"Eight Cousins" is a novel that is partly a propaganda pice for the idea that girls can and should move.

The book presents the idea that girls should run and skip and such, walk for long distances, and is opposed to the idea that girls should not move and should, when awake, sit mostly and stand occasionally.

The idea that girls should move was an idea that needed selling.

"Eight Cousins" is by Lousia May Alcott who is best known for writing "Little Women." She made a lot of her income writing thrillers under another name, in which scary people did scary things.

At that time, many people thought women moving, getting a full education, getting all kinds of jobs including doctor and lawyer, was very scary. And part of keeping women from moving into new areas was keeping them from moving at all.