Carroll Watson Rankin

Dandelion Cottage Carroll Watson Rankin

First published in 1904 "Dandelion Cottage" is Carroll Watson Rankin's best known novel. She first wrote the story for her own children. The novel became a regional classic in the Midwest, it tells of four young girls who negotiate the use of a derelict cottage as a playhouse by pulling dandelions for the owner, prosperous Mr. Black. Mr. Black character is based on, Marquette businessman and philanthropist Peter White, and the original Dandelion Cottage is also a real house that is still standing to this day.