Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West
Encyclopedia
Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West is the penultimate novel in the Aunt Jane's Nieces
series, written by L. Frank Baum
as "Edith Van Dyne" and published in 1914.
In the novel, Beth de Graf and Patsy Doyle, staying in Hollywood, California after parting from their cousin's California ranch in the previous novel
, stumble onto the set of a film depicting a collapsing building. Beth is horrified that they have become unwitting extras in a motion picture, for the films she has seen she found atrocious and contrived. Uncle John Merrick offers to let them meet a filmmaker before they form a lasting opinion on the medium, and this filmmaker turns out to be Otis Werner, the same director who shot the film. He argues that the building was falling apart and that the film uses a story to convey the dangers of the use of crumbling factories, for in the film, the factory owner's daughter is killed by a collapsing wall, and he is forced to rethink his life because he has done it all to provide for her.
Beth is convinced that films can have edifying messages, and along with Patsy and their cousins, Arthur Weldon and Louise Merrick Weldon, look into starting a venture of their own to produce films intended specifically for children. Uncle John is proud to support this measure.
While at a restaurant, they meet the starlet sisters Maud and Flo Stanton and their own Aunt Jane, who stay at the same hotel, the Continental, which is owned by Continental Pictures. On an afternoon off, they join the Stantons as the beach, where Maud saves a frail young man from drowning.
The man claims to be A. Jones, with no first name -- a joke of his parents, his father being distantly related to John Paul Jones
-- a native of an island called Sangoa that his father purchased from Uruguay
. He becomes devoted to the Stantons and the nieces, and claims to have the means to support a chain of twenty theatres for the girls, which will be more cost effective than the one or two that they had planned. Soon after, he presents them with pearl
s that he says are gathered from the island.
An jewel inspector named Isidore Le Drieux is convinced that A. Jones is the same as a jewel thief, and that Jones's pearls are stolen from a countess in Vienna
. He thinks he can easily prove his case, although based on circumstantial evidence
, and will soon have Jones extradited, though Uncle John and the others are quite certain, with the more information that they gather, that Le Drieux's case is full of holes and spend the rest of the novel working to prove Jones's innocence. To this effect, John Merrick hires a fresh young guitar
-playing attorney, Fred A. Colby, a recent graduate of Penn Law School who has never fought a case and is eager to prove himself.
Otis Werner is a thinly-veiled reference to Otis Turner
, a director of The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
and a film version of John Dough and the Cherub
. In this book, Baum also name-drops himself by having Uncle John make reference to fairytale authors whose work had been filmed. It also contains Edith Van Dyne's only assertion of herself in the series, stating that because she was not a pretty girl, her mother would tell her that those who have beauty have little else, which Mrs. Van Dyne uses to contrast with the brains and beauty of Maud Stanton.
The Stanton and Jones characters return in the next and final volume in the Aunt Jane's Nieces series, Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross
.
Aunt Jane's Nieces
Aunt Jane's Nieces is the title of a juvenile novel published by Reilly & Britton in 1906, and written by L. Frank Baum under the pen name "Edith Van Dyne." Since the book was the first in a series of novels designed for adolescent girls, its title was applied to the entire series of ten books,...
series, written by L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
as "Edith Van Dyne" and published in 1914.
In the novel, Beth de Graf and Patsy Doyle, staying in Hollywood, California after parting from their cousin's California ranch in the previous novel
Aunt Jane's Nieces on the Ranch
Aunt Jane's Nieces on the Ranch is a 1913 novel by L. Frank Baum writing as "Edith Van Dyne". The novel depicts a story of racial tension on the California ranch owned by the progressive-minded Arthur Weldon and Louise Merrick Weldon, who have entrusted their baby, Jane, nicknamed "Toodlums," to a...
, stumble onto the set of a film depicting a collapsing building. Beth is horrified that they have become unwitting extras in a motion picture, for the films she has seen she found atrocious and contrived. Uncle John Merrick offers to let them meet a filmmaker before they form a lasting opinion on the medium, and this filmmaker turns out to be Otis Werner, the same director who shot the film. He argues that the building was falling apart and that the film uses a story to convey the dangers of the use of crumbling factories, for in the film, the factory owner's daughter is killed by a collapsing wall, and he is forced to rethink his life because he has done it all to provide for her.
Beth is convinced that films can have edifying messages, and along with Patsy and their cousins, Arthur Weldon and Louise Merrick Weldon, look into starting a venture of their own to produce films intended specifically for children. Uncle John is proud to support this measure.
While at a restaurant, they meet the starlet sisters Maud and Flo Stanton and their own Aunt Jane, who stay at the same hotel, the Continental, which is owned by Continental Pictures. On an afternoon off, they join the Stantons as the beach, where Maud saves a frail young man from drowning.
The man claims to be A. Jones, with no first name -- a joke of his parents, his father being distantly related to John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones was a Scottish sailor and the United States' first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolutionary War. Although he made enemies among America's political elites, his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to...
-- a native of an island called Sangoa that his father purchased from Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. He becomes devoted to the Stantons and the nieces, and claims to have the means to support a chain of twenty theatres for the girls, which will be more cost effective than the one or two that they had planned. Soon after, he presents them with pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
s that he says are gathered from the island.
An jewel inspector named Isidore Le Drieux is convinced that A. Jones is the same as a jewel thief, and that Jones's pearls are stolen from a countess in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. He thinks he can easily prove his case, although based on circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence is evidence in which an inference is required to connect it to a conclusion of fact, like a fingerprint at the scene of a crime...
, and will soon have Jones extradited, though Uncle John and the others are quite certain, with the more information that they gather, that Le Drieux's case is full of holes and spend the rest of the novel working to prove Jones's innocence. To this effect, John Merrick hires a fresh young guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
-playing attorney, Fred A. Colby, a recent graduate of Penn Law School who has never fought a case and is eager to prove himself.
Otis Werner is a thinly-veiled reference to Otis Turner
Otis Turner
Otis Turner was an American director, screenwriter and producer. Between 1908 and 1917, he directed 133 motion pictures and wrote 40 scenarios.He was born in Fairfield, Indiana, and died in Los Angeles, California....
, a director of The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays was an early attempt to bring L. Frank Baum's Oz books to the motion picture screen. It was a mixture of live actors, hand-tinted magic lantern slides, and film. Baum himself would appear as if he were giving a lecture, while he interacted with the characters...
and a film version of John Dough and the Cherub
John Dough and the Cherub
John Dough and the Cherub is a children's fantasy novel written by L. Frank Baum, about a living gingerbread man and his adventures.-The book:...
. In this book, Baum also name-drops himself by having Uncle John make reference to fairytale authors whose work had been filmed. It also contains Edith Van Dyne's only assertion of herself in the series, stating that because she was not a pretty girl, her mother would tell her that those who have beauty have little else, which Mrs. Van Dyne uses to contrast with the brains and beauty of Maud Stanton.
The Stanton and Jones characters return in the next and final volume in the Aunt Jane's Nieces series, Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross
Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross
Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross is a 1915 young adult novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. It is the tenth and final volume in Baum's Aunt Jane's Nieces series of books for adolescent girls — the second greatest success of his publishing career, after...
.