@import url("http://www.blogger.com/css/blog_controls.css"); @import url("http://www.blogger.com/dyn-css/authorization.css?blogID=7458641"); Maida's Little Website Celebrating the Maida books and their author, Inez Haynes Gillmore Irwin The Maida Books "Maida's Little Shop" and its many sequels told the story of the motherless daughter of a tycoon, and her unusual upbringing with a group of special friends. Many people assume that the Maida books, like Nancy Drew, the Bobbsey Twins and so many other popular series, were the collective work of various people writing under a single pseudonym. This seems especially likely when you consider that the series was written over a period of 45 years, from 1910 to 1955. During this time, America went through two World Wars, the Great Depression and many other changes, none of which are reflected in the series, in which Maida and her friends age only slightly.
But these books were written by one person, Inez Haynes Gillmore Irwin, who was a distinguished and influential writer, feminist leader and political activist. She was a co-founder of the National Collegiate Equal Suffrage League and a member of the National Advisory Council of the National Women's Party. The Maida books reflect the author's interests in feminism and social change, as Maida's father uses his wealth and insight to provide Maida and her friends with a series of alternative environments for living and learning. The series begins with Maida's Little Shop , published in 1910. This is the tale of Maida Westabrook, the daughter of Jerome "Buffalo" Westabrook, Wall Street tycoon. Although Maida has had everything that money can buy and the devotion of her father, she has also known trouble and heartache. Poor health has given her much pain and for most of her life she was unable to walk, and her mother died when Maida was eight years old. | |
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