Mary Louise
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 the first books of the series, 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. With the help of old and new friends of Mary Louise … the truth is uncovered. The novel features a federal agent named John O'Gorman; he is assisted by his daughter Josie, a young woman he has himself trained to function as an investigator. (The Josie O'Gorman character, despite preceding Nancy Drew by more than a decade, is much less traditionally feminine.) (Summary from Wikipedia) (4 hr 12 min)
Chapters
00 - Publisher's Note | 2:03 | Read by Sibella Denton |
01 - Just an Argument | 7:49 | Read by Sibella Denton |
02 - Gran'pa Jim | 9:27 | Read by Sibella Denton |
03 - A Surprise | 7:20 | Read by Sibella Denton |
04 - Shifting Sands | 5:47 | Read by Sibella Denton |
05 - Official Investigation | 11:59 | Read by Sibella Denton |
06 - Under a Cloud | 10:43 | Read by Sibella Denton |
07 - The Escape | 9:15 | Read by Sibella Denton |
08 - A Friendly Foe | 12:06 | Read by Sibella Denton |
09 - Officer O'Gorman | 14:32 | Read by Sibella Denton |
10 - Rather Queer Indeed | 7:27 | Read by Sibella Denton |
11 - Mary Louise Meets Irene | 14:52 | Read by Sibella Denton |
12 - A Cheerful Comrade | 8:02 | Read by Sibella Denton |
13 - Bub Succumbs to Force | 13:47 | Read by Sibella Denton |
14 - A Call from Agatha Lord | 13:00 | Read by Sibella Denton |
15 - Bub's Hobby | 10:44 | Read by Sibella Denton |
16 - The Stolen Book | 4:08 | Read by Sibella Denton |
17 - The Hired Girl | 6:29 | Read by Sibella Denton |
18 - Mary Louise Grows Suspicious | 9:10 | Read by Sibella Denton |
19 - An Artful Confession | 11:41 | Read by Sibella Denton |
20 - Diamond Cut Diamond | 14:37 | Read by Sibella Denton |
21 - Bad News | 6:28 | Read by Sibella Denton |
22 - The Folks at Bigbee's | 8:09 | Read by Sibella Denton |
23 - A Kiss from Josie | 7:04 | Read by Sibella Denton |
24 - Facing the Truth | 8:51 | Read by Sibella Denton |
25 - Simple Justice | 7:12 | Read by Sibella Denton |
26 - The Letter | 9:38 | Read by Sibella Denton |
Reviews
Enjoyable story





mikezane
I am now in the process of either listening to or reading all the Mary Louise books. The summary covers the plot of the story. Mary Louise is a frisky young lady who works at outsmarting the secret service to save her grandfather, whom she can not believe is guilty of treason. It's a good thing the secret service has the help of an unexpected player. Reader is excellent, story is excellent, enjoy!
Eye Roll





Michelle S
Priggish characters lecture their idea of morals, which being censorship and "protecting" females from "certain knowledge". One of these "highly moral" main characters is an impeccably dressed older batchelor, who has a knack for dressing his female relatives, who subsequently are the best dressed women in the village. And then there's "the old negro" who speaks like he's actually wearing chains. Almost seems like a parody. Very nicely read though, thank you.
very enjoyable





giflos
This reminds me of books my mother read in her teens with strong, female characters who succeed against the odds while not betraying the conventions of their time. Nicely read and very enjoyable. thank you.





Mary S
Thoughtfully read- I appreciate L Frank Baum’s writing. Interesting story line!
loved it held my attention from beginning to end










Reverend Muddy Grimes
nice story. Fluff but a good escape for awhile
mjw





ambria.jeanette
I loved the book. it was beautifully read!😀😄
loved this book





Paula H
simple mystery from a simpler time