The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells Audiobook By Rebecca Rego Barry cover art

The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells

Investigations into a Forgotten Mystery Author

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells

By: Rebecca Rego Barry
Narrated by: Laura Jennings
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells 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.

©2024 Rebecca Rego Barry (P)2024 Vibrance Press
Authors Literary History & Criticism Women Fiction New York Mystery
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

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’s 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’s enigmatic disappearance from literary history will captivate you.”—Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of The Stowaway: A Young Man’s Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica

"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

What listeners say about The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mystery author reads like a mystery!

Entertainingly told story of research and findings from a scholar on the trail of a normally popular mystery fiction. Author strangely disappears from public awareness.. poignant, well researched, and compellingly told.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

The bibliography of Carolyn Wells 

The above would be a more apt title. Only the last chapter really talks about the vanishing which was the main reason I bought the book. Perhaps this is the publishers fault. My understanding is they are largely responsible for titles. Now maybe this is just personal preference. If you’re a detail person, the kind of person who liked memorizing sports statistics as a kid, for example, this might be the perfect book for you. 

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!