Set during WWI, ‘Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls’ is the fourth book in the popular children’s series by ‘Oz’ author L. Frank Baum. Mary Louise and her friends decide to form a group to help raise money for the war effort, calling themselves the Liberty Girls. When the group hears about anti-war sentiment being spread in the town, they task themselves with discovering whether it comes from a spy hidden in their midst. Lyman Frank Baum (1856 – 1919) was a prolific and well-known American writer. He is best known for his famous series of modern fairy tales set in the imaginary land of Oz. The first of the books, ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ is widely considered to be the first true American fairy tale and was the basis for the hugely popular 1939 classic musical ‘The Wizard of Oz’ starring Judy Garland. Born and raised in New York, Baum held a range of jobs including as a poultry farmer, clerk, and storekeeper before pursuing his talent for writing at the age of 41. He wrote 14 novels in the Oz series, as well as over 40 other novels and over 80 short stories. He died in California in 1919.

Under the pen name "Edith Van Dyne," Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum created the memorable character Mary Louise, a spirited teenager with a knack for solving mysteries and righting injustices. In Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls, the heroine and her chums contribute to the war effort.

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Table of Contents Chapter I THE MASS-MEETING Chapter II MARY LOUISE TAKES COMMAND Chapter III THE LIBERTY GIRLS Chapter IV THE TRAITOR Chapter V UNCONVINCING TESTIMONY Chapter VI. TO HELP WIN THE WAR Chapter VII THE LIBERTY SHOP Chapter VIII THE DETECTIVE'S DAUGHTER Chapter IX GATHERING UP THE THREADS Chapter X THE EXPLOSION Chapter XI A FONT OF TYPE Chapter XII JOSIE BUYS A DESK Chapter XIII JOE LANGLEY, SOLDIER Chapter XIV THE PROFESSOR IS ANNOYED Chapter XV SUSPENDERS FOR SALE Chapter XVI MRS. CHARLEWORTH Chapter XVII THE BLACK SATCHEL Chapter XVIII A HINT FEOM ANNIE BOYLE Chapter XIX THE PRINTING OFFICE Chapter XX ONE GIRL'S WITS Chapter XXI SURPRISES Chapter XXII A SLIGHT MISTAKE Chapter XXIII THE FLASHLIGHT Chapter XXIV AFTER THE CRISIS Chapter XXV DECORATING Chapter XXVI KEEPING BUSY

The Mary Louise Series is a collection of four novels concerned with adolescent girl detectives written under the pseudonym Edith Van Dyne. The series began with Mary Louise, originally written as a tribute to Baum's favorite sister, Mary Louise Baum Brewster. She is a fifteen-year-old girl with unusual maturity (though the other girls in her boarding school find her somewhat priggish). She is suddenly confronted with the fact that her beloved grandfather is suspected of no less a crime than treason against the United States… The second book, Mary Louise in the Country, involves the struggle for Irish independence from Britain. Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls is concerned with the strong anti-German sentiments in the United States during World War I. L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) was an American author chiefly known for his children's books. Table of Contents: Mary Louise Mary Louise in the Country Mary Louise Solves a Mystery Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls

The Mary Louise books are another series for girls, also written by "Edith Van Dyne". They may be considered as successors to the Aunt Jane's Nieces Series, for the first title, Mary Louise, appeared in 1916, the year after the last of the Aunt Jane's Nieces stories. This edition contains the five original stories written by Baum. These are: Mary Louise Mary Louise in the Country Mary Louise Solves a Mystery Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls Mary Louise and Josie O'Gorman

During World War I, as young men journeyed overseas to battle, American women maintained the home front by knitting, fundraising, and conserving supplies. These became daily chores for young girls, but many longed to be part of a larger, more glorious war effort--and some were. A new genre of young adult books entered the market, written specifically with the young girls of the war period in mind and demonstrating the wartime activities of women and girls all over the world. Through fiction, girls could catch spies, cross battlefields, man machine guns, and blow up bridges. These adventurous heroines were contemporary feminist role models, creating avenues of leadership for women and inspiring individualism and self-discovery. The work presented here analyzes the powerful messages in such literature, how it created awareness and grappled with the engagement of real girls in the United States and Allied war effort, and how it reflects their contemporaries' awareness of girls' importance.