"Fame Is Not Just for the Fellas"
440 pages, 6 x 9
12 illus.
Paperback
Release Date:16 Dec 2022
ISBN:9781625346926
Hardcover
Release Date:16 Dec 2022
ISBN:9781625346933
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"Fame Is Not Just for the Fellas"

Female Renown and the Childhood of Famous Americans Series

University of Massachusetts Press

Finalist of the 2023 SHARP History of the Book Prize

Between 1932 and 1958, thousands of children read volumes in the book series Childhood of Famous Americans. With colorful cover art and compelling—and often highly fictionalized—narrative storylines, these biographies celebrated the national virtues and achievements of famous women like Betsy Ross, Louisa May Alcott, and Amelia Earhart. Employing deep archival research, Gregory M. Pfitzer examines the editorial and production choices of the publisher and considers the influence of the series on readers and American culture more broadly.

In telling the story of how female subjects were chosen and what went into writing these histories for young female readers of the time, Pfitzer illustrates how these books shaped children’s thinking and historical imaginations around girlhood using tales from the past. Utilizing documented conversations and disagreements among authors, editors, readers, reviewers, and sales agents at Bobbs-Merrill, “Fame Is Not Just for the Fellas” places the series in the context of national debates around fame, gender, historical memory, and portrayals of children and childhood for a young reading public—charged debates that continue to this day.

In our current ideological wars over history, Pfitzer’s subject could not be more central to understanding our present. This beautifully written and researched text makes a valuable contribution to both the history of juvenile publishing and the construction of historic nationalism.’—Renée M. Sentilles, author of American Tomboys, 18501915

GREGORY M. PFITZER is professor of American studies at Skidmore College and author of History Repeating Itself: The Republication of Children’s Historical Literature and the Christian Right.

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