Aunt Jane's Nieces

"Aunt Jane's Nieces" by L. Frank Baum is a novel written during the early 20th century. The story revolves around the three cousins, Elizabeth De Graf, Louise Merrick, and Patricia Doyle, who are invited to the estate of their wealthy aunt, Jane Merrick, who is in declining health. The narrative explores themes of family dynamics, inheritances, and the disparate personalities of the girls as they vie for their aunt's affection and potential fortune. At the start of the book, we are introduced to Elizabeth De Graf, who receives an unexpected invitation from her Aunt Jane to stay at Elmhurst during the summer. This sparks a tense family conversation regarding Elizabeth's potentially lucrative inheritance and the opinions of her parents regarding Aunt Jane. Following this, we meet Louise Merrick, who also learns about her invitation and seems more interested in ingratiating herself to their aunt for financial gain. Finally, we see the spirited Patricia Doyle, who directly rejects her aunt's invitation, expressing her disdain for the wealthy relative. The opening sets the stage for a competition among the girls for Aunt Jane's favor and ultimately her fortune, laying the groundwork for conflict and intrigue. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Lyman Frank Baum was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, part of a series. In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels, 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema.