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Book Home  Books Information Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz is the
fourth book set in the Land of Oz (though most of the action is
outside of it) written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by John
R. Neill. It was published in 1908 and reunites Dorothy with the
humbug Wizard from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This is one of
only two of the original forty Oz books (with The Emerald City
of Oz) to be illustrated with watercolor paintings.
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In 1948, forty years after the original book's publication,
Capitol Records released a multi-album dramatic version, performed
by a full cast. In 1993, these audio recordings were matched with
the art of animator and Oz fan Rob Roy MacVeigh, as a test for an
animated film that was never completed due to MacVeigh's death. The
only known copy of this test film is held by the International Wizard
of Oz Club, and has never been shown to the public.
Dorothy Gale, with a kitten named Eureka, is sent by
her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em to visit her uncle in California who operates
Hugson's Ranch. She strikes up an acquaintance with Hugson's son —
and her cousin — Zeb. Dorothy, Eureka, and Zeb are riding a
buggy being pulled by a cab-horse named Jim when an earthquake starts
and opens a crevice beneath them that sends them hurtling into the
bowels of the earth.
Dorothy, Eureka, Jim, Zeb, and the buggy alight in the
land of the Mangaboos, a vegetable people who accuse them of causing
the Rain of Stones (what the Mangaboos call the earthquake because
they're beneath the surface of the earth, and earth instead falls
on them). Zeb is surprised by this strange new land, but Dorothy surmises
that they're in a fairy country because they're meeting vegetable
people and the animals—Jim and Eureka—are now speaking.
Just as they're about to be sentenced to death by the Mangaboos, a
hot air balloon falls out of the sky, and in the basket is the Wizard
of Oz, whom Dorothy last met as he floated away from the Emerald City.
The Wizard brags about his showmanship and with the
others' aid attempts to awe the Mangaboos into sparing their lives.
After defeating their wizard Gwig by slicing him in half—and
showing him, as a vegetable, completely hollow inside—he's appointed
by the Mangaboo prince as their temporary wizard. The Wizard, Dorothy,
and Zeb escape the fate of all intruders—to be cut up and planted—for
a while when they release a Princess from the garden who assumes authority.
The Prince will now lose his authority and be planted himself. But
the cold Princess vows to have Jim and Eureka killed nonetheless,
so they all plan to escape higher into the earth where the Mangaboos
cannot follow them due to the stronger pull of gravity the further
they rise.
Dorothy, Eureka, Zeb, Jim, and the Wizard enter a beautiful
green valley and the Wizard's nine tiny piglets devour an enticing
fruit which they find makes them invisible. They enter a seemingly
empty castle and are welcomes by invisible people, for they have entered
the Valley of Voe, whose inhabitants hide from marauding bears by
being invisible to them. The inhabitants of Voe help them escape the
bears and explain what lies ahead, particularly the terrible Gargoyles.
(A story the Voe people tell seems to indicate that by now Baum had
decided that people in a fairy land don't die; even cut into pieces,
an individual is still active and aware. See The Tin Woodman of Oz
for another example of this.)
The companions reach the base of Pyramid Mountain and
meet the Braided Man halfway up. He was once a posthole digger who
one day fell into a hole he'd dug and since then kept shop here, making
hair braids. His facial hair has gotten so long, however, that he's
had to braid it to keep from tripping. They head into the land of
the Gargoyles and at first repel them successfully because the winged
wooden creatures are startled by loud noises. However, they do not
tire and soon imprison Dorothy and her friends. They manage to escape
the Gargoyles' grasp, however, using their detached wings and Jim's
guidance.
After a close encounter with the Dragonettes, baby dragons
whose mother has tied their tails to a post until she returns from
hunting, Dorothy suggests that she signal Ozma to bring them to Oz
by using the magic belt which she'd captured from the Nome King in
Ozma of Oz. She does so at a prearranged time of day, and Dorothy,
the Wizard, Jeb, Eureka, and Jim arrive within the Emerald City.
Soon after renewing his acquaintance with the Emerald
City staff and making the acquaintance of Ozma, the Wizard elects
to remain in Oz permanently. The others' visit is highlighted by the
wooden Saw-Horse beating Jim in a race and the trial of Eureka for
eating Ozma's pet piglet gifted to her by the Wizard. Ozma then uses
the magic belt to send Dorothy, Eureka, Jim, and Zeb back to California.
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