Helen Perry Curtis

Jean & Company, Unlimited Helen Perry Curtis

In November, 1937, Helen Perry Curtis published Jean & Company, Unlimited. Aimed at young readers, Jean is the story of an American girl's first European trip. Favorably reviewed, Jean & Company was named the Junior Literary Guild Selection of the Month in January, 1938.

In 2020, Laura Gellott published Helen Perry Curtis and the European Trip of a Lifetime, a biography of Curtis. That book sparked renewed interest in Jean & Company, by then long out of print.

Now, thanks to the publisher and editors at Parafine Press, Jean & Company, Unlimited, is available to a new audience: whether the young adult readers for whom it was first intended, or older readers discovering-or revisiting-the charming story of an American girl's first encounter with Europe. For all readers, the book's underlying message is a timeless one: an affirmation of the bond between mothers and daughters, and, in the words of the original New York Times book review, "a tempting invitation to travel which stresses the most essential of travelers' requirements: good-will and a readiness for experience."