Amy Brooks: author, illustrator, and book cover designer

Working with the Girls Books in Series Collection at UNCG, it’s hard not to come across the name Amy Brooks. She illustrated many books, including the Little Prudy series by Sophie May and the Helen Grant series by Amanda Douglas. I came across a reference to her the other day that intrigued me. Not only had she written and illustrated her own books, but she also designed her own covers. I knew I wanted to do a deeper dive into Amy Brooks and gather a little information about her life.

Image of Amy Brooks from and advertisement for her book, Dorothy Dainty in the Country in the November 27, 1909 issue of Publishers Weekly

Amy Eliza Brooks was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts to Alfred Hubbard and Hannah Bell Stebbins Brooks on September 18, 1861 (although we’ll see later that she adjusted this date numerous times to make herself younger).¹ Amy was Alfred and Hannah’s second child. Their first child, Alfred Stebbins Brooks, who was born on August 25, 1858², had died from dysentery just one year before Amy’s birth on September 20, 1860³, so Amy grew up as an only child. During her early years, Amy’s maternal grandmother (Eliza), aunt (Susan), and uncle (Edmund), lived with the small family⁴. By the time she was four in 1865, her uncle had gotten married and moved out of the home and in 1869 her aunt had passed away from consumption⁵. Her grandmother passed away just ten years after her aunt on February 21, 1879, from paralysis⁶. By the age of 18 the only people remaining in their home was Amy, her mother, and her father.

Amy was educated in the public schools in Hyde Park, Boston, Massachusetts. After her public school education, she went on to attend the Museum School of Drawing and Painting⁷. She excelled during her time there, winning four scholarships⁸. Her first drawing was exhibited in either 1895 or 1898 (sources vary on the date)^7,8 and then she went on to illustrate around 70 books between 1898 and 1900.^7,8 She didn’t only focus on art during her school years though, she also focused on learning the piano and became an accomplished pianist. She even ended up writing and composing songs that were later published.⁸ According to the Woman’s Who’s Who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada from 1914/15, Amy was very fond of dancing as well as going to the theater to see musical dramas and operas.⁷

Once Amy got her feet wet in the illustration business, she decided she wanted to take her creativity to the next level and wrote her own series of books in 1900. She was not only responsible for writing the books, but also the illustrations and cover designs.⁷ Over time, she developed several series of books including The Randy books, Dorothy Dainty books, Prue books, Princess Polly books, and Lady Linda books as well as several stand-alone books. It was during this time that Amy started changing her birthdate to make herself younger. The 1900 census lists her as being born in September of 1872, 11 years after her actual date of birth.⁹ Luckily, I was able to identify it as “our” Amy because she still lived with her parents and was listed as an illustrator.

Amy’s father passed away from atherosclerosis on May 12, 1906, at the age of 71. His death certificate recorded the family living at 41 Austin St. Hyde Park, Massachusetts.¹⁰ Her mother passed away 7 years later on December 13, 1913, from a cerebral embolism just one day after her 72nd birthday. At this point, Amy and her mother had been living at 15 Summer St. Hyde Park, Massachusetts.¹¹

This is the home the family resided in when Amy’s father passed away.

Happiness came to Amy two and a half years after her mother’s death, when she married a dance instructor named William Rexter Loomis on June 21, 1916. It was a first marriage for both. Once again, Amy shifted date of birth. Her marriage certificate listed her as being 38, a whole 16 years younger than she was.¹² Amy continued to write and illustrate after the marriage adding numerous books to her Dorothy Dainty and Princess Polly series along with other various titles. The couple was renting a home in the Brighton District of Boston according to the 1920 census. Amy was listed as an author and her husband was listed as a dance professor.¹³

I haven’t been able to trace Amy since 1920. Some sources say she passed away in 1934, but I’ve been unable to verify that date.¹⁴ Hopefully, as more records are digitized, I’ll be able to verify that information.

Here is a list of books written and/or illustrated by Amy Brooks. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but a sampling of her contributions.

Books that Amy has written, illustrated, and was the cover designer.

Dorothy Dainty series

1. Dorothy Dainty
2. Dorothy’s playmates
3. Dorothy Dainty at school
4. Dorothy Dainty at the shore
5. Dorothy Dainty in the city
6. Dorothy Dainty at home
7. Dorothy Dainty’s gay times
8. Dorothy Dainty in the country
9. Dorothy Dainty’s winter
10. Dorothy Dainty at the mountains
11. Dorothy Dainty’s holidays
12. Dorothy Dainty’s vacation
13. Dorothy Dainty’s visit
14. Dorothy Dainty at Crestville
15. Dorothy Dainty’s new friends
16. Dorothy Dainty at Glenmore
17. Dorothy Dainty at Foam Ridge
18. Dorothy Dainty at the stone house
19. Dorothy Dainty at Gem Island
20. Dorothy Dainty’s red letter days
21. Dorothy Dainty’s treasure chest
22. Dorothy Dainty’s castle

Prue Books

1. Little sister Prue
2. Prue at school
3. Prue’s playmates
4. Prue’s merry times
5. Prue’s little friends
6. Prue’s jolly winter

Randy Books

1. Randy’s summer
2. Randy’s winter
3. Randy and her friends
4. Randy and Prue
5. Randy’s good times
6. Randy’s luck
7. Randy’s loyalty
8. Randy’s Prince

Princess Polly series

1. Princess Polly
2. Princess Polly’s playmates
3. Princess Polly at school
4. Princess Polly by the sea
5. Princess Polly’s gay winter
6. Princess Polly at Play
7. Princess Polly at Cliffmore

Rosalie Dare

1. Rosalie Dare
2. Rosalie Dare’s test
3. What Rosalie dare won

Lady Linda books

1. Lady Linda
2. Lady Linda’s gay friends

A jolly cat tale

At the sign of the three birches

Books illustrated by Amy.

Little Prudy by Sophie May
Little Prudy’s Dotty Dimple by Sophie May
Little Prudy’s fairy book by Sophie May
Little Prudy’s Sister Susy by Sophie May
Little Prudy’s Captain Horace by Sophie May
Little Prudy’s cousin Grace by Sophie May
Helen Grant’s school days by Amanda M. Douglas
Helen Grant’s friends by Amanda M. Douglas
Helen Grant at Aldred house by Amanda M. Douglas
Helen Grant in college by Amanda Douglas
Helen Grant, Senior by Amanda Douglas
Helen Grant, Graduate by Amanda M. Douglas
Helen Grant teacher by Amanda Douglas
Helen Grant’s decision by Amanda Douglas
Child sketches from George Eliot
The Gingham Bag by Margaret Sidney
What the dragonfly told the children by Frances Bell Coursen
Told under the cherry tree by Grace Le Baron
Sarah de Berenger : a novel by Jean Ingelow
The little lame prince by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik
Jessica’s triumph by Grace Le Baron
The story of Joan of Arc by Kate E. Carpenter
The children of Bedford Court by Grace Le Baron Locke
A Gift from St. Nicholas
A bicycle trip by Harriet Putnam
Peter’s fair by Harriet Putnam
Mother’s verses and home songs
Home songs for little darlings

References

“Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DRLS-3RG?cc=2061550&wc=Q4D5-GP8%3A353350401%2C355688801%2C355695601 : 22 October 2020), Suffolk > Chelsea > Births, marriages, deaths 1738-1878 > image 283 of 534; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.
“Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DRLS-7W3?cc=2061550&wc=Q4D5-GP8%3A353350401%2C355688801%2C355695601 : 22 October 2020), Suffolk > Chelsea > Births, marriages, deaths 1738-1878 > image 244 of 534; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.
“Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-9975-96P?cc=2061550&wc=Q4D6-JWP%3A353350401%2C353366201%2C1006000901 : 22 October 2020), Suffolk > Boston > Deaths 1860-1861 > image 353 of 677; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.
“United States Census, 1860”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZCL-VX3 : Tue Jul 18 02:10:41 UTC 2023), Entry for Alfred H Brooks and Hannah B Brooks, 1860.
“Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHC5-N5F : 10 November 2020), Susie A. Stebbins, 29 May 1869; citing Death, Chelsea, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004273798.
“Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N72F-238 : 14 December 2022), Eliza L. Bell Stebbins, 1879.
Leonard, J. (1914-1915). Woman’s Who’s Who of America: Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada. New York, American Commonwealth Co.
Men and Women of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries. (1910). United States: L.R. Hamersly.
“United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DHFQ-HQV?cc=1325221&wc=9B7N-VZN%3A1030549901%2C1033458701%2C1034305501 : 5 August 2014), Massachusetts > Norfolk > ED 1040 Hyde Park > image 33 of 34; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
“Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915, 1921-1924,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6S9W-FJW?cc=1463156&wc=MJC5-L29%3A1043024701 : 10 December 2022), 2258140 (004282988) > image 1223 of 2092; State Archives, Boston.
“Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89J2-QZFB?cc=2061550&wc=Q4DK-ZNL%3A353350401%2C353366201%2C1588802218 : 6 April 2020), Suffolk > Boston > Deaths 1913 no 10501-11839 > image 781 of 1414; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.
“Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BN-M99M-5?cc=1928860 : 7 November 2022), > image 1 of 1; State Archives, Boston.
“United States Census, 1920,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRFS-FGX?cc=1488411&wc=QZJT-3M7%3A1036470801%2C1038421601%2C1038582101%2C1589335829 : 11 September 2019), Massachusetts > Suffolk > Boston Ward 25 > ED 591 > image 10 of 46; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
Dibble, K. (n.d.). Hyde Park Tour. Boston Women’s Heritage Trail. https://bwht.org/hyde-park-tour/