Samantha Parkington – American Girl

Samantha Parkington, 1904

Samantha lives in Mount Bedford, NY; she was born on May 26, 1895. Samantha is an only child growing up during the Edwardian period (although American Girl designated her as Victorian). Orphaned at age five and raised by her wealthy Victorian-era grandmother in fictional Mount Bedford, New York, Samantha befriends a poor servant girl named Nellie O’Malley. Eventually Samantha, Nellie and Nellie’s young sisters are adopted by Samantha’s uncle and aunt. Samantha book themes include women’s suffrage, child labor, and classism. The first two books in the core series were written by Susan S. Adler; the third book by Maxine Rose Schur; the last three by veteran American Girl author Valerie Tripp. The multiple authorship has been criticized for disconnectedness of the characterizations. The Samantha doll has dark brown hair now (the original had lighter brown hair, but it was changed in the early nineties); fair skin; and light brown eyes.

[Show as slideshow]