The Marvelous Land of Oz

Illustrated, 1904 (first) editionThe Marvelous Land of Oz, best known in shortened form as The Land of Oz, is L. Frank Baum’s second Oz book, published in 1904 by Reilly & Britton and initially considered simply a sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. John R. Neill provided the artwork after Baum fell out with original Oz artist, W.W. Denslow. Neill went on to illustrate all but one of Baum’s remaining Oz books and became known as the “Imperial Illustrator of Oz.” After Baum’s death, Neill continued illustrating the many Oz books written by others and even wrote three. The Marvelous Land of Oz begins not long after the final scenes in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and follows the adventures of Tip, a young boy, whose guardian is the witch, Mombi. Intending to frighten Mombi, who is returning from a trip, Tip creates a man out of wood, topped with a pumpkin for a head. Not at all frightened, Mombi shakes some “powder of life” onto the tall figure and then captures Tip and threatens to turn him into a marble statue come morning. Tip escapes with “Jack Pumpkinhead” and they travel to the Emerald City. In this novel, Baum creates some of his most memorable and endearing characters, among them, a living sawhorse, the Highly Magnified and Thoroughly Educated Wogglebug, and the Gump. Along the way, readers learn about the mystery of a lost princess and once again meet old favorites, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman.