L. Frank Baum wrote the 1912 book Aunt Jane's Nieces on Vacation under the pen name "Edith Van Dyne." Baum's intended title was Aunt Jane's Nieces in Journalism, which is more accurate, but the publisher changed it without telling him, much to his chagrin. To begin with, the title is accurate enough. Returning to their holiday home in Millville, upstate New York, are John Merrick and his nieces. Patsy Doyle, Beth De Graf, and Louise Merrick Weldon, the three girls, get tired of taking vacations and want to get more involved in town life. Since Beth reads newspapers frequently, they plan to start their own newspaper with Uncle John's funding, and stereotype plates from the wire service liberally strewn with local news and rumors. Louise is mostly in charge of the latter. As was typical of female-run businesses at the period, her husband, Arthur Weldon, has his name listed first on the masthead, which forces him into a duel with one of the yokels. However, the issues brought by local greedy mill owners trying to con the town become the main plot. White ethnics make up the majority of the workforce, which the locals despise.
Lyman Frank Baum was an American writer best known for his children's books, especially The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the Oz series, plus 41 other novels, 83 short stories, above 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made many attempts to lead his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a milestone of 20th-century cinema. Baum was born on 15 May 1856, near Syracuse, New York. His father, Benjamin, was a rich oil businessman, and young Frank developed in comfort. As a young child Frank was teached at home with his kins, but at the age of 12 he was sent to study at Peekskill Military Academy. He followed a variety of careers varying from acting to newspaper reporting to theatrical management to writing plays. Baum married Maud Gage, daughter of Matilda Joslyn Gage, a famous women's suffrage campaigner. His famous works are Mother Goose, Father Goose, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, The Master Key, etc. He made and headed The Oz Film Manufacturing Company in 1914. Baum expired on 6 May 1919 and was buried in Glendale, California.
