The Oz books form a book series that begins with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books. Baum styled himself as "the Royal Historian of Oz" in order to emphasize the concept that Oz is an actual place on Earth, full of magic. In his Oz books, Baum created the illusion that characters such as Dorothy and Princess Ozma relayed their adventures in Oz to Baum themselves, by means of a wireless telegraph.
After Baum's death in 1919, publisher Reilly & Lee continued to produce annual Oz books, passing on the role of Royal Historian. Ruth Plumly Thompson took up the task in 1921, and wrote nineteen Oz books. After Thompson, Reilly & Lee published seven more books in the series: three by John R. Neill, two by Jack Snow, one by Rachel Cosgrove Payes, and a final book by Eloise Jarvis McGraw and Lauren Lynn McGraw. The forty books in Reilly & Lee's Oz series are called "the Famous Forty" by fans, and are considered the canonical Oz texts.
Books by L. Frank Baum Oz books
The original Oz books by L. Frank BaumCoverOrderTitleIllustratorYearPublisher1The Wonderful Wizard of OzW. W. Denslow1900George M. Hill CompanyA little farm girl named Dorothy and her pet dog, Toto, get swept away into the magical Land of Oz by a Kansas cyclone. Upon her arrival, she is hailed as a sorceress; liberates a living Scarecrow; and meets a man made entirely of tin and a Cowardly Lion. But all Dorothy really wants to know is how she can return home. The ruler of Oz, the great Wizard, who resides in an Emerald City, may be the only one powerful enough to help her. 2The Marvelous Land of OzJohn R. Neill1904Reilly & BrittonA little boy, Tip, escapes from his evil guardian, the witch Mombi, with the help of a walking wooden figure with a jack-o'-lantern head named Jack Pumpkinhead (brought to life with the magic Powder of Life Tip stole from Mombi), as well as a living Sawhorse (created from the same powder). Tip ends up on an adventure with the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman to help Scarecrow recapture his throne from General Jinjur's army of girls.3Ozma of OzJohn R. Neill1907Reilly & BrittonWhile traveling to Australia with her Uncle Henry, Dorothy is swept overboard with a hen named Billina. They land in Ev, a country across the desert from Oz, where they encounter the Wheelers and make a new friend, the mechanical man Tik-Tok. They meet Princess Ozma, who is in Ev to attempt to save Ev's royal family from the evil Nome King, and finally return to Oz.4Dorothy and the Wizard in OzJohn R. Neill1908Reilly & BrittonOn her way back from Australia, Dorothy visits her cousin, Zeb, in California. They are soon swallowed up by an earthquake, along with Zeb's horse Jim and Dorothy's cat Eureka. The group soon meets up with the Wizard and all travel underground back to Oz.5The Road to OzJohn R. Neill1909Reilly & BrittonDorothy meets the Shaggy Man, and while trying to find the road to Butterfield, they get lost on an enchanted road. As they travel they meet the rainbow's daughter, Polychrome, and a little boy, Button-Bright. They have all sorts of strange adventures on the way to Oz.6The Emerald City of OzJohn R. Neill1910Reilly & BrittonDorothy Gale and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em come to live in Oz permanently. While they tour through the Quadling Country, the Nome King is tunneling beneath the desert to invade Oz. This was originally intended to be the last book in the series.7The Patchwork Girl of OzJohn R. Neill1913Reilly & BrittonA Munchkin boy named Ojo must find a cure to free his Uncle Nunkie from a magical spell that has turned him into a statue. With the help of Scraps, a living patchwork doll, Ojo journeys through Oz to save his uncle.8Tik-Tok of OzJohn R. Neill1914Reilly & BrittonBetsy Bobbin, a girl from Oklahoma, is shipwrecked with her mule, Hank, in the Rose Kingdom of Oz. She meets the Shaggy Man there and the two try to rescue the Shaggy Man's brother from the Nome King. This book is partly based upon Baum's stage musical, The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, which was in turn based on Ozma of Oz.9The Scarecrow of OzJohn R. Neill1915Reilly & BrittonCap'n Bill and Trot journey to Oz and, with the help of the Scarecrow, the former ruler of Oz, overthrow the villainous King Krewl of Jinxland. Cap'n Bill and Trot had previously appeared in two other novels by Baum, The Sea Fairies and Sky Island. Based in part upon the 1914 silent film, His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz. This was allegedly L. Frank Baum's personal favourite Oz book.10Rinkitink in OzJohn R. Neill1916Reilly & BrittonYoung Prince Inga of Pingaree, aided by King Rinkitink, three powerful magical pearls, and a goat, attempts to rescue Inga's parents and their subjects from marauding warriors who have laid waste to Pingaree and enslaved its people. Baum originally wrote this book as a non-Oz book which he titled King Rinkitink.11The Lost Princess of OzJohn R. Neill1917Reilly & BrittonWhen Princess Ozma mysteriously disappears, four search parties are sent out, one for each of Oz's four countries. Most of the book covers Dorothy and the Wizard's efforts to find her. Meanwhile, Cayke the Cookie Chef discovers that her magic dishpan (on which she bakes her famous cookies) has been stolen. Along with the Frogman, they leave their mountain in Winkie Country to find the pan.12The Tin Woodman of OzJohn R. Neill1918Reilly & LeeThe Tin Woodman, whose real name is Nick Chopper, sets out to find the Munchkin Girl he had courted before he became a tin man. The Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow and their friend Woot the Wanderer have numerous adventures on this quest. They are transformed into animals by a hostile giantess, and they meet another live tin man, Captain Fyter, as well as a Frankenstein monster-like creature, Chopfyt, made from their combined fleshly parts by the tinsmith Ku-Klip.13The Magic of OzJohn R. Neill1919Reilly & LeeRuggedo, former Nome King, tries to conquer Oz again with the help of a Munchkin boy, Kiki Aru. Meanwhile, it is also Ozma's birthday, and all of Oz's citizens are searching for the most unusual present for the little princess. This was published a month after Baum's death.14Glinda of OzJohn R. Neill1920Reilly & LeeDorothy, Ozma and Glinda try to stop a war in the Gillikin Country. This was Baum's last Oz book, and it was published posthumously.
Story collections and other works CoverTitleAuthorIllustratorYearPublisherQueer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of OzL. Frank BaumWalt McDougal1904–1905Reilly & Lee(1960)Newspaper comic/column chronicling the misadventures of the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Woggle-Bug, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Sawhorse, and the Gump in the United States. The series was written to promote The Marvelous Land of Oz. This was republished more than once in book form, first in a heavily revised edition by Jean Kellogg as The Visitors from Oz and later as The Third Book of Oz by Buckethead Enterprises of Oz, which was censored to remove the outdated ethnic stereotyping. The Third Book of Oz also includes "The Woggle-Bug Book" (see below) and is illustrated by Eric Shanower. Hungry Tiger Press was not censored as the Buckethead edition was, but used The Visitors from Oz as the title like the Kellogg adaptation. The complete series can be read online.The Queer Visitors from OzThe Woggle-Bug Book: The Strange Adventure of the Woggle-BugL. Frank BaumIke Morgan1905Reilly & BrittonFurther adventures of the Woggle-Bug in the United States after he gets separated from the others. The text is included in The Third Book of Oz and the Hungry Tiger Press The Visitors from Oz. The book can be read online.The Queer Visitors from Oz (archived from the original)Little Wizard Stories of OzL. Frank BaumJohn R. Neill1913Reilly & BrittonSix short stories about the Oz characters, originally written to help re-launch the Oz series in 1913. Full text can be found online.
In addition to the canonical Oz books, several of Baum's works that are not Oz stories are nevertheless nominally set in the same fictional universe as the Oz books, and include several character crossovers. These are: Dot and Tot of Merryland (1901), The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1902), The Magical Monarch of Mo (1903), The Enchanted Island of Yew (1903), Queen Zixi of Ix (1905), John Dough and the Cherub (1906), The Sea Fairies (1911) and Sky Island (1912).
The rest of the "Famous Forty" Following Baum's death, publisher Reilly & Lee continued publishing annual Oz books, selecting new Royal Historians to record the latest Oz doings. These books, together with Baum's original fourteen novels, form the "Famous Forty", and are considered the canonical books of the series.
Ruth Plumly Thompson's style was markedly different from Baum's. Her tales harked back to more traditional fairy tales. She often included a small kingdom, with a prince or princess who saves his or her kingdom and regains the throne or saves Oz from invasion.
Books by Ruth Plumly Thompson