Glinda Of OZ!

Glinda of OZ is the fourteenth installment of the OZ series and the final book written by L. Frank Baum, the creator of OZ. Baum died after completing this novel but before it could be published in 1920, two decades after the publication of the original The Wizard of OZ. Sadly, like so many of the later OZ books this one too is overwhelmed by a cast made up of pretty much anyone who had appeared previously in the series.

It begins well enough when Ozma and Dorothy consult Glinda and then go on a mission to the less known areas in the North of OZ where they have become aware of an impending war between the Flatheads and the Skeezers. The Flatheads are just that, with diminished brainpower. They are led by a tyrannical sorcerer named Su-Dic. He threatens Ozma and Dorothy who move on to the Skeezer city which sits in a lake. The queen of the Skeezers is also a mystic and as it turns out a tyrant as well. When the war happens the city of the Skeezers is sunk to the bottom of the lake for security, but this time with Ozma and Dorothy inside it. The battle goes poorly for Queen Coo-ee-oh who is turned into a swan. Since the city can only be raised by her magic the Skeezers and hour heroines are stuck.

(MGM's Glinda with Dorothy)

Glinda becomes aware of this threat and gathers a mob of trusted OZ people to journey to the rescue. The Wizard is included as are the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, the Patchwork Girl, Cap'n Bill, Button Bright, and Jack Pumpkinhead among others. This gang get to the lands of the Skeezers and find that they cannot get the sunken city rise. A solution presents itself but it's a very roundabout journey. 

(Can you see Glinda's nipples?)

Maybe I'm just burned out on OZ books, but this one seemed to have even less spark than many of the lackluster later efforts by Baum. Despite being the title character Glinda is not in the book all that much. One thing though, it's a book ripe with different kinds of magic. I read in some sources that Ruth Plumly Thompson, who takes over the series, might have had a small hand in polishing this one for the publisher. One thing for certain is that L. Frank Baum created a blockbuster moneymaker with his OZ books, the first real modern American fairy tales. His publishers were not going to allow the series to stop with his demise. 

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One more visit to OZ when we take a look at some of the movies derived from the books. 

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