What Katy Did Next is the third instalment of Susan Coolidge’s series of children’s books about a playful young girl called Katy Carr who started off short-tempered but mellowed a lot over the course of the first two books. Soon after the story begins Katy is overjoyed to hear that she has been invited to spend a year in Europe with Mrs Ashe and Amy, and she receives a book about it, "The History of Europe", from Mrs Inches that excites her further. It is a frighteningly long time to be away from her beloved family but she decides she wants to explore the interesting places she has read about. We follow Katy across the Atlantic in the Spartacus ship, through England, France, Pompeii and Rome spotting fellow Americans and adventure along the way. There are some less pleasant surprises than the beauty of the places to be had but eventually Katy finds the greatest happiness of all.