{"id":11850,"date":"2026-03-31T11:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=11850"},"modified":"2026-03-31T10:22:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:22:26","slug":"from-the-archives-ozma-of-oz-by-l-frank-baum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=11850","title":{"rendered":"From the Archives:\u00a0Ozma\u00a0of Oz\u00a0by L. Frank Baum\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog post was written by Maris Tiller, SCRC Research Services GRA. Maris is <\/em>a Graduate student pursuing her Master\u2019s in Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0classic children\u2019s book\u00a0<\/span>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz<\/span><\/i>\u00a0by L. Frank Baum\u00a0has been treasured by children and adults\u00a0for over a century,\u00a0immortalized by the famous MGM\u00a0film\u00a0and\u00a0reimagined for decades after its publication. Lesser known\u00a0are the further adventures of Oz that Baum wrote\u00a0afterwards, which have not been as widely sought after for adaptation. In total, Baum wrote\u00a017 books involving the land of Oz and its characters in his lifetime.\u00a0Here in\u00a0the Special Collections Research Center, we have the third book in the\u00a0Oz\u00a0series,\u00a0<\/span>Ozma\u00a0of Oz<\/span><\/i>,\u00a0complete with the original John R. Neill illustrations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\" \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the first book\u00a0in the series\u00a0outside of\u00a0<\/span>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz\u00a0<\/span><\/i>to feature Dorothy Gale as\u00a0the main\u00a0character. The second Oz book,\u00a0<\/span>The Marvelous Land of Oz,<\/span><\/i>\u00a0focuses instead on\u00a0the adventures of a\u00a0boy named Tip, returning characters from the first Oz book like the Scarecrow and Tin Woodsman, and\u00a0brand-new\u00a0creatures like Jack Pumpkinhead and the\u00a0Wogglebug.\u00a0At the end of\u00a0<\/span>The Marvelous Land of Oz<\/span><\/i>, it is revealed that the boy Tip\u00a0has\u00a0all along\u00a0been\u00a0the\u00a0lost princess and rightful ruler of Oz,\u00a0Ozma.\u00a0She\u00a0is\u00a0quickly returned to\u00a0her\u00a0original\u00a0form.\u00a0These characters and this new status quo\u00a0are\u00a0carried over into the rest of the series.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ozma\u00a0of Oz<\/span><\/i> puts Dorothy back into the focus of the Oz books, her return to the magical land facilitated by a storm at sea. This time, she is transported to the lands surrounding Oz, which are inhabited and ruled by different creatures than the ones seen in the original book. In addition to this, Dorothy meets Ozma, reconnects with her old friends from the first Oz book, and becomes more enamored with the magical land. In contrast to <\/span>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz<\/span><\/i>, the focus of Dorothy\u2019s journey is less on her\u00a0wish to go home but more so on her new, exciting experiences.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

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Young readers are introduced to a variety of new Ozian creatures in this book. Among these are:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n