Deborah Remembers

Children’s historical fiction, ages 9-12.

If you should visit the Edwin Smith Historical Museum at the Athenaeum in Westfield, Massachusetts, you might meet Deborah, a very special doll.

Her story, which she’ll share with the other antique dolls every night at midnight, that magical hour when the dolls wake up, began three hundred years ago. Deborah, together with generations of girls who loved her, saw—and sometimes took part in—many scenes from American history in her little New England town.

Deborah can remember the terrible Indian massacre at Deerfield in 1704, and the old Puritan settlement of Westfield where little Mindwell played with her. She remembers Mercy Ann, who was so frightened of the Hessians during the Revolutionary War. She can even tell an exciting story about how she and her little mother Martha saved some runaway slaves in the Underground Railroad.

Deborah Remembers was based on many real local events and personalities from New England history. Deborah’s long, rich, often poignant story, which first delighted young readers in the 1950s and 60s, was created by Westfield historian Lillie V. Albrecht. The tale now returns, with annotations by Mrs. Albrecht’s granddaughter, author Susanne Alleyn, to enthrall a whole new generation of readers. Deborah will captivate you and touch your heart.

“A doll’s eye view of American history might be the subtitle of this delightful book. . . . Any little girl who ever loved a doll will love Deborah’s remembrances.”
The Chicago Tribune (1959)