The Flying Girl
First edition
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| Author |
L. Frank Baum (as "Edith Van Dyne") |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Joseph Pierre Nuyttens |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Adventure, Melodrama |
| Publisher | Reilly & Britton |
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Publication date
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1911 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
The Flying Girl is a novel written by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. It was first published in 1911. In the book, Baum pursued an innovative blending of genres to create a feminist adventure melodrama. The book was followed by a sequel, The Flying Girl and Her Chum, published the next year, 1912. Both books were illustrated by Joseph Pierre Nuyttens, the artist who also illustrated Baum's Annabel and Phoebe Daring in 1912.
As with Baum's other books for girls, these two novels were published under the pseudonym "Edith Van Dyne."
Baum lived during an era of increasing feminist and suffragette agitation; women gained the right to vote with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, the year after his death. Baum's mother-in-law Matilda Joslyn Gage was a leading feminist of her generation, and influenced Baum's views.
It is certainly true that Baum pokes gentle fun at the feminist and suffragette movement in his books – the most obvious example being General Jinjur and her Army of Revolt in The Marvelous Land of Oz. Yet Baum also had a strong sympathy with the broad goals of the movement, a sympathy that is reflected in his literary canon. Oz, of course, is a female-dominated society, with Princess Ozma, Glinda, and witches good and bad. Baum wrote a number of books specifically for girls; his ten-novel series Aunt Jane's Nieces portrays young women acting with independence, initiative, and individuality in preference to traditional gender roles. In one case, Baum went too far for his publishers: though he was their star writer, Reilly & Britton rejected the first version of his 1916 book Mary Louise, "presumably because the heroine was not sufficiently idealized." Though unhappy with their decision, Baum re-wrote the book to deliver a more tame and stereotypical heroine.
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