Who and what is Ozma?
Servant boy or Princess?
L. Frank Baum’s second Oz book, The Marvelous Land of Oz, introduces us to the wicked Mombi’s servant boy, Tip. But Tip is not at all what he appears to be. He is much, much more than a servant boy. Actually, as it turns out, he is not a boy at all. He is a beautiful young princess named Ozma whom Mombi has transformed into a boy. She has also afflicted him (or her) with amnesia, so he (or she) doesn’t remember who he (or she) is. In truth, Ozma is the rightful ruler of Oz. She should be sitting on the throne of the Emeral City.
How did Mombi get her hands on her in the first place?
This is where Mr. Baum’s story takes a rather dark turn. Years before he met Dorothy, the humbug Wizard secretly delivered the little girl Ozma to Mombi with instructions to hide her so she could not threaten his throne. According to Mr. Baum, the Wizard visited Mombi three times.
Happily, with a lot of help from Glinda the Good, the spell is broken, Ozma is restored to her rightful form, and becomes Queen of Oz, just like she should have been in the first place.
Wizard’s Voice
In my new book, The Lost Wizard of Oz, Glinda is forced to visit Mombi’s miserable little hovel where she meets the boy, Tip. She puzzles over his delicate, almost girlish appearance and wonders how such a boy could come to be living with crude, wicked old Mombi. Unfortunately, the good witch does not have time to consider the matter very thoroughly. She is there on urgent business.
She has hired Strigand Nightflyer to help her find the missing Wizard of Oz. But the Wizard has flown off in his balloon. How can anybody track someone through the air? Fortunately, Mombi has just what Glinda needs: A little bottle containing the Wizard’s voice. Strigand assures Glinda this will enable him to find the Wizard. Glinda accepts his word on this but is curious as to how Mombi came to have the voice. Mombi isn’t talking.
When Glinda opens the bottle, she clearly hears the Wizard say, “Take care of her. I’ll be back for her someday.”
Glinda is puzzled. “Take care of who?” I wonder. In time, she will learn the answer to the mystery of the missing Princess Ozma…