The Wizard of Oz
Today marks the birthday of the American author, Lyman Frank Baum. He worked in a variety of jobs—journalist, actor, theater manager, salesman. In fact, he may well have been the inspiration for his most famous character: the Wizard of Oz. In 1900 Baum released the first book about Oz, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a highly original, imaginative, and enduring fantasy.
Like so many of our now-classic authors, Baum had trouble getting a publisher to take a chance on him. So he, the publisher, and W. W. Denslow, the illustrator, paid for all the costs of printing their book, agreeing to split the profit, if there were any, with the publisher. With author and illustrator willing to finance the saga, this enduring American fantasy was launched and became part of the cultural heritage of almost every adult and child in the nation.
Even if you’ve never read the Oz books, you probably have encountered Baum’s creations in the 1939 film starring Judy Garland. The characters of Dorothy and Toto, Aunty Em, and Uncle Henry, the Cowardly Lion who needs courage, and the Tin Woodman who needs a heart—these inventions of Baum’s mind have become cherished friends for generations of readers. Recently, Gregory Maguire’s clever reinterpretation of Baum’s world, Wicked, became a hit Broadway musical.
I don’t have to look far for testimonies about the power of Baum’s books. For instance, a March 2010 New York Times article focused on the story of a father and daughter who read these stories to each other every night. While working on Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book, I found a statement by Dr. William C. DeVries, the cardiothoracic surgeon who implanted the first artificial heart, that really speaks to the impact of Baum’s work. DeVries says, “One of the first books my mother introduced me to was The Wizard of Oz…. In the book, the Wizard of Oz talks to the Tin Woodman about whether or not he really wants a heart. The Wizard believes that having a heart is not such a good thing: ‘It makes most people unhappy.’ But the Tin Woodman says, ‘For my part, I will bear all the unhappiness without a murmur, if you will give me a heart.’ In my work, I have thought about those lines many, many times.”
Happy birthday L. Frank Baum—your books continue to influence, and even to change, lives. Although, like your famous character, you may have been a flimflam artist at one point in your life, in the end you really did know how to work true and lasting magic.
Here’s a selection from The Wizard of Oz:
“How about my heart?” asked the Tin Woodman.
“Why, as for that,” answered Oz, “I think you are wrong to want a heart. It makes most people unhappy. If you only knew it, you are in luck not to have a heart.”
“That must be a matter of opinion,” said the Tin Woodman. “For my part, I will bear all the unhappiness without a murmur, if you will give me a heart.”
“Very well,” answered Oz meekly. “Come to me tomorrow and you shall have a heart. I have played Wizard for so many years that I may as well continue a little longer.”
“And now,” said Dorothy, “how am I supposed to get back to Kansas?”
“We shall have to think about that,” replied the little man. “Give me two or three days to consider the matter and I’ll try to find a way to carry you over the desert. In the meantime you shall all be treated as my guests, and while you live in the Palace my people will wait upon you and obey your slightest wish. There is only one thing I ask in return for my help–such as it is. You must keep my secret and tell no one I am a humbug.”
They agreed to say nothing of what they had learned, and went back to their rooms in high spirits. Even Dorothy had hope that “The Great and Terrible Humbug,” as she called him, would find a way to send her back to Kansas, and if he did she was willing to forgive him everything.
Also recommended:
- All books in the Wizard of Oz series by L. Frank Baum
Additional Information
A few other events for
- Happy birthday Nancy Garden (Annie on My Mind), G. Clifton Wisler (Red Cap), David Almond (Skellig), and Kadir Nelson (We Are the Ship).
- It’s the birth date of Florence Crannell Means (1891-1980), The Moved-Outers; Ellen MacGregor (1906-1954), Miss Pickerell series; Norma Fox Mazer (1931-2009), When She Was Good; and Paul Zindel (1936-2003), The Pigman.
- In 1869, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman’s Suffrage Association. Read Susan B. Anthony by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Amy June Bates; and Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon.