Dorothy Whitehill

Dorothy Whitehill was an early-20th-century author whose work survives mainly through her children's and young adult fiction. Public-domain listings confirm books including Polly's First Year at Boarding School, Polly's Senior Year at Boarding School, Phyllis: A Twin, Janet: A Twin, The Twins in the South, The Twins in the West, The Twins and Tommy Junior, Polly Sees the World at War, Polly's Summer Vacation, and Polly and Bob.

Her stories often follow girls through school, family life, travel, and the small dramas of growing up. The recurring titles and subjects suggest a writer especially interested in friendship, sisterhood, boarding-school adventures, and the everyday excitement of childhood.

Reliable biographical details about her life are hard to confirm from widely available sources, so much of her reputation today rests on the books themselves. Even so, the continued circulation of her work through projects like Project Gutenberg and The Online Books Page shows that her fiction still has readers.