History Literature / FromTheMixedUpFilesOfMrsBasilEFrankweiler

Feeling underappreciated by her parents and the world in general, twelve-year-old Claudia Kincaid decides that the best way to teach them a lesson is to [[TheRunaway run away from home for awhile]]. But the only thing Claudia hates more than being underappreciated is being uncomfortable, so she chooses to run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity (for all those poofy Marie Antoinette beds to sleep in), dragging along her nine-year-old CardSharp brother Jamie, whose impressive life savings of $24.43[[note]]$186 in 2018[[/note]] insure they can afford to hide out in style.

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* CoolOldLady: Frankweiler, who is so old and rich and lacking in fucks to give that she amuses herself by setting the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a wild goose chase simply so she can watch the fun from afar [[spoiler:and then gives the invaluable secret of the statue to a twelve-year-old girl she's only met once solely on the basis of recognizing a kindred spirit.]]
* DeathByNewberyMedal: Refreshingly subverted. Everyone in the book not only survives but is never even imperiled. The closest we get is Mrs Frankweiler herself, who is elderly and in the process of writing her will...but she's feisty enough that one gets the feeling she'll survive at least another decade or two.

* EccentricMillionaire: Frankweiler, who sells a [[spoiler:genuine]] Michelangelo to the Met for pocket change then refuses to provide authentication just so that she can watch the curators squirm.

* GratuitousFrench: Frankweiler offers Claudia and Jamie a lunch of ''nouilles et fromage en casserole''...and laughs when they realize it's just macaroni and cheese.

* SenselessViolins: Claudia and Jamie packs most of their clothes in a viola and trumpet case.

* UnusualEuphemism: Jamie's favorite minced oath is "BALONEY", which provides Claudia the EurekaMoment required to solve the Michelangelo mystery.
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* TheConfidant: [[spoiler: What Claudia becomes for Mrs. Frankweiler, to both their benefits.]]
* CoolOldLady: Frankweiler, who is so old and rich and lacking in fucks to give that she amuses herself by setting the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a wild goose chase simply so she can watch the fun from afar [[spoiler: and then gives the invaluable secret of the statue to a twelve-year-old girl she's only met once solely on the basis of recognizing a kindred spirit.]]

* DistractedByTheLuxury: Claudia is so distracted by the opportunity to bathe in Mrs. Frankenweiler's luxurious sunken black marble tub that she almost forgets why they came there (giving Jamie an opportunity to spill the beans).

And why is the eccentric multi-millionaire Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler writing such a long letter to her dear lawyer Saxonberg?

* MiddleChildSyndrome: Claudia's sick of being lost in the middle of her family. She just wants to feel special.

Eleven-year-old Claudia Kincade is feeling underappreciated by her parents and the world in general. The best way to teach them a lesson, she decided, is to [[TheRunaway run away from home for a while]]. But what she hates more than being underappreciated is being uncomfortable, and so she chooses to run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity (for all those poofy Marie Antoinette beds to sleep in) and drags along her nine-year-old brother Jamie (for his $24.43).

Thus begins the adventure of a lifetime for both of them. Between hiding from museum security in the bathroom, doing laundry, and scrounging for change in the museum fountain, Claudia becomes obsessed with a statue sold to the museum for $225 that may or may not be a Creator/{{Michelangelo|Buonarroti}}.

* EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench: Frankweiler offers Claudia and Jamie a lunch of ''nouilles et fromage en casserole''...and laughs when they realize it's just macaroni and cheese.

Thus begins the adventure of a lifetime for both of them, between hiding from museum security in the bathroom, doing laundry, and scrounging for change in the museum fountain, Claudia becomes obsessed with a statue sold to the museum for $225 that may or may not be a Creator/{{Michelangelo|Buonarroti}}.

* EccentricMillionaire: Frankweiler, she sells a [[spoiler:genuine]] Michaelangelo to the Met for pocket change then refuses to provide authentication just so that she can watch the curators squirm.

* UnusualEuphemism: Jamie's favorite minced oath is "BALONEY", which provides Claudia the EurekaMoment required to solve the Michaelangelo mystery.

* CoolOldLady: Frankweiler, who is so old and rich and lacking in darns to give that she amuses herself by setting the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a wild goose chase simply so she can watch the fun from afar [[spoiler: and then gives the invaluable secret of the statue to a twelve-year-old girl she's only met once solely on the basis of recognizing a kindred spirit.]]

''From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler'' is a 1968 novel by the children's author Creator/ELKonigsburg, won her first UsefulNotes/NewberyMedal.

* FreeRangeChildren: Police and journalist reaction for missing children is really muted in the 1960s compared to today.

''From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler'' is a 1968 novel by the children's author Creator/ELKonigsburg, won her first NewberyMedal.

Eleven-year-old Claudia Kincade is feeling underappreciated by her parents and the world in general. The best way to teach them a lesson, she decided, is to [[TheRunaway run away from home for a while]]. But what she hates more than being underappreciated is being uncomfortable, and so she chooses to run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (for all those poofy Marie Antoinette beds to sleep in) and drags along her nine-year-old brother Jamie (for his $24.43).

Thus begins the adventure of a lifetime for both of them, between hiding from museum security in the bathroom, doing laundry, and scrounging for change in the museum fountain, Claudia becomes obsessed with a statue sold to the museum for $225 that may or may not be a Michaelangelo.

* LongTitle: ''From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler''

''From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler'' is a 1968 novel by the children's author E. L. Konigsburg, won her first NewberyMedal.

A 1968 novel by the children's author E. L. Konigsburg, won her first NewberyMedal.

* GrammarNazi: Jamie has a bit of a habit of correcting her brother's grammar.

* GrammerNazi: Jamie has a bit of a habit of correcting her brother's grammar.

Thus begins the adventure of a life-time for both of them, between hiding from museum security in the bathroom, doing laundry, and scrounging for change in the museum fountain, Claudia becomes obsessed with a statue sold to the museum for $225 that may or may not be a Michaelangelo.

* SwissCheeseSecurity: the Met overnight security.

Eleven-years-old Claudia Kincade is feeling underappreciated by her parents and the world in general. The best way to teach them a lesson, she decided, is to [[TheRunaway run away from home for a while]]. But what she hates more than being underappreciated is being uncomfortable, and so she chooses to run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (for all those poofy Marie Antoinette beds to sleep in) and drags along her nine-year-old brother Jamie (for his $24.43).

And why is the eccentric multi-millionaire Mrs. basil E. Frankweiler writing such a long letter to her dear lawyer Saxonberg?