L. Frank Baum wrote a total of fourteen Oz books, starting with “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900) and ending with “Glinda of Oz” (1920), this last book being published posthumously a year after he died. Few people know that Mr. Baum actually intended to finish his Oz series with his sixth book, “The Emerald City of Oz” (1910). In this book, Dorothy brings her Uncle Henry and Auntie Em to live permanently in Oz. If you think about it, this is a very nice wrap-up to the series.
Stuck in an Ozian rut
In his writing career, Mr. Baum tried repeatedly to escape the Land of Oz. In fact, he wrote forty-one other fantasy novels not related to Oz, none of which succeeded very well. His fans simply were not interested. They wanted to hear more about Dorothy, the Wizard, Glinda, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the host of other intriguing characters he created for the Land of Oz.
Personally, I don’t know why he was not content to dwell in Oz. His other works are written in the same style, with similar characters, and with similar plots. For example, he wrote “The Enchanted Island of Yew” in 1904, in an attempt to branch out in a new direction. Here is a brief description of that novel.
The Island of Yew is, obviously, surrounded by water which isolates it from the rest of the world. In like manner, the Land of Oz is isolated from the rest of the world by a poisonous desert. The Island of Yew is round and is divided into four magical kingdoms (north, south, east, and west) with a fifth, and most powerful, magical kingdom in the center. The Land of Oz is divided into four magical kingdoms (north, south, east, and west) with the Emerald City in the center.
The plot of “The Enchanted Island of Yew” centers on a fairy princess who transforms herself into a human prince. He travels about the island having adventures with no very clear purpose in mind. This reminds us of Mr. Baum’s second novel “The Marvelous Land of Oz” which features a fairy princess who has been transformed into a boy named Tip who wanders around the Land of Oz with no very clear purpose in mind.
One more thing: “The Enchanted Island of Yew” features a phony magician hiding in his castle pretending to be a great and powerful wizard. Sound familiar?
Conclusion
I would highly recommend you take a look at some of L. Frank Baum’s other works. You can still get many of them as inexpensive reprints. These lesser known stories can provide interesting insights into what is going on in the original Wizard of Oz series.
