Reading the novels of Lyman Frank Baum and his tales of OZ, I cannot fathom a world without the likes of Dorothy and Toto, The Wizard and Evil Witches.
There were fourteen books in all, and in each of them he excelled at painting the mental image of a road made of yellow brick or a city made of emeralds. His analogies of Good versus Evil made for valuable lessons in life and everyday life.
Of course, he existed in a time long since forgotten when civility and manners were far more common than we see today.
I found it quite useful to read these fourteen tales , recalling many a day when Princess Ozma or Glinda the Good would recount a story about this and that, and even some of the other to my eager mind.
I'm amazed at how accurately Mr. Baum was able to recreate those tales, nearly verbatim. He would be somewhat dismayed by the lack of reference to the Queen of the Field Mice and her role in the movie we know as The Wizard of Oz.
Fortunately, she appears at her own Royal Centennial Celebration at the entrance to OZ where the young magician, Jamie Diggs encounters a most unusual welcoming party in MAGICIAN OF OZ.
The good thing about today's society is that the books of Baum can be found quite easily and I had no trouble acquiring them for my own personal library. Reading them does take a bit of adjusting since the language of the turning twentieth century is somewhat different than today's language.
In writing MAGICIAN OF OZ, I have considered that difference and purposely structured my thoughts in such a manner as to feel at ease speaking in a more Victorian way. It does take some getting used to. Having been to OZ however, I have some experience at it.
The writing though, has to be rooted in today's language as our children are rooted in today's language. Another goal was to insure a timeless quality to the story by restricting technology references to a minimum.
The old Corvair is the one concept which Baum would not have recognized in MAGICIAN OF OZ. Otherwise, I'm certain he would approve of the tale of a young magician and his courage in the face of adversity.
James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma
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