The Radio Girls of Roselawn by Margaret Penrose
The Radio Girls of Roselawn, by Margaret Penrose, follows Jessie Norwood and her chum Amy Drew, wealthy teenage girls in the fictional New Melford suburb of Roselawn, as they build a home radio receiving set after Jessie reads a magazine article on the new craze. While walking into town to buy parts, they witness two rough women—Martha Poole and Sadie Bothwell—forcibly abduct a struggling girl into a car on Dogtown Lane. Shortly after, they meet Henrietta "Hen" Haney, a freckled, impoverished but plucky orphan from the Dogtown shantytown, who is searching for her missing cousin, Bertha Blair, believing Bertha ran away from an employer who mistreated her. With help from Amy's brother Darry and his college friend Burd Alling, the girls complete their aerial installation and begin enjoying radio concerts. Jessie's father, lawyer Robert Norwood, mentions a difficult inheritance case (the Ellison estate) in which two unscrupulous women—who turn out to be Poole and Bothwell—are trying to defraud his clients by suppressing the testimony of a missing servant girl who witnessed the deceased's dying wishes. Jessie realizes this missing witness must be Bertha. For the Fourth of July church bazaar, Jessie wins a prize for the idea of setting up a paid radio-listening tent, which becomes the event's biggest moneymaker, arousing jealousy from spoiled classmate Belle Ringold. That night, while tuning their radio, Jessie and Amy pick up a mysterious broadcast: a girl's voice crying for help, describing a red barn, a silo, and two fallen trees. Suspecting it is Bertha, they trace the location to the old Gandy stock farm near the Harrimay race track, associated with Martha Poole. An initial scouting trip finds the farm seemingly deserted, with no visible antenna. Darry, aided by wealthy friend Mark Stratford, deduces that the broadcasting tower uses a foldable, concealable aerial (like the one on the Drews' yacht) and climbs a telegraph pole to confirm a hidden antenna atop the tower. Returning with Henrietta as "bait" to call out to her cousin, the group forces their way past a gatekeeper and finds Bertha bound and gagged inside the tower. Jessie and Darry rush Bertha to the courthouse via Mark's fast car just in time for her to testify, securing justice in the Ellison case and exposing the women's scheme. The book closes with Bertha and Henrietta reunited, Henrietta delighted with a new dress gifted by Jessie, and the group settling back into radio concerts—with a sequel, "The Radio Girls on the Program," anticipated.
By Margaret Penrose · First published 1922 · Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Adventure, Mystery · 25 chapters · 49,919 words
First lines
"Oh, it's wonderful, Amy! Just wonderful!"
The blonde girl in the porch swing looked up with shining eyes and flushed face from her magazine to look at the dark girl who swung composedly in a rocking chair, her nimble fingers busy with the knitting of a shoulder scarf. The dark girl bobbed her head in agreement.
What this Textopian page supports
The Radio Girls of Roselawn is listed on Textopian as a novel by Margaret Penrose, dated 1922 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Novel
- Author: Margaret Penrose
- Date: 1922 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Adventure, Mystery, Coming-of-Age, Historical Fiction
- Length: 49,919 words
- Structure: 25 chapters, 1,425 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Radio Girls of Roselawn by Margaret Penrose
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
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Genres
- Young Adult Fiction — The novel features teenage protagonists navigating age-appropriate challenges; it is structured with accessible language and themes designed specifically for young readers, particularly girls.
- Adventure — Multiple adventures drive the narrative including thunderstorms, snake encounters, automobile chases, dangerous investigations, and a climactic rescue mission that provide excitement and peril throughout.
- Mystery — The disappearance and imprisonment of Bertha Blair forms a central plot driver; Jessie and Amy actively investigate her whereabouts and work to uncover the truth about her abduction and captivity.
- Coming-of-Age — The protagonists mature through their experiences, gain independence and confidence, expand their understanding of social responsibility, and develop wisdom and moral conviction through their adventures.
Tags
children's fiction · adventure · mystery · 1920s · radio technology · female protagonists · friendship · courage · determination · community service · problem-solving · technological innovation
Contents
- They Hear a Voice
- A Road Mystery
- Interest in Radio Spreads
- Stringing the Aerials
- The Freckle-Faced Girl
- Something Coming
- The Canoe Trip
- Carter's Ghost
- Henrietta is Valiant
- The Prize Idea
- Belle Ringold
- The Glorious Fourth
- The Bazaar
- Jealousy
- Can it be Possible?
- Spotted Snake, the Witch
- Broadcasting
- A Mystery of the Ether
- A Puzzling Circumstance
- Something doing at the Stanleys'
- A Great to-Do
- Silk!
- Darry's Big Idea
- A Radio Trick
- Just in Time