Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society
First edition
|
|
| Author |
L. Frank Baum (as "Edith Van Dyne") |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Emile A. Nelson |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre |
Young adult fiction Crime fiction Satire |
| Publisher | Reilly & Britton |
|
Publication date
|
1910 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 264 pp. |
| Preceded by | Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work |
| Followed by | Aunt Jane's Nieces and Uncle John |
Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society is a young adult novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. First published in 1910, the book is the fifth volume in the Aunt Jane's Nieces series, which was the second-greatest success of Baum's literary career, after the Oz books themselves.
The novel carries forward the continuing story of the three cousins, Louise Merrick, Beth De Graf, and Patsy Doyle, and their relatives and friends. Like the other books in the series, it was released under the pen name "Edith Van Dyne," one of Baum's multiple pseudonyms.
The book "develops a favorite theme of Baum's, the emptiness and artificiality of fashionable life." Throughout Baum's literary canon, but most notably in the Oz books and the Aunt Jane's Nieces series, Baum stresses the fundamental values of simplicity and naturalness as opposed to "sophistication."
Characters in the book express pronounced skepticism about the pretensions of high society. Patsy argues that "all decent folks" are members of society – and when another character calls this "communism," Patsy agrees, "Perhaps so." She continues,
Beth's initial attitude is so negative that her cousin Louise calls her a "rank socialist."
The story begins with a scene between the cousins' patron, Uncle John, and his sister-in-law, Louise's mother. Mrs. Merrick insists that the girls are suffering a disadvantage in not being active in "Fashionable Society." Though Uncle John knows that his sister-in-law is a vain and foolish woman, her criticism hits him in his most vulnerable spot; he cannot stand to think that his beloved nieces are lacking any of the good things in life. Uncle John capitalizes on a business contact with Hedrik Von Taer, a fixture of the Four Hundred, the social elite of New York City. The broker asks his daughter Diana Von Taer to sponsor the nieces' debut; Diana, well aware of John Merrick's millions and his importance to her father's business, agrees, as long as the girls are not "impossible."
Diana calls on the cousins individually; she is struck with Louise's sweetness and classic femininity, Patsy's liveliness, and Beth's beauty (though Diana and Beth dislike each other cordially on first acquaintance), and finds them at least marginally acceptable. Diana sponsors their debut, and all goes well; the cousins are accepted into the social whirl, and are soon managing the flower booth at the year's biggest charity ball.
...
Wikipedia