Annabel

An illustrated copy of Annabel.

Annabel: A Novel for Young Folk is a 1906 juvenile novel written by L. Frank Baum, the author famous for his series of books on the Land of Oz. The book was issued under the pen name "Suzanne Metcalf," one of Baum's various pseudonyms. Annabel was one of Baum's first efforts to write a novel for adolescent girls - who soon became one of his most important audiences.

In the years around 1900, Baum had established himself as a successful author of children's literature, most notably with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In the middle of the twentieth century's first decade, he worked to expand his reach into three other potentially lucrative markets. He published his first adult novel, The Fate of a Crown, in 1905. In 1906 came Annabel, plus Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea, Baum's first book for adolescent boys. (Each of these books was released under a different pseudonym. The prolific Baum had learned from earlier experience that he ended up "competing with himself" if he issued too much material in his own name in a short period of time. As Reilly & Britton's star author, it was also important that he make it appear that the company published more authors than they did.)