Gypsy Breynton is the heroine of an eponymous series of books written by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps.
The books were written in 1866âÂÂ67 for Sunday schools and so are of an improving nature. Gypsy, as the name indicates, is an impetuous tomboy who lives a chaotic life lacking a system. Her development and experiences provide the basis for the restrained moralizing of the stories.
The four books in the series are
Gypsy Benton was part of an era introducing tomboyism in American literature. Around this same period, several other similar characters were created, including those in Little Women (1868) by Louisa May Alcott and What Katy Did (1872) by Sarah Chauncey Woolsey.