Mary Louise Adopts a Soldier
1919
L. Frank Baum, creator of Oz, turned his gaze toward America's home front in this 1919 novel of the Great War's aftermath. Written in the breathless months after Armistice, the book captures a nation sorting through its wreckage: soldiers returning to towns that have moved on, communities trying to stitch themselves back together. This is Baum at his most unexpected, trading fairy tale wonder for something closer to reality. Mary Louise Hathaway, spirited and principled, simply wants to help. When the Dorfield Regiment returns from France, she sees not heroes on pedestals but people who need homes and belonging. Alongside her grandfather, the retired Colonel Hathaway, she embarks on a mission of compassion. But Danny Dexter, a soldier whose past seems darker than the others, complicates their good intentions. As Mary Louise investigates, the warmth of small-town community and the edge of suspense intertwine, revealing that helping others sometimes means confronting uncomfortable truths. For readers who want to see how America's beloved fabulist tackled the wounds of war, this novel offers both heart and intrigue.
