Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross

L. Frank Baum, well known for creating the Land of Oz, wrote the young adult novel Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross in 1915. It is the tenth and last book in Baum's Aunt Jane's Nieces series for teenage girls, which is his second-greatest literary success (after the Oz books themselves). Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross was published under the pen name "Edith Van Dyne," one of Baum's many aliases, just like the other works in the series. The novel is notable in Baum's canon because it articulates his opinions and sentiments towards World War I. An unusual but not exceptional approach for books in the series was to include an opening letter from "Edith Van Dyne" in the book. (There is also an author's introduction in the second book, Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad.) The Siege of Maubeuge's end and the German victory are described in a newspaper article that Patsy Doyle, Beth De Graf, and their uncle John Merrick is reading at the beginning of the book on September 7, 1914. The war news deeply affects both of the girls, but Beth is more committed to the French cause.