all items offered for sale. They provide expert and detailed descriptions, disclose all significant defects and/or restorations, provide clear and accurate pricing, and operate with fairness and honesty during the purchase experience.

Seller's business information

Buddenbrooks, Inc. ABAA
21 Pleasant Street, On the Courtyard, Newburyport, MA, 01950, U.S.A.

Terms of Sale:

All books are offered subject to prior sale. All books are returnable within 10 days, we ask that you notify
us via fax, phone or email in advance. Buddenbrooks, Inc. is located at 21 Pleasant Street, On the
Courtyard, in Newburyport, MA 01950 USA. All correspondences should be sent to this address to the
attention of Martin Weinkle or Stephen Pepple.

Shipping Terms:

Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.

Payment Methods
accepted by seller

Check Money Order Cash Bank/Wire Transfer

Add to Wants