Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls


Read by Sibella Denton

(4.4 stars; 45 reviews)

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


(3 stars)

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.


(3 stars)

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


(3 stars)

although this particular book was not as strong as the others, I really hope to see more from the bluebird book series

ok


(4 stars)

I like the other books better but still good. :)