The series was inspired by the bedtime stories which Lovelace told to her daughter Merian about her own childhood. The first book, Betsy-Tacy, begins in 1897 on the eve of Betsy's fifth birthday, and the last book, Betsy's Wedding, ends in 1917 as the United States prepares to enter the First World War. The series follows the adventures of heroine Betsy Ray, who is based closely on the author, and her friends and family. The first four books were illustrated by Lois Lenski and the remainder by Vera Neville. The books are now published by HarperCollins. 'Discover Deep Valley' by Julie A.The Betsy-Tacy books are a series of semi-autobiographical novels by American novelist and short-story writer Maud Hart Lovelace (1892-1980), which were originally published between 19 by the Thomas Y.'Maud Hart Lovelace's Deep Valley' by Julie A.Betsy and Tacy go Over the Big Hill, 1942.

Most books are now in print and available through the Betsy-Tacy Society and your local bookstores. She is buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato. The author died March 11, 1980, in Claremont, California.

Maud Hart Lovelace wrote 24 books, of which six are historical novels for adults. Marguerite Marsh, a Mankato assistant librarian in the early 1900s is the main character in the novel Emily of Deep Valley. Lovelace recounted more activities in turn-of-the-century “Deep Valley” in three additional books. Mankato librarian Maud Van Buren appeared as Miss Sparrow in several of the Betsy-Tacy books. In Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown, Lovelace described her delight at the opening of the Carnegie Library. Lovelace decided to write one book about her childhood experiences, calling herself Betsy, and her friends Tacy and Tib. When their daughter Merian was young, Maud Hart Lovelace began telling Merian stories about her own childhood in Mankato. Following a short period of study abroad, she married writer Delos Wheeler Lovelace in 1917. While in her teens, Maud Hart sent stories to magazines and sold her first story at age 18.Īfter graduating from Mankato High School in 1910, Maud Hart attended the University of Minnesota. When she was 10, her father had her poems printed in a booklet. Even in childhood she was a storyteller and writer. The author was born in Mankato on April 25, 1892, to Thomas and Stella (Palmer) Hart.

Betsy and tacy books in order