Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad is a young adult novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz.
[1] It was the second volume in the ten-novel series Aunt Jane's Nieces, which was, after the Oz books, the second greatest success of Baum's literary career.
The parents of the three girls react variously, but don't oppose the trip; Mrs. Merrick, Louise's mother, wants to accompany them as chaperone, a prospect that Uncle John rejects out of hand.
They encounter a local aristocrat, the Count of Ferralti, who fancies Louise – though the clever Uncle John quickly realizes that he is only a pretend nobleman.
[7] Quickly enough, both Uncle John and Ferralti are waylaid by Valdi, who is the chief local brigand, and makes a living for his family and followers by kidnapping tourists and holding them for ransom.
Uncle John learns the ways of Valdi's curious establishment, which includes his ruthless mother and his daughter Tato, who masquerades as a boy to serve as her father's henchman.
They are surprised again when Tato absconds with the ransom cash ($50,000 of Uncle John's money and $30,000 of Weldon's); the girl leaves a cheerful but mocking letter behind her, explaining the ruse.
Beth puts it most blatantly when she cries, "It's a beastly shame that free born Americans should be enslaved by a crew of thieving Sicilians, and obliged to purchase their freedom!
The patriotic self-satisfaction turns ugly only once, when Patsy "gleefully" tells her Uncle John after his rescue, "Did you think your nieces would let you be robbed by a bunch of dagoes?
As the cousins prepare to rescue Uncle John and Ferralti/Weldon, Patsy sticks a "pop-gun" in "the bosom of her dress...." When Kenneth asks her if she can shoot, she replies, "No, but I suppose the pistol can.
In the first book, Louise was willing to follow her mother's lead in searching for a rich husband; but in the second she favors Arthur Weldon even when he runs a risk of disinheritance, suggesting a greater sincerity, sensitivity, and independence.