She had human hair, painted face, a cotton pink checked dress and black suede shoes. The Rothschild Doll Company manufactured a 22' felt Edith doll as originally produced by the Lenci company. The Rothschild Doll Company, founded by Mimi Rothschild and Howard Mandel, obtained a license directly from Dare Wright in 1985 to reproduce both a hard plastic and felt version of Edith The Lonely Doll.

Bear was manufactured by Schuco, and Little Bear was a special edition Steiff, 'Jackie Bear.' Both were purchased in the 1950s with the help of Dare's brother, Blaine Wright. She sewed Edith's outfits for the books and changed her eye color to blue, resembling the author's looks. The doll is a felt Lenci Doll from the 1920s which belonged to Dare as a child. Other parents, such as critic and novelist Daphne Merkin and fashion designer Vera Wang, supported the book. As a result, some parents objected to the book. At the core of the controversy was the scene in which Mr. When Houghton Mifflin reissued The Lonely Doll in 1998, it was not without a minor battle from colleagues, according to then children's book publisher Anita Silvey. Bear assures her that he will never, ever, leave her.Įdith, the main character of many of her books, looks a great deal like Dare Wright herself, with a blonde pony tail and golden hoop earrings.Įdith was named after Dare's mother, Edith Stevenson Wright, a portrait artist. Bear proceeds to discipline both Little Bear and Edith, leaving Edith to worry that he will take Little Bear and leave. Bear is just a silly old thing' in lipstick on the mirror. Bear goes out for a walk leaving the two alone in the house He returns to find they have rummaged in a closet for dress-up clothing, smeared themselves with makeup, and written 'Mr. Bear and Little Bear, appear in her life. The Lonely Doll tells the story of a doll named Edith, who lives by herself until two teddy bears, called Mr. Bear, A Gift from the Lonely Doll, Holiday for Edith and the Bears, The Doll and the Kitten, Edith and the Duckling, Edith and Little Bear Lend a Hand, Edith and Midnight and The Lonely Doll Learns a Lesson. The nine that have been reprinted are The Lonely Doll, Edith and Mr. Wright wrote 10 books starring Edith and the bears. It was first published by Doubleday in 1957, went out of print for years, was reissued by Houghton Mifflin in 1998, and brought out by Barnes & Noble in a narrated version for their Nook eReader in 2012.

The story is told through text and photographs. The Lonely Doll is the first children's book in a series by photographer and author Dare Wright.

The loneliest doll