Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum

Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum. Michael 0. Riley. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1997. In Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum, Michael 0. Riley investigates the worlds Baum creates in his works of fantasy and shows that Baum gradually weaves his fantasy worlds together until they all become related to the Land of Oz. Riley also demonstrates how Baum's conception of Oz itself changes from the earlier books (in which it is relatively small and acts of magic rarely occur) to his later books (in which it is much larger, with many unexplored nooks and crannies, and acts of magic occur frequently). Riley investigates chronologically almost all of Baum's works of fantasy ranging from Adventures in Phunniland (written in 1896; published as A New Wonderland in 1900; in 1903 reissued as The Surprising Adventures of the Magical Monarch of Mo and His People) to Glinda of Oz (published posthumously in 1920), including Baum's stage plays and films; in so doing, he gives an excellent picture of the development of Baum's imagination and of his imaginary other world. He also demonstrates that Baum's Oz develops from a "slightly sinister land of illusion" in the first Oz book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900; later shortened to The Wizard of Oz) to the "beautiful, wished-for place" it becomes in the sixth Oz book, The Emerald City of Oz (1910). In a short epilogue he shows some of the changes Oz undergoes in books by the authors he considers Baum's major successors. Riley's book is a carefully argued, well-written study that shows how Baum wove his fantasy worlds together as his conception of Oz evolved. Riley also renders some fascinating readings of many of Baum's works and places them nicely into the context of Baum's life. In addition, the University Press of Kansas has produced a beautiful book. The illustrations, all taken from Oz books in Riley's collection, are clearly reproduced. The jacket is extremely attractive, and the print is easy to read and pleasing to the eye. Still, the work has several flaws. Riley gives credit to many other scholars who have investigated Baum's works but has some strange omissions. Although he speaks of the Oz books as being "subversive" and frequently discusses their implications in terms of what he calls Baum's concern about "directions America was taking," he omits all mention of Jack Zipes' Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion, which contains the most complete published treatment of this aspect of Baum's Oz books. …