Phoebe Daring
Encyclopedia
Phoebe Daring: A Story for Young Folk is a mystery novel for juvenile readers, written by L. Frank Baum
, the author of the Oz books. Published in 1912
, it was a sequel to the previous year's The Daring Twins
, and the second and final installment in a proposed series of similar books. Phoebe Daring was illustrated by Joseph Pierre Nuyttens, the artist who illustrated Baum's The Flying Girl
, Annabel
, and The Flying Girl and Her Chum
in the same period. Hungry Tiger Press
announced that they would reprint the book as Unjustly Accused! in the back of their 2006 reprint of the first book as The Secret of the Lost Fortune.
Like The Daring Twins, Phoebe Daring involves two orphaned twins, Philip and Phoebe Daring; as its title indicates, the sister takes the primary role in the second book, which delivers a plot about a good man unjustly suspected of a crime — very much as the first one did. This similarity, and lack of originality, might be the best explanation for the book's limited popular success and the termination of the Daring Twins series after two books.
It is clear that Baum had hopes of more Daring Twins novels, involving the younger of the five Daring siblings and eventually their children as well. Evidence suggests that he wrote at least a third book in the series; in the papers left after Baum's death in 1919, the file that contained the manuscript for his last Oz book, Glinda of Oz
, was labelled Phoebe Daring, Conspirator. Baum's correspondence with his publisher, Reilly & Britton
, mentions yet another book, titled either Phil Daring's Experiment or The Daring Twins' Experiment. Yet nothing of these other Daring books is known to have survived.
The girl-detective concept had a persistent hold on Baum's imagination. He returned to it in a more successful series, the Mary Louise
novels that he began in 1916.
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, the author of the Oz books. Published in 1912
1912 in literature
The year 1912 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Virginia Stephen marries Leonard Woolf.*Frieda von Richthofen meets D. H. Lawrence.-New books:*Mary Antin - The Promised Land*L...
, it was a sequel to the previous year's The Daring Twins
The Daring Twins
The Daring Twins: A Story for Young Folk is a mystery novel for juvenile readers, written by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. It was first published in 1911, and was intended as the opening installment in a series of similar books....
, and the second and final installment in a proposed series of similar books. Phoebe Daring was illustrated by Joseph Pierre Nuyttens, the artist who illustrated Baum's The Flying Girl
The Flying Girl
The Flying Girl is a novel written by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. It was first published in 1911. In the book, Baum pursued an innovative blending of genres to create a feminist adventure melodrama. The book was followed by a sequel, The Flying Girl and Her Chum, published the next year,...
, Annabel
Annabel (novel)
Annabel: A Novel for Young Folk is a 1906 juvenile novel written by L. Frank Baum, the author famous for his series of books on the Land of Oz. The book was issued under the pen name "Suzanne Metcalf," one of Baum's various pseudonyms...
, and The Flying Girl and Her Chum
The Flying Girl
The Flying Girl is a novel written by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. It was first published in 1911. In the book, Baum pursued an innovative blending of genres to create a feminist adventure melodrama. The book was followed by a sequel, The Flying Girl and Her Chum, published the next year,...
in the same period. Hungry Tiger Press
Hungry Tiger Press
Hungry Tiger Press is an American specialty publisher of books, compact discs, comic books and graphic novels, focused on the works of L. Frank Baum, other authors of Oz books, and related Americana. Perhaps most notably, the Press has published rare, early, long-neglected dramatic and musical...
announced that they would reprint the book as Unjustly Accused! in the back of their 2006 reprint of the first book as The Secret of the Lost Fortune.
Like The Daring Twins, Phoebe Daring involves two orphaned twins, Philip and Phoebe Daring; as its title indicates, the sister takes the primary role in the second book, which delivers a plot about a good man unjustly suspected of a crime — very much as the first one did. This similarity, and lack of originality, might be the best explanation for the book's limited popular success and the termination of the Daring Twins series after two books.
It is clear that Baum had hopes of more Daring Twins novels, involving the younger of the five Daring siblings and eventually their children as well. Evidence suggests that he wrote at least a third book in the series; in the papers left after Baum's death in 1919, the file that contained the manuscript for his last Oz book, Glinda of Oz
Glinda of Oz
Glinda of Oz: In Which Are Related the Exciting Experiences of Princess Ozma of Oz, and Dorothy, in Their Hazardous Journey to the Home of the Flatheads, and to the Magic Isle of the Skeezers, and How They Were Rescued from Dire Peril by the Sorcery of Glinda the Good is the fourteenth Land of Oz...
, was labelled Phoebe Daring, Conspirator. Baum's correspondence with his publisher, Reilly & Britton
Reilly & Britton
The Reilly and Britton Company, or Reilly & Britton was an American publishing company of the early and middle 20th century, famous as the publisher of the works of L. Frank Baum.-Founding:...
, mentions yet another book, titled either Phil Daring's Experiment or The Daring Twins' Experiment. Yet nothing of these other Daring books is known to have survived.
The girl-detective concept had a persistent hold on Baum's imagination. He returned to it in a more successful series, the Mary Louise
The Bluebird Books
The Bluebird Books is a series of novels popular with teenage girls in the 1910s and 1920s. The series was begun by L. Frank Baum using his Edith Van Dyne pseudonym, then continued by at least three others, all using the same pseudonym. Baum wrote the first four books in the series, possibly with...
novels that he began in 1916.