Author | L. Frank Baum (as "Schuyler Staunton") |
---|---|
Illustrator | Thomas Mitchell Pierce Harold DeLay |
Language | English |
Genre | Adventure fiction |
Publisher | Reilly & Britton |
Publication date | 1906 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardcover) |
Pages | 319 pp. |
Daughters of Destiny is a 1906 adventure novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the author of the Oz books. Baum published the novel under the pen name "Schuyler Staunton," one of his several pseudonyms. [1] (Baum arrived at the name by adding one letter to the name of his late maternal uncle, Schuyler Stanton.) [2]
The 1906 edition of the book featured eight illustrations, three by Thomas Mitchell Pierce and five by Harold DeLay. Pierce was a son-in-law of Baum's sister Harriet Alvena Baum Neal; he contributed illustrations to Baum's 1898 poetry collection By the Candelabra's Glare .
Baum had originally intended to call his novel The Girl in the Harem. [3]
Overall, Baum dedicated his literary career to writing for children. For a brief period in the middle of the twentieth century's first decade, though, he made a concentrated effort to write for an adult audience as well. This effort produced two other novels in addition to Daughters of Destiny — The Fate of a Crown (1905), the first Schuyler Staunton novel, and The Last Egyptian (1908), published anonymously.
Writing to entertain, Baum chose exotic locales and melodramatic elements for these books. The Fate of a Crown is set in Brazil, and deals with the revolution of 1889; Daughters of Destiny is set even farther afield, in Baluchistan. In Baum's fiction, Baluchistan is still an independent state, though the region had fallen under the sway of the British Empire in the later nineteenth century.
Given his setting and subject, Baum's book had to involve the religion of Islam and an Islamic culture. While his text does deliver some stereotypical "dog of an infidel" dialogue, Baum for the most part takes a serious and respectful approach to Islam – something that was far from universal among Americans and Westerners of his generation. Baum recognizes the existence of Sunni Islam (he uses the term "Sunnite"), with its Imams ("Imaum"). Significantly, he introduces a "Grand Mufti" named Salaman in Chapter 15 of his book, and portrays him as a man of real and profound spirituality and wisdom. [4]
Baum's hero is a half-Persian, half-American Muslim who marries the Christian American heroine, with no mention of religious conversion.
The American Construction Syndicate wants to build a railroad across Baluchistan, as part of their plans for global development. The company appoints a commission, headed by Colonel Piedmont Moore, to obtain the right of way from the Baluchi ruler. Moore chooses his personal friend and physician Dr. Warner as his second in command; and with commendable nepotism he selects his son Allison Moore as the commission's surveyor. Dr. Warner's ebullient daughter Bessie wants to come along, and solicits Moore's daughter Janet to come too; the young women will by chaperoned by Bessie's Aunt Lucy. (Col. Moore is secretly pleased that his daughter Janet will make the trip; she has been melancholy after an unhappy love affair, with a man the Colonel regards as a thief and scoundrel.)
The Americans travel to Baluchistan, and promptly get themselves embroiled in a succession conflict. The reigning Khan of the country is dying, and two cousins vie for the crown. One, Kasam, is masquerading as their guide. What follows is a complex but tightly-woven plot that involves subterfuge and conspiracy, poisonings and attempted assassinations, sword fights and a pursuit in the desert, a scheming femme fatale , disguises and false identities – all the ingredients of melodrama.
In the end, Prince Kasam's rival Ahmed (or Hafiz) inherits the throne of Baluchistan – but he yields it to Kasam so he can return to the United States with the heroine, Janet Moore. It is revealed that Ahmed/Hafiz is actually Howard Osborne, the man Janet had previously loved (and secretly married, seven years before). Osborne had nobly but foolishly taken the blame for an embezzlement actually committed by Allison Moore, the Colonel's son and Janet's brother. Once all the secrets are out, the difficulties are resolved; and the requisite happy ending is achieved. And Bessie stays behind to marry Prince Kasam, and become the Khanum of Baluchistan.
Notably, Ahmed/Hafiz/Osborne abdicates his throne in part for personal reasons, but also because he thinks it would be bad for the country to be ruled by someone deeply influenced by American culture. It is better, he thinks, for the people of Baluchistan to maintain their traditional way of life than to be thrust into the frenetic modern world – an interesting rejection, on the author's part, of imperialism and the idolatry of progress. [5]
Daughters of Destiny was reprinted in the 1998 issue of the annual Oz-story Magazine , with new illustrations by Eric Shanower. That publication was accompanied by a notice that the story "contains a number of offensive stereotypes. Fortunately, they have very little bearing on the story." [3] The comic character David the Jew, the Americans' interpreter, would be offensive to the sensibilities of many modern readers. [6]
In his thoughtful and deliberative frame of mind, Baum was in favor of tolerance and against bigotry of all types; this is reflected in Daughters of Destiny and in other of his books. (For pertinent examples, see Sky Island and Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea .) Yet he was not, and could not have been, a man with a mindset of modern political correctness. When writing with the intent of humoring, as with David the Jew in this book, Baum willingly exploited the ethnic and racial stereotypes that were current in his era. [7] (See also Father Goose: His Book , The Woggle-Bug Book , and Father Goose's Year Book .)
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, part of a series. In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels, 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their home by a cyclone. Upon her arrival in the magical world of Oz, she learns she cannot return home until she has destroyed the Wicked Witch of the West.
William Wallace Denslow was an American illustrator and caricaturist remembered for his work in collaboration with author L. Frank Baum, especially his illustrations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Denslow was an editorial cartoonist with a strong interest in politics, which has fueled political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is an American novel published in 1995, written by Gregory Maguire with illustrations by Douglas Smith. It is the first in The Wicked Years series, and was followed by Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz.
The Reilly and Britton Company, known after 1918 as Reilly & Lee, was an American publishing company of the early and middle 20th century, best known for children's and popular culture books from authors like L. Frank Baum and Edgar A. Guest. Founded in 1904 by two former employees of George M. Hill's publishing company, Frank Kennicott Reilly and Charles Sumner Britton. Reilly continued to lead the company until his death in 1932. Britton left the firm around 1916 to start a new company in New York, and for a time the company was guided by William F. Lee, who died in 1924. Following Reilly's death, Francis J. O'Donnell ran the company until it was acquired by the Henry Regnery Company in 1959.
The Last Egyptian: A Romance of the Nile is a novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. The book was published anonymously on May 1, 1908 by Edward Stern & Co. of Philadelphia, with eight color plate illustrations by Francis P. Wightman. Baum left his name off of the book because he was concerned that "masquerading as a novelist" might hurt his career as a writer for children; but he identified himself as the author of the book during his lifetime when making fantasy films for children proved a financial disaster.
Hungry Tiger Press is an American specialty publisher of books, compact discs, comic books and graphic novels, focused on the works of L. Frank Baum, other authors of Oz books, and related Americana. Hungry Tiger has also published rare, early, long-neglected dramatic and musical adaptations of the Oz works, featuring music by Louis F. Gottschalk, Paul Tietjens, and other composers of the early twentieth century.
Father Goose: His Book is a collection of nonsense poetry for children, written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow, and first published in 1899. Though generally neglected a century later, the book was a groundbreaking sensation in its own era; "once America's best-selling children's book and L. Frank Baum's first success," Father Goose laid a foundation for the writing career that soon led to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and all of Baum's later work.
By the Candelabra's Glare is a 1898 collection of poems written by L. Frank Baum. One of his earliest works, the book was significant in Baum's evolution from amateur to professional author.
Father Goose's Year Book: Quaint Quacks and Feathered Shafts for Mature Children is a collection of humorous nonsense poetry written by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. It was published in 1907.
L. Frank Baum's Juvenile Speaker: Readings and Recitations in Prose and Verse, Humorous and Otherwise is an anthology of literary works by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. The book was first published in 1910, with illustrations by veteran Baum artists John R. Neill and Maginel Wright Enright; a subsequent 1912 edition was retitled Baum's Own Book for Children. The book constitutes a complex element in the Baum bibliography.
Animal Fairy Tales is a collection of short stories written by L. Frank Baum, the creator of the Land of Oz series of children's books. The stories first received magazine publication in 1905. For several decades in the twentieth century, the collection was a "lost" book by Baum; it resurfaced when the International Wizard of Oz Club published the stories in one volume in 1969.
The Fate of a Crown is a 1905 adventure novel written by L. Frank Baum, the author best known for his Oz books. It was published under the pen name "Schuyler Staunton", one of Baum's several pseudonyms.
Annabel: A Novel for Young Folk is a 1906 juvenile novel written by L. Frank Baum, the author famous for his series of books on the Land of Oz. The book was issued under the pen name "Suzanne Metcalf," one of Baum's various pseudonyms. Annabel was one of Baum's first efforts to write a novel for adolescent girls – who soon became one of his most important audiences.
Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea is a juvenile adventure novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. The book was Baum's first effort at writing specifically for an audience of adolescent boys, a market he pursued in the coming years of his career. The novel was first published in 1906, under the pen name "Capt. Hugh Fitzgerald", one of Baum's pseudonyms.
Aunt Jane's Nieces and Uncle John is a young adult novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. It is the sixth volume in the ten-book series Aunt Jane's Nieces, Baum's greatest commercial success after the Oz books themselves. Like the other books in the series, this sixth volume was issued under the pen name "Edith Van Dyne," one of Baum's multiple pseudonyms.
The Woggle-Bug Book is a 1905 children's book written by L. Frank Baum, creator of the Land of Oz, and illustrated by Ike Morgan. A spinoff from the Oz novels, it has long been one of the rarest items in the Baum bibliography. Baum's text has been controversial for its use of ethnic humor stereotypes.
The Tik-Tok Man of Oz is a musical play with book and lyrics by L. Frank Baum and music by Louis F. Gottschalk that opened at the Majestic Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 31, 1913. It is loosely inspired by Baum's book Ozma of Oz (1907), incorporates much of the material from Baum's book The Road to Oz (1909), and was the basis for his 1914 novel, Tik-Tok of Oz. It was promoted as "A Companion Play to The Wizard of Oz" and directed by Frank M. Stammers. The play is known from its advertising and published music, but survives only in earlier manuscript.
George M. Hill Company was an American publishing company based in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1893 by George M. Hill, who learned the book-binding trade through an apprenticeship.
This is a complete bibliography for American children's writer L. Frank Baum.