The Marvelous Land of Oz

Originally posted at Fantasy Literature.

The Marvelous Land of Oz is the first of L. Frank Baum???s fourteen sequels to his much more famous novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Each of the sequels, which were published form 1904 to 1920, are illustrated by John R. Neill and are now in the public domain. My 11 year old daughter and I listened to a delightful audio version of The Marvelous Land of Oz which was read by Tara Sands. I purchased this version for free at Amazon and added Tara Sands??? wonderful narration for $2.99 with the Amazon/Audible Whispersync deal.

In The Marvelous Land of Oz, an orphan boy named Tip is being raised by an evil witch named Mombi. One day Tip tries to frighten Mombi by making a pumpkin-headed stick man and placing it on the road where Mombi will pass on her way home. Instead of being scared, Mombi animates the pumpkin-headed man with the magical Powder of Life which she has just illegally procured. When she threatens to turn Tip into a statue, Tip and the pumpkin-headed man (now named Jack) flee with the Powder of Life. They animate a wooden sawhorse and set off for the Emerald City which has been run by the Scarecrow since Dorothy and the Wizard left.

When they get to the Emerald City, a coup attempt is in progress. The Scarecrow???s throne is being usurped by a nasty little girl named Jinjur and her gang of girls wielding knitting needles. Tip and Jack want to help the Scarecrow get his throne back, so they all set out to get help from the Tinman, Glinda the Good Witch, and others (but not Dorothy ??? she???s still in Kansas). Can they get the Scarecrow???s throne back before the pumpkin head spoils?

The Marvelous Land of Oz is a creative and fun story in its own right, and it can definitely stand alone, but fans of Baum???s original OZ story are sure to relish revisiting the land of Oz and its strange but familiar characters. Beside those we already know, readers will meet a few new endearing heroes who I hope we???ll see again in the remaining sequels. My favorite was the Highly Magnified Bug who insists that making puns is a sign of genius.

The story is not all silly laughs ??? there are actually some thoughtful bits, too. For example, the characters wonder whether Scarecrow is justified in fighting for his throne when it didn???t legally belong to him in the first place. It had been stolen by the Wizard.

Both my daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed The Marvelous Land of Oz and plan to read the next book, Ozma of Oz.

No Dorothy in this second Oz book, but with a Gump, a Woogle-Bug, a Pumpkinhead, as well as the return of the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow, no Dorothy is needed.

Young Jip is under the care of the cruel witch Mombi. When she threatens to turn Jip into a statue, he decides to run away with Jack Pumpkinhead, a creature Jip constructed himself, newly animated by Mombi's potion, the Powder of Life.

And off the two go, and they have adventures that include trying to oust the girl soldiers who have taken over the Emerald City, escaping from the Jackdaws' nest, constructing their own flying Gump out of a moose head and two sofas and some palm fronds.

This may be my favorite Oz. How did I miss this as a child?

Of all the Oz books I've read, this is the one I remembered the most clearly, aside from The Wizard of Oz, and it was a delight to re-read it again.

Growing up, I was obsessed with the 1985 film Return to Oz, which drew heavily from this book (and the next one, I believe), and it was fun to recognize all the bits and pieces that made it into the film.

Maybe it shouldn't be that surprising since this was written during the Women's Suffrage movement, but it's quite a remarkable book to read in 2020 with several of its key plot points revolving around gender politics which surprisingly subvert the expectations that we might have of a novel written for children in 1904. There were a few moments that started making me cringe only for it it take a positive turn. In the end, the women are the heroes and the villains, and the men are kind of just along for the ride and happy to be there, so, honestly, I was living for it.

As a side note, it's actually incredible depressing to see how the women in Land of Oz are so compelling and given so much agency, only to remember how that awful, soulless dumpster fire of a movie from a few years ago – Oz the Great & Powerful – completely shortchanges the women in favor of Franco's insufferable, punchable-faced bro-dude of a Wizard... I'm still bitter... but I digress...

Also, Tip is also a wonderfully surprising character to find in a children's book that is over a century old, and I won't tell you why, but I've always found it incredibly fascinating and wonderful.

The book continues the quirky and whimsical yet darker tone of the books, which may surprise those only familiar with the Garland film (which I also love, but it's definitely its own thing). The returning characters' personalities and mannerisms continue to develop, and the new characters are charming and imaginative.

I've read a few others of the First Fourteen, but I don't remember them as well as the first two, so I'm excited to work my way through the rest.