American Girl Doll

In 1991, Felicity Merriman was the first doll added to the american girl doll Historical Collection. She became the fourth Historical Doll, following Kirsten Larson (1854), Samantha Parkington (1904) and Molly McIntire (1944), the original three historical dolls which launched the collection in 1986. Felicity also extended the historical reach of the american girl dolls by 80 years, back to 1774.

Born on April 21, 1765 Felicity Merriman has grown up to be a spirited colonial girl living in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1774; just a short time before the start of the American Revolution.

Unlike other girls of her time, Felicity likes the outdoors, and her favorite activity is riding horses. She is not content  to do “what all colonial girls are expected to do, the sitting down kinds of things”. Instead, she is a spunky and spirited girl who believes that the American Colonies should be free. However, Felicity’s grand father and her best friend, Elizabeth, feel that the King, who lives far away in England, is the best person to rule the colonies. As a result, Felicity’s feelings are torn and she must find a way to hold both love and loyalty in her heart. These are common themes in all of Felicity’s books; loyalty and staying true to ones ideals.

A little over 10 years after she was introduced, in 2002,  Felicity, her outfits, accessories and furniture were removed from the American Girl catalogue and were made available only online. As a result, Felicity was virtually retired as a full member of the American Girl Doll Historical collection. Then in 2004, due to the strength of sales of Felicity and her accessories at the New York american girl place store (and some negative customer feedback about her limited availability) brought her back from the brink of retirement. Some of her previously retired items were reintroduced and her best friend, Elizabeth Cole, was added as part of the Felicity collection.

I’m Mark and My Daughter Loves the American Girl Dolls. It is a very healthy obsession about girls (dolls) of strong character who rise to meet the challenges that are presented to them in their different historical periods. If you love the American Girl Dolls as much as my daughter, or have just discovered them and want to learn more, visit us at American Girl Dolls.