Helen Wells

Born in Danville, Illinois, in 1910, she moved to New York City as a child and later graduated from New York University in 1934, studying philosophy, sociology, and psychology. Before writing full time, she worked as a social worker, and that practical, people-centered background shows in the warmth and energy of her fiction.

She is remembered most for the Cherry Ames series, the nurse novels that became favorites with generations of young readers. She also wrote books in the Vicki Barr series and published under the pen name Francine Lewis. During World War II, the Cherry Ames books were especially meaningful, presenting nursing as both exciting work and an important way to serve.

Her stories often centered on capable young women stepping into real jobs and solving real problems, which helped her books feel modern and encouraging. Even now, she stands out as a writer who gave girls adventure, independence, and professional ambition all at once.