Finding Oz: How L. Frank Baum Discovered the Great American StoryA groundbreaking new look at an American icon, THE WIZARD OF OZFinding Oz tells the remarkable tale behind one of the world’s most enduring and best loved stories. Offering profound new insights into the true origins and meaning of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 masterwork, it delves into the personal turmoil and spiritual transformation that fueled Baum’s fantastical parable of the American Dream.Prior to becoming an impresario of children’s adventure tales--the J. K. Rowling of his age--Baum failed at a series of careers and nearly lost his soul before setting out on a journey of discovery that would lead to the Land of Oz. Drawing on original research, Evan Schwartz debunks popular misconceptions and shows how the people, places, and events in Baum’s life gave birth to his unforgettable images and characters. The Yellow Brick Road was real, the Emerald City evoked the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, and Baum’s mother-in-law, the radical women’s rights leader Matilda Joslyn Gage, inspired his dual view of witches--as good and wicked.A narrative that sweeps across late nineteenth-century America, Finding Oz ultimately reveals how failure and heartbreak can sometimes lead to redemption and bliss, and how one individual can ignite the imagination of the entire world. |
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Finding Oz: How L. Frank Baum Discovered the Great American Story Evan I. Schwartz Limited preview - 2009 |
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Aberdeen Anthony arrived Astral Barnum Baum and MacFall Baum's Bazaar became Bilkins Blavatsky boys called Castorine Chicago Church Cornell Dakota dance Denslow Edison Emerald City fair father Father Goose Fayetteville fear Frank and Maud Frank Baum Frank wrote giant girl Glinda Goose heart Henry Ibid Indian Jessie Josie Kansas knew Land of Oz Landlady LFB letter live Maid of Arran Matilda Joslyn Gage Maud Gage Maud’s MJG letter mother myth Native Americans never newspaper ONONDAGA Opera House P. T. Barnum Peekskill Pioneer religion road Rockefeller Rose Lawn says Scarecrow seemed Sioux Sitting Bull spirit story Suffrage Susan Swami Vivekananda Syracuse theater Theosophy things Tin Woodman tion took town vote wanted West Wicked Witch Wizard of Oz woman women Wonderful Wizard write WWOZ Yellow Brick Yoga York young