From the Garden Party to the Field of Battle

The World War I period marked a distinct, and unique, exploration of female power on the pages of girls’ series books.  For example, the range of problems faced (and surmounted) by heroines in the pre-war Patty Fairfield series (1901-1918) for teenage girls differ dramatically from those of the wartime Somewhere (1918-1919), Khaki Girls (1918-1920), and Captain Lucy (1918-1921) series.  While Patty and her friends confront the standard challenges offered by girls’ series – female rivalries, family problems, school work, and romantic quandaries – the heroines of these World War I series grapple with spies, saboteurs, bombing raids, German occupiers, and the battlefield itself.  Patty, the pampered only child of a wealthy businessman in New York City, triumphs socially and privately.  The World War I girls of Wyoming, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Canada, as well as the American girls of the Motor Corps and Lucy Gordon, triumph both in mortal conflict and in the public eye.  In addition, these Progressive-era girls proudly proclaim their frustrations with the limitations placed on women, and their desire to transcend those limits not only for the sake of country, but also to find personal fulfillment.  This paper will analyze both the text and illustrations of World War I series books, contrasting them with the popular pre-war Patty Fairfield series.