The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells, by Rebecca Rego Barry (Post Hill Press, February 2024), is the first biography of one of the “lost ladies” of detective fiction who wrote more than eighty mysteries and hundreds of other works between the 1890s and the 1940s.
Carolyn Wells (1862–1942) excelled at writing country house and locked-room mysteries for a decade
before Agatha Christie entered the scene. In the 1920s, when she was churning out three or more books annually, she was dubbed “about the biggest thing in mystery novels in the US.”
On top of that, Wells wielded her pen in just about every literary genre, producing several immensely popular children’s books and young adult novels; beloved anthologies; and countless stories, prose, and poetry for magazines such as Thrilling Detective, Life, The Saturday Evening Post, Harper’s, and The New Yorker. All told, Wells wrote over 180 books. Some were adapted into silent films, and some became bestsellers. Yet a hundred years later, she has been all but erased from literary history. Why? How?
This investigation takes us on a journey to Rahway, New Jersey, where Wells was born and is buried; to New York City’s Upper West Side, where she spent her final twenty-five years; to the Library of Congress, where Carolyn’s world-class collection of rare books now resides; and to many other public and private collections where exciting discoveries unfolded.
Part biography and part sleuthing narrative, The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells recovers the life and work of a brilliant writer who was considered one of the funniest, most talented women of her time.
“An engrossing biography that reads like a detective novel. This book is a gift to all of us who want to see more women’s legacies reclaimed, nurtured, and shared.” —Allison Gilbert, co-author, Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America’s Most-Read Woman
“The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells is a remarkably compelling narrative about this astonishingly prolific author who had great success in numerous genres. While I have never been a great fan of Ms. Wells’s mystery novels, the sprightly and perceptive prose of Rebecca Rego Barry’s worthwhile study has convinced me to give her another try.” —Otto Penzler, proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop
“Through her skillful and delightful first-person narration, Rebecca Rego Barry, a bibliophile and rare book expert, unravels the mysteries surrounding Carolyn Wells’ lost legacy. With meticulous research and intriguing insights, Barry offers a gripping portrait of a literary luminary whose impact has been all but erased. A poignant reminder of the transient nature of fame and the enduring power of rediscovery, Wells’ enigmatic disappearance from literary history will captivate you.” —Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of The Stowaway: A Young Man’s Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica
“Carolyn Wells was an important successor to Anna Katharine Green, the ‘mother’ of American crime fiction, and Wells’ large body of work deserves reappraisal. Her 1913 Technique of the Mystery Story was a milestone in the study of the genre, and even if it were not suffused with her love of Sherlock Holmes, it is profitable reading today. Thank you, Rebecca Rego Barry, for bringing Ms. Wells back into the spotlight!” —Leslie S. Klinger, editor, New Annotated Sherlock Holmes and series editor of the Library of Congress Crime Classics
