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''Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society'' is a young-adult novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. First published in 1910, the book is the fifth volume in the ''Aunt Jane's Nieces'' series, which was the second-greatest success of Baum's literary career, after the Oz books themselves. The novel carries forward the continuing story of the three cousins, Louise Merrick, Beth De Graf, and Patsy Doyle, and their relatives and friends. Like the other books in the series, it was released under the pen name "Edith Van Dyne," one of Baum's multiple pseudonyms.〔"Edith Van Dyne," ''Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society'', Chicago, Reilly & Britton, 1910.〕 ==Theme== The book "develops a favorite theme of Baum's, the emptiness and artificiality of fashionable life."〔Katharine M. Rogers, ''L. Frank Baum, Creator of Oz: A Biography'', New York, St. Martin's Press, 2002; p. 154.〕 Throughout Baum's literary canon, but most notably in the Oz books and the ''Aunt Jane's Nieces'' series, Baum stresses the fundamental values of simplicity and naturalness as opposed to "sophistication."〔Fred Erisman, "L. Frank Baum and the Progressive Dilemma," ''American Quarterly'', Vol. 20 No. 3 (Autumn 1968), pp. 616-23.〕 Characters in the book express pronounced skepticism about the pretensions of high society. Patsy argues that "all decent folks" are members of society – and when another character calls this "communism," Patsy agrees, "Perhaps so." She continues, :"...certain classes have leagued together and excluded themselves from their fellows, admitting only those of their own ilk. The people didn't put them on their pedestals – they put themselves there. Yet the people bow down and worship these social gods and seem glad to have them."〔''Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society'', pp. 57-8.〕 Beth's initial attitude is so negative that her cousin Louise calls her a "rank socialist."〔''Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society'', p. 68.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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