Illustrator Emile A. Nelson Language English Media type Print (hardcover) Originally published 1913 Publisher Reilly & Britton Genre Young adult fiction | Country United States Publication date 1913 Pages 276 pp. | |
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Aunt Jane's Nieces on the Ranch is a 1913 novel by L. Frank Baum writing as "Edith Van Dyne". The novel depicts a story of racial tension on the California ranch owned by the progressive-minded Arthur Weldon and Louise Merrick Weldon, who have entrusted their baby, Jane, nicknamed "Toodlums," to a Mexican governess named Inez.
Louise's uncle, John Merrick, is not pleased with her choice and brings Mildred Travers, a white nurse from New York to serve as governess. Out of appreciation to Uncle John, the Weldons accept her as nominal head governess with Inez as an assistant, finding her of great value. Inez does not see it that way and becomes very possessive, as well as protective, of baby Jane.
The ranch was built by a Spanish lord and contains secret passages within some of the walls. Inez and some other Mexicans insist that the house is haunted, but the Weldons are convinced that the sounds are only of rats. Mildred, in fact, has a connection to the house, as her father was a friend of the former owner, who was delighted to show her the entrances to these passages that no one else has seen.