Our Landlady by L. Frank Baum - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)

By L. Frank Baum

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘Our Landlady by L. Frank Baum - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of L. Frank Baum’.

Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Baum includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.

eBook features:
* The complete unabridged text of ‘Our Landlady by L. Frank Baum - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)’
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• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishdrive
• Release date: Jul 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781788771474

L. Frank Baum

L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900 and received enormous, immediate success. Baum went on to write seventeen additional novels in the Oz series. Today, he is considered the father of the American fairy tale. His stories inspired the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz, one of the most widely viewed movies of all time. MinaLima is an award-winning graphic design studio founded by Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, renowned for establishing the visual graphic style of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film series. Specializing in graphic design and illustration, Miraphora and Eduardo have continued their involvement in the Harry Potter franchise through numerous design commissions, from creating all the graphic elements for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando Resort, to designing award-winning publications for the brand. Their best-selling books include Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone, Harry Potter Film Wizardry, The Case of Beasts: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Archive of Magic: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts screenplays. MinaLima studio is renowned internationally for telling stories through design and has created its own MinaLima Classics series, reimagining a growing collection of much-loved tales including Peter Pan, The Secret Garden, and Pinocchio.

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The Complete Works of

L. FRANK BAUM

VOLUME 60 OF 76

Our Landlady

Parts Edition

By Delphi Classics, 2015

Version 2

COPYRIGHT

‘Our Landlady’

L. Frank Baum: Parts Edition (in 76 parts)

First published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by Delphi Classics.

© Delphi Classics, 2017.

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.

ISBN: 978 1 78877 147 4

Delphi Classics

is an imprint of

Delphi Publishing Ltd

Hastings, East Sussex

United Kingdom

Contact: [e-mail]

www.delphiclassics.com

L. Frank Baum: Parts Edition

This eBook is Part 60 of the Delphi Classics edition of L. Frank Baum in 76 Parts. It features the unabridged text of Our Landlady from the bestselling edition of the author’s Complete Works. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. Our Parts Editions feature original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of L. Frank Baum, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.

Visit here to buy the entire Parts Edition of L. Frank Baum or the Complete Works of L. Frank Baum in a single eBook.

Learn more about our Parts Edition, with free downloads, via this link or browse our most popular Parts here.

L. FRANK BAUM

IN 76 VOLUMES

Parts Edition Contents

The Oz Works

1, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

2, The Marvelous Land of Oz

3, The Woggle-Bug Book

4, Ozma of Oz

5, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

6, The Road to Oz

7, The Emerald City of Oz

8, The Patchwork Girl of Oz

9, Little Wizard Stories of Oz

10, Tik-Tok of Oz

11, The Scarecrow of Oz

12, Rinkitink in Oz

13, The Lost Princess of Oz

14, The Tin Woodman of Oz

15, The Magic of Oz

16, Glinda of Oz

17, The Royal Book of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson

Other Fantasy Works

18, The Magical Monarch of Mo

19, Dot and Tot of Merryland

20, American Fairy Tales

21, The Master Key: An Electrical Fairy Tale

22, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

23, The Enchanted Island of Yew

24, Queen Zixi of Ix

25, John Dough and the Cherub

26, The Sea Fairies

27, Sky Island

Non-Fantasy Works Under Baum’s Name

28, The Daring Twins

29, Phoebe Daring

The Pseudonym Works – Fantasy

30, Twinkle and Chubbins

31, Policeman Bluejay

The Pseudonym Works – Non-Fantasy

32, Aunt Jane’s Nieces

33, Aunt Jane’s Nieces Abroad

34, Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Millville

35, Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Work

36, Aunt Jane’s Nieces in Society

37, Aunt Jane’s Nieces and Uncle John

38, Aunt Jane’s Nieces on Vacation

39, Aunt Jane’s Nieces on the Ranch

40, Aunt Jane’s Nieces Out West

41, Aunt Jane’s Nieces in the Red Cross

42, The Flying Girl

43, The Flying Girl and Her Chum

44, Mary Louise

45, Mary Louise in the Country

46, Mary Louise Solves a Mystery

47, Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls

48, Mary Louise Adopts a Soldier

49, The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska

50, The Boy Fortune Hunters in Panama

51, The Boy Fortune Hunters in Egypt

52, The Boy Fortune Hunters in China

53, The Boy Fortune Hunters in Yucatan

54, The Boy Fortune Hunters in the South Seas

55, The Fate of a Crown

56, Daughters of Destiny

57, Tamawaca Folks: A Summer Comedy

58, Annabel, a Novel for Young Folk

59, The Last Egyptian

Shorter Fiction

60, Our Landlady

61, Mother Goose in Prose

62, Animal Fairy Tales

63, Uncollected Short Stories

The Poetry Collections

64, By the Candelabra’s Glare

65, Father Goose: His Book

66, The Army Alphabet

67, The Navy Alphabet

68, Father Goose’s Year Book

The Poems

69, List of Poems in Alphabetical Order

The Plays

70, The Maid of Arran

71, The Wizard of Oz

72, The Maid of Athens

73, The King of Gee-Whiz

74, The Pipes O’ Pan

Baumiana

75, Baum Related Articles and Pieces

The Biography

76, In Other Lands Than Ours by Maud Gage-Baum

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Our Landlady

Contributions to ‘The Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer’

In July 1888, Baum and his wife moved to Aberdeen, Dakota Territory, where they opened a store, which they called Baum’s Bazaar. However, Baum’s habit of imprudently giving credit led to the eventual bankrupting of the store.  Therefore, he turned to editing a local newspaper, The Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer, in which he wrote a column titled Our Landlady.  The following weekly narratives ran from January 1890 until February 1891, and they concerned the humorous interactions of the titular landlady and her three regular lodgers, as well as several other residents of Aberdeen. The topics discussed are often controversial, especially by today’s standards, and they give a detailed panorama of life in a small town in late Nineteenth Century America. These biting works are among Baum’s very earliest writings and reveal traces of his later skill in satirical works.

The Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer faced financial barriers, just as experienced previously with Baum’s Bazaar. The failure of the wheat crop in 1889 and 1890 sent the entire regional economy into a steep decline, affecting virtually every business in town. Baum’s subscriber list dropped from 3500 customers to 1400, and many of those who remained could not pay their bills. The last known edition of Baum’s paper was dated 21 March 1891; when he turned the paper over to the previous owner, who sold it on to someone else.

CONTENTS

She Remarks Emphatically on Some Timely and Truthful Topics

25 January 1890

She Remonstrates on the Giddiness of Church Socials

1 February 1890

She Goes to a Ball and Lets a Cat out of the Bag

8 February 1890

She outdoes Nellie Bly and Makes a Trip around Aberdeen in 72 minutes and 6 seconds

15 February 1890

She Insists on Her Boarders Keeping Lent, With Indifferent Success

22 February 1890

She Gets a Letter from her Brother in Harriman that Nearly Breaks up the Establishment

1 March 1890

She Dabbles in Politics and Aspires to a Great Office

8 March 1890

She Worries over Seed Wheat, and Gets Lectured by the Boarders

15 March 1890

She Discusses the Disadvantages of Prohibition, and Invents a New Method of Baking Pies

22 March 1890

She Makes a Terrible Mistake and Quotes a Proverb

29 March 1890

She Tells Why Farmers Should be Happy and Displays Remarkable Forethought

5 April 1890

She Aspires to Rival Ella Wheeler Wilcox and Concocts Another Scheme

12 April 1890

She Lectures the Boarders for Unseemly Conduct and Feeds Them a Green Apple Pie

19 April 1890

Her Experiences in Attempting to Photograph a Baby, and the Severe Mental Strain that Ensued

26 April 1890

She Discourses on Many Topics and tells how Alley deals out the Corn

3 May 1890

She Gives Away the Initiation Ceremonies of the United Workmen and has a Fruitless Search for the Chief of Police

10 May 1890

She Investigates the Original Package Deal With Doubtful Results

17 May 1890

She Raises the Price of Board, but Lowers it Again Through Stern Necessity

24 May 1890

She Manufactures Hash and Gives the Boarders a few Pointers on the Aberdeen Guards

31 May 1890

She Tackles Religion and Gives Her Ideas of the Sunday Enforcement Law

7 June 1890

She Prepares a Treat for the Boarders Which Leads to a Strange Comedy of Errors

21 June 1890

She Announces Her Birthday and Makes an Even Exchange With the Boarders

28 June 1890

She Celebrates the Fourth and Relates Her Varied Experiences

5 July 1890

She Discourses upon Love and Politics

12 July 1890

She Buys a Cow and the Boarders Help Her Milk it

19 July 1890

She Talks About Railroads and Various Minor Matters

26 July 1890

Our Landlady (1)

2 August 1890

She Exposes a Practical Joke and Tells About the Goose Quill Kiss

9 August 1890

Our Landlady (2)

16 August 1890

She gives a Picnic to the Boarders and Writes a Proclamation

23 August 1890

She Attends the Convention and is Disgusted with Politics

30 August 1890

She returns from her Vacation and Visits the Fair

20 September 1890

She Discusses Timely Topics and Criticises some Aberdeen People

4 October 1890

She Discourses on the Hard Times Club, and tells a Story

11 October 1890

She Confides to the Boarders a Deal to Advance the Cause of Equal Suffrage

18 October 1890

She Relates some Exciting Ancedotes and Attends the Independent Barbecue

25 October 1890

She Gets Her Dander up and Goes Back on Politics

1 November 1890

She has her Last Say concerning Politics, and Criticises a Society Event

8 November 1890

She Organizes a Reading Club in the Most Approved Style of the Art

15 November 1890

She gives the Boarders a Thanksgiving Dinner and Discusses her Blessings

29 November 1890

Our Landlady (3)

6 December 1890

She Enjoys a pleasant chat with the Boarders

20 December 1890

She Fills the Colonel’s Stocking and Talks of the Charity Ball

27 December 1890

She Visits the Great Downditch Farm and tells the Boarders of its Wonders

3 January 1891

She Tells the Boarders How to Make a fortune

10 January 1891

Choice Selections from Her Rambling Remarks

17 January 1891

She Reads a Chapter in Looking Backward to the Astonished and Interested Boarders

31 January 1891

She Discusses New Inventions with the Boarders

8 February 1891

She Remarks Emphatically on Some Timely and Truthful Topics

25 January 1890

It beats all, said our landlady, as she threw down the plate of pancakes and wiped the turner on her apron, it beats all how hard the times really is. There’s no end to the sufferin’, right here in our own neighborhood — excuse me, colonel, but your a butterin’ of that cake the second time! Why, only yesterday a poor woman from the country was beggin’ the grocery man to trust her for a pint o’ kerosene, and he wouldn’t let her have it. It made my heart bleed, that’s what it did, and if any o’ you boarders had a paid up lately I’d have gin it to her myself.

Here Tom looked rather red, and said hastily, But Mrs. Bilkins, she might have been an impostor.

Nonsense, replied the landlady, moving the syrup out of the colonel’s reach, the country people hain’t got a cent — nor the city ones neither for that matter! Even the hotels is economizing. Don’t it look bad for Al. Ward to eat at the Sherman House and Jim Ringrose go sneakin’ down to Ward’s for lunch?

Mrs. Bilkins! cried the colonel, are you trying to starve us? Let me tell you ma’am, that I for one won’t be economized on. Fetch on the cakes! The landlady darted a wicked look at him and retired to the kitchen.

The times are bad, said the doctor, thoughtfully, as he removed the grounds from his coffee, "any one would think the prevailing epidemic would help my business, but it don’t. Nine out of ten who declare they have la grippe are impostors, and the other one suffers tortures rather than pay for a prescription because he thinks the desease isn’t fatal.

That’s false economy.

Economy! shrieked the landlady, reappearing with the hot cakes, everybody’s economizin’! What do you think o’ Nat. Wendell’s chewin’ both ends of his toothpick, and Frank Beard blackin’ of his own boots, an’ Skip Salisbury refusin’ to shake for the cigars, and Cholly Brockway’s stayin’ at Columbia three weeks rather than pay the fare home to see his girl? There’s economy for you! The colonel picked his teeth with a ruminating air.

If, said he, I had any money, I too would economize. But it’s impossible to economize on nothing.

Why, gendemen; continued the landlady, sitting down across the arms of the baby’s high chair, and waving the empty pancake plate with the air of a newly elected speaker to a brand new House, "why see how the uncommon council is economizin’! Ain’t they hired a lot o’ poor men to plant sign posts in the snow, so as to keep them from starvin’ and obligin’ the city