- "Felicity" redirects here. For the doll, see Felicity Merriman (doll).
Felicity Merriman is the fourth Historical Character, representing English colonial America and the early American Revolutionary War period. Felicity was first released in 1991.
In September 2010, American Girl announced that they would archive Felicity's entire collection; she, Elizabeth Cole, and their collection would no longer be available. On March 28, 2011, the Felicity and Elizabeth dolls, along with their collections, were officially archived. Felicity's books, the movie, and the two Mini Dolls remained available for purchase.
Felicity was rereleased in 2017 as a BeForever character, making her the second character rereleased after Samantha Parkington. She was archived again in December 2019 and her books retired in 2020, though her mini doll remains available, and she was part of the 35th Anniversary Special Edition Re-release.
Personality and Facts[]
Felicity (nicknamed Lissie) is a ten-year-old girl living in Williamsburg, Virginia, when it and many places were still part of the English colonies in North America. She is the oldest of three (later four) children. She and her family (as well as Ben and their two enslaved people, Rose and Marcus) live on Duke of Gloucester Street, the main thoroughfare, and the house is located between Queen Street and the fictionally named Centre Lane (Colonial Street).[2] She was born earlier than expected and her mother, Martha, says she has been impatient and in a hurry ever since. She is of English background on both sides; her father Edward is descended from an English Lord, Sir Edward Merriman, and her mother's parents immigrated to the colonies from England.
Felicity is a daring and fiercely independent-minded girl. She is tomboyish, daring, adventurous, spunky, and both brave and foolhardy--she feels that if she can do something she will, despite the risks. She is very active for a girl her age, but is annoyed at her lack of freedom as a young girl and the ladylike things and personality that is expected of her. Felicity believes in fighting for what she wants and can be stubborn and headstrong; this helps give her a strong connection to Benjamin Davidson once they start to become friends. When she wants something, she goes for it, quite often without thinking about the consequences, and sets her heart on things often. Her mother Martha often lectures her to think before she acts and set a good example as the oldest child of the family. When Felicity is angry, she's never afraid to speak her mind and stand up to bullies, as she did with Jiggy Nye and the boy that taunted her and the horses, Robert.
Felicity loves horses more than anything as shown through her affection for Penny and her dedicated care and concern towards her from the start, even when Penny is not hers. Felicity learned to ride and make friends with horses at her Grandfather's plantation; this aids her in taming Penny, but is a hindrance when it gives her overconfidence in Felicity Takes a Dare. Felicity is good with coming up with names having come up with Polly's, Posie's, Penny's, Patriot's and the taunting nickname for Annabelle Cole of "Bananabelle".
For the most part Felicity is tomboyish and is constantly fussed at for being not very ladylike. She is quite impatient and rushes through activities she finds dull and boring, and is often flighty and thoughtless. She is frequently chided for not finishing her tasks, avoiding others, or tending to her domestic work improperly. She shows disinterest in chores and studies such as cooking, sewing, dance, and other expected feminine skills; sewing especially bores her and she is frequently sloppy and careless in her work. As she matures she finds interest in activities such as playing her guitar, events such as dancing at a fancy dancing lesson and ball, and learning how to serve tea--all while still remaining quite active. She starts showing maturity later and becomes more ladylike.
Felicity enjoys working in her father's store, Merriman's Store, where she likes to imagine where all the items come from before arriving there; she has not done much of it since Ben' arrival, disappointing her. She tends to act more like a fine lady at the store when helping. She learns to whistle from Ben. Felicity loves nature and the great outdoors and enjoys gardening, especially in her part of the family garden; she also enjoys making her best friend Elizabeth laugh.
American Girl characterizes her as "spunky" and "spritely." American Girl Publishing describes her as "independent", "loyal", and "spirited". American Girl's e-card described her as steadfast.
Family and Friends[]
Family[]
- Martha Merriman: Felicity's mother
- Edward Merriman: Felicity's father.
- Nan Merriman: Felicity's younger sister.
- William Merriman: Felicity's younger brother.
- Polly Merriman: Felicity's youngest sister.
- Grandfather: Felicity’s grandfather.
Friends and Other Characters[]
- Benjamin Davidson: An apprentice to Father and later friend.
- Elizabeth Cole: Felicity's best friend.
- Annabelle Cole: Elizabeth's older sister.
- Penny: A spirited horse.
- Jiggy Nye: Penny's first owner; the local tanner and a known drunk.
- Miss Manderly: Felicity's teacher.
- Rose: an enslaved woman who works for the Merrimans as the family's cook and housemaid among tasks.
- Marcus: an enslaved man who works for the Merrimans.
Books[]
Other Media[]
Movie Books[]
Doll[]
- Main article: Felicity Merriman (doll)
- Face Mold: Classic Mold
- Skin: Light
- Hair: Red
- Eyes: Green
Collection[]
Trivia[]
- Felicity's low cut outfits to accurately reflect colonial fashions resulted in the torso fabric of the dolls being changed from white cloth to skin-colored.
- When Kaya debuted in 2002, Felicity was pulled from the catalogs with a note saying that she would now be an online exclusive; during this time several of her items and outfits were retired. She was later revamped with the release of her movie and Elizabeth Cole.
- Felicity was the first new character released after the first three--Kirsten Larson, Samantha Parkington, and Molly McIntire.
- Felicity was the first character to be made without bangs.
- While still in development, Sandy Bradshaw (then Colonial Williamsburg’s senior manager of guest communications) assisted in design. The character was initially blonde and named Lucy; Felicity was later chosen as a more suitable name.[3]
- Felicity is the only Historical Character with multiple Historical Character Mysteries written by the same author; all three books are written by Elizabeth McDavid Jones.
- While Felicity is often shown with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and tied off with ribbon, this is somewhat anachronistic to the era. Ribbon was expensive and rarely used to adorn children's hair. The purpose of wearing caps was not only for propriety but because hair was not washed frequently and caps kept dust, dirt, and debris out of the hair. Felicity would have perhaps worn ponytails casually, but more likely would have her hair braided back or pinned up underneath the caps she wears. Furthermore, the multiple illustrations of girls and women wearing pinner caps in day-to-day wear is inaccurate on several levels. Not only would pinner caps not have given protection from day-to-day dirt, but they had long lapels down the back; as well, pinner caps were no longer in fashion by the 1770s.
- Felicity's stories are set in a time and place that is not technically even the United States of America yet; the area was still part of the British Empire and the stories do not reach the end of the American Revolution. This is also true with Kaya'aton'my (as the Pacific Northwest was, while in contact, still not colonized by any European nation) and Josefina Montoya (as the area was still part of the country of Mexico).
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ It is confirmed in the American Girl Magazine version that the short story Felicity Takes a Dare happens before the events of Meet Felicity, after Felicity's ninth birthday.
- ↑ Lady Margaret's Ghost, pg. 45:
Anne's eyes were bright with interest. "Where do you live?"
"On Duke of Gloucester Street," Felicity answered. "A block and a half from Merriman's store, if you know where that is." - ↑ Colonial Williamsburg employee behind beloved American Girl doll, written February 18, 2017; accessed January 15th, 2019.
American Girl Historical Characters | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1760s | 1770s
Felicity Merriman ♦ ★ |
1810s
Caroline Abbott ♦ ★ |
1820s | |||||||
1850s
Cécile Rey ★ |
1850s | 1860s | 1900s | |||||||
1910s | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | |||||||
1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | |||||||
1980s | 2000s | |||||||||
★ Archived / ♦ Part of the BeForever Collection |
BeForever-Revised and Released Historical Characters | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1760s | 1770s
Felicity Merriman ♦ ★ |
1810s | 1820s | |||||||
1860s | 1900s | 1910s | 1930s | |||||||
1940s | 1940s
Molly McIntire ♦ ★ |
1950s | 1960s | |||||||
1970s | ||||||||||
★ Archived | ♦ Re-released for BeForever | ♥ First Released in BeForever |