Anyone Ever Read "The Lonely Doll?"

I had never heard of The Lonely Doll, a 1957 children’s book that has, apparently, been quite popular ever since. But I am now reading a forthcoming bio (very good, very depressing) of its author, called The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll.

Has anyone ever read any of Dare Wright’s ten or so books? She was utterly unknown to me, though I may try to track down library copies of her work now.

Ira Glass’s wonderful radio show This American Life did a show on dolls a few years ago, and one of the pieces was on this book. I don’t know how far back their archives go, but it’s worth tracking down.

Was it lonely because…IT ATE IT’S OWNER’S SOUL?

(Sorry, Eve, I couldn’t resist… :wink: )

Wow! I had completely forgotten about this book, and I loved it as a little girl. Thanks for the nostalgia moment, Eve.

Yes! Gosh, I loved those books when I was a kid. My mom also grew up with them (actually, her little sister did), and they were kept at my grandparents’ house for me and my siblings/cousins to read along with a bunch of others. I loved the photos, and felt so sorry for the doll when the teddy bear spanked her for getting into the jewelry and makeup.

I loved this book for some reason and I keep meaning to buy a copy of it. The one I had as a child was my older sister’s, and I don’t know what became of it. We also had Doll and Kitten, I believe, although it may and been Edith and Mr. Bear. they were great books and I recommend them.

From Mr. Bear and Edith:

Puh-lease!

I was struck by one of the readers’ reviews on the Amazon page, very eerie:

“This is the fictionalized autobiography of a very disturbed woman. Suitable for voyeurs who want to read an escape fantasy. A great book, but not what it looks like.”

I remember reading a number of fumetti-style picture books as a kid back in the early/mid 1960s, but this author doesn’t ring any major bells.