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The Daring Twins: A Story for Young Folk is a mystery novel for juvenile readers by L. Frank Baum. It was published in 1911. Unusually, the book was released under the author's name; Baum's other non-fantasy juveniles appeared under one or another of his many pseudonyms. The Daring Twins was illustrated by Pauline Batchelder.

The story of The Daring Twins is set in 1908 in a small town called Riverdale, and centers on a family of five orphaned children, led by 16-year-old twins Phoebe and Philip. After getting a respectable job in a bank, Philip is falsely suspected of embezzlement. The spirited, brilliant Phoebe seizes the initiative in proving his innocence.

The Daring children's late father had been in the sugar business; he was ruined financially when he refused to join a monopoly, believing that trusts and monopolies are "unjust and morally unlawful" - an interesting glimpse into Baum's values.

Baum was simultaneously writing a similar story, of a brave girl defending and supporting her brother, in his 1911 novel The Flying Girl. And he would re-use the plot of a girl with an unjustly-accused family member in his 1916 book Mary Louise, which launched yet another serial.

The Daring Twins was projected as the first installment in a series of juvenile novels. A sequel, Phoebe Daring, appeared in 1912, though the series did not progress beyond the second volume.

The Daring Twins was re-issued in 2006, under the alternative title The Secret of the Lost Fortune.

Trivia[]

The first character introduced in the novel is a cook named Hyacinth, whom the Daring children call "Aunt Hyacinth." She speaks in an exaggerated Southern dialect, and is described by the narration as a "black mammy." This stock character in fiction was typical of the times, but is deplored in the modern era. The 2006 edition contains a note that "The novel contains a number of racial and ethnic stereotypes that may be considered offensive today."

The novel appeared 30 years before the debut of Archie Comics, which also revolves around witty, spirited teenagers who live in a small town called Riverdale.

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