Girls of Many Lands is a series of eight books and dolls that spanned several countries and time periods. The line was released from 2002 to 2005. The entire series was aimed towards an older audience of about 12 years old; the 9-inch-tall dolls were not for play, but for display only. In accordance with this, they had no accessories or clothes; the only items in the line apart from the dolls and books were a single-doll mirrored display case and a display tower with room for multiple dolls. Each doll had one elaborate, detailed, and non-removable outfit to resemble the outfit on the cover of her respective book.
Primary Characters
- Isabel Campion, representing Tudor England (1592)
- Cécile Revel, representing pre-revolutionary France (1711)
- Leyla, representing the Tulip Period in Turkey (1720)
- Saba, representing imperial Ethiopia (1846)
- Chou Spring Pearl, representing China during the Second Opium War (1857)
- Minuk, representing the arrival of missionaries in Alaska (1890)
- Kathleen Murphy, representing Ireland during the Great Depression (1937)
- Neela Sen, representing the struggle for independence in India (1939)
Books
Each girl had only one book, unlike the Historical Characters, who have six-book Central Series as well as Short Stories and Historical Character Mysteries that differ in number with each character. However, the books were much more complex both in length and topic than the historicals' and had much more detailed plots. Each book, like the Historical Central series, has information in the back about the social aspects of the era. The title format included the girl's first name, a poetic subtitle that evoked an image of the time and referred to events in the book (for example, Cécile: Gates of Gold implies the lavish lives of the pre-revolutionary French nobility as well as referring to literal gates), and the country and year when the book was set.
History of the Girls of Many Lands Line
The line was originally launched in 2002 with the release of Isabel, Cécile, Minuk, Spring Pearl and Neela. Also part of the launch were the display case and display stand. They were generally placed in the catalogue next to the American Girl Minis, as they were targeted towards the same older audience. They were all intended to have different face molds, but Minuk's proposed smiling face mold was deemed inappropriate, and she shared Spring Pearl's mold.
In 2003, Saba, Leyla and Kathleen were released at the same time. That same year, American Girl Minis were discontinued, leaving Girls of Many Lands the only line in the catalogue targeting older girls.
The Girls of Many Lands line was pulled in 2005. Theories for discontinuing mostly lean towards the collection being unpopular. As of the present, there is no other line that American Girl offers for older girls.