Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls
L. Frank Baum
Read by Sibella Denton
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 help from his son, Harry Neal Baum, on the third.
The books are concerned with adolescent girl detectives— a concept Baum had experimented with earlier, in The Daring Twins (1911) and Phoebe Daring (1912). The Bluebird series began with Mary Louise, originally written as a tribute to Baum's favorite sister, Mary Louise Baum Brewster. Baum's publisher, Reilly & Britton, rejected that manuscript, apparently judging the heroine too independent. Baum wrote a new version of the book; the original manuscript is lost. The title character is Mary Louise Burrows.
In this, the fourth book of the series, Mary Louise and friends form a group dedicated to supporting the soldiers in World War I, and she brings Josie O'Gorman in to spoil a treasonous plot against the government. (Summary from Wikipedia and Sibella Denton) (4 hr 17 min)
Chapters
| 01 - The Mass Meeting | 9:26 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 02 - Mary Louise Takes Command | 7:42 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 03 - The Liberty Girls | 16:04 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 04 - The Traitor | 13:23 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 05 - Unconvincing Testimony | 8:48 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 06 - To Help Win The War | 12:45 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 07 - The Liberty Shop | 8:13 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 08 - The Detective's Daughter | 10:17 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 09 - Gathering up the Threads | 10:55 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 10 - The Explosion | 7:15 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 11 - A Font of Type | 15:46 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 12- Josie Buys a Desk | 15:06 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 13 - Joe Langley, Soldier | 5:54 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 14 - The Professor is Annoyed | 8:40 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 15 - Suspenders for Sale | 10:16 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 16 - Mrs. Charleworth | 11:19 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 17 - The Black Satchel | 10:09 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 18 - A Hint from Annie Boyle | 6:41 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 19 - The Printing Office | 12:31 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 20 - One Girl's Wits | 8:03 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 21 - Surprises | 9:12 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 22 - A Slight Mistake | 9:32 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 23 - The Flashlight | 12:28 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 24 - After the Crisis | 7:06 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 25 - Decorating | 2:54 | Read by Sibella Denton |
| 26 - Keeping Busy | 7:13 | Read by Sibella Denton |
Reviews
This was okay
mikezane
This book was a bit more of a commercial for war support and bonds than a real story. It's okay for the most part but gets a bit thick here and there. Reader is excellent so still worth a listen, but its not as good as the other Baum books in this series.
Brett Miller
through today's eyes, its a hard read with too much politics. I do find it amusing how much Mary and Grandpa Jim profess to hate traitors when the entire first book was Jim shielding a traitor.
good
Paula H
although this particular book was not as strong as the others, I really hope to see more from the bluebird book series
ok
Rejoyce Milam
I like the other books better but still good. :)