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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if your father's name stands for courage—and everyone expects you to live up to it?
Frank Merriwell Jr. carries a name that already means something. His father, Frank Merriwell, is the Yale athlete known for loyalty, cool nerve, and honest play. Now the son must earn his own place, on the field and among his companions. A famous name cannot do that work for him.
In Frank Merriwell's Son; Or, a Chip Off the Old Block, Burt L. Standish brings school and sports rivalry into a brisk adventure about character. Short scenes keep the action moving, while the stakes reach beyond winning. The question is whether the next generation can meet the same clear standard: tell the truth, help others, and never cheat.
What you’ll discover
- A name to earn Follow a son whose actions must prove what his famous surname seems to promise.
- Rivalry on the field Enter a world of school and sports where honest effort matters as much as victory.
- Loyalty under pressure Discover a heroic code that puts helping companions beside courage and success.
- Fair play comes first Explore an adventure where winning by dishonest means has no place in a hero's life.
- A brisk, direct adventure Enjoy short scenes, fast action, and clear sides that keep the story moving.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy old-fashioned American adventure, baseball with real tension, loyal friends, clear heroes and villains, and plenty of jokes along the way.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A star marks a happy beginning
- An old friend recognizes the nurse
- Love meets a hidden past
- The missing star reveals the crime
- Old friends gather around Frank
- A horse leads to a challenge
- A dare puts savings at risk
- Honesty must come before victory
- Character brings the threads together
Who’s who
- Frank MerriwellThe calm young headmaster of an athletic school who wants to protect his family, help his friends and keep sport honest.
- Inza MerriwellFrank's wife, a brave mother who wants her baby son safe and whose plan brings the old friends together.
- Berlin CarsonA sad Colorado cattleman and old Yale friend who longs to find the girl he lost and hopes to love again.
- Lizette, or Bessie KingA nurse in disguise, the daughter of a cattle rustler, who is torn between old loyalties and a love she believes she cannot have.
- Ephraim GallupA shrewd but hot-tempered Vermonter who wants to prove his nerve and is caught by a gambler's dare.
- Greg CarkerA long-haired socialist speaker who wants to reform society and finds he is falling for Juanita.
- Casper SilenceA gambling backer of the Rovers who wants to win ten thousand dollars and humble Frank Merriwell.
- Dale SparkfairA prankish schoolboy pitcher at Farnham Hall who plays best when the game is on the line.
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Frank Merriwell's Son; Or, a Chip Off the Old Block in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Frank Merriwell's Son; Or, a Chip Off the Old Block
A baby boy with a star-shaped birthmark goes missing from Merry Home, and Frank Merriwell races to bring him back.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“Any fool would know that ten and five make fifteen!”
In short
What would you do if the baby in your cradle was no longer your own child? That is the shock waiting for Frank Merriwell, hero of a whole shelf of boys' adventure stories.
Frank Merriwell's Son; Or, a Chip Off the Old Block at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 20 min3 h 25 min fast, 5 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 61,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A star-marked son is born at Bloomfield
The book opens in the hush after a birth. Lizette, a French nurse, tells Frank Merriwell that his wife Inza will see him now. In the dim room he finds Inza holding a newborn boy.
Frank is overjoyed. The boy becomes Frank Hodge Merriwell, with the middle name honoring Frank's faithful friend Bart Hodge. Then Lizette shows Bart and Elsie a small pink star on the baby's left shoulder. Bart declares that a new star has risen.
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 0 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Standish, Burt L. Frank Merriwell's Son; Or, a Chip Off the Old Block. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/frank-merriwells-son-or-a-chip-off-the-old-block.
Standish, B. L. (2026). Frank Merriwell's son; or, a chip off the old block. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/frank-merriwells-son-or-a-chip-off-the-old-block
Standish, Burt L. Frank Merriwell's Son; Or, a Chip Off the Old Block. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/frank-merriwells-son-or-a-chip-off-the-old-block.
@book{standish2026frank,
author = {Standish, Burt L.},
title = {Frank Merriwell's Son; Or, a Chip Off the Old Block},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/frank-merriwells-son-or-a-chip-off-the-old-block}
}
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What is Frank Merriwell's Son about?
It follows Frank Merriwell, a married schoolmaster in Bloomfield, as his newborn son is swapped by a disguised nurse and her husband. Old friends gather, love stories bloom, and a baseball game against professionals brings the story to a close.
Who is Lizette in Frank Merriwell's Son?
Lizette is the French nurse hired to care for Frank and Inza's baby. She is actually Bessie King, the daughter of a cattle thief from Colorado. Berlin Carson recognizes her, and the book follows what she and her husband do.
Who is Burt L. Standish and when was the book written?
Burt L. Standish is a pen name of Gilbert Patten. The Merriwell stories began in the 1890s as weekly serials for boys. This one belongs to the later tales, set in the early years of the automobile and the telephone.
The author
Burt L. Standish
1866–1945 · American adventure writer
Burt L. Standish was a pen name of Gilbert Patten, an American writer born in Corinna, Maine, in 1866. He wrote the Frank Merriwell stories, which began appearing in Tip Top Weekly in 1896. His books included Frank Merriwell’s Bravery and Frank Merriwell Down South. He died in California in 1945.
“Any fool would know that ten and five make fifteen!”
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