author
Clara F. (Clara Florida) Guernsey
1836–1893
A 19th-century American writer from the Rochester area, she is remembered for lively juvenile fiction and short stories that often blend moral purpose with adventure and imagination. Her work has remained visible through public-domain editions, including The Merman and the Figure-Head and The Silver Rifle.
2 Audiobooks
Eva's Adventures in Shadow-Land
by Mary D. (Mary Dummett) Nauman, Clara F. (Clara Florida) Guernsey
The Merman and the Figure-Head
by Clara F. (Clara Florida) Guernsey
About the author
Born in Pittsford, New York, on October 1, 1836, and later based in Rochester, Clara Florida Guernsey spent her life in upstate New York. Reference sources identify her as the daughter of James T. and Electa Guernsey and the sister of fellow writer Lucy Ellen Guernsey.
Guernsey wrote fiction for young readers, with titles including The Silver Rifle: A Story of the Saranac Lakes, The Shawnee Prisoner: A Borderer’s Story, and The Merman and the Figure-Head. Her surviving bibliography suggests a writer comfortable moving between historical adventure, domestic tales, and stories with a gently instructive tone.
She died in Rochester on June 20, 1893. Although she is not widely known today, several of her works have been preserved by Project Gutenberg and other digital libraries, helping modern readers rediscover a writer who once contributed regularly to the world of 19th-century American juvenile literature.