(To see the full-sized image of the Nonestica logo click here. )
"Nonestica" is also the name of my electronic discussion forum for fans of anything to do with the world of L. Frank Baum. It is an E-mail-based forum for Oz/Baum fans to share feelings/ideas, ask/answer questions, review new Oz books, etc. Forum members receive messages from other Oz fans after I, the moderator, approve them for posting (usually once or twice a day). Between five and twenty posts per day is typical -- Our discussions can get quite involved!
The Nonestica Mailing List started life as the "Ozzy Digest", in which people sent their Ozzy messages directly to me, and I compiled them "by hand" into a daily Digest, which I then forwarded to everyone on the mailing list. The Ozzy Digest exisited from December 1995 through August 2000, then various circumstances let to the transition to the Nonestica format, which a majority of subscribers expressed a preference for, and so it has become the current medium for our Ozzy discussions.
If you want to subscribe to Nonestica, just send an empty message to Nonestica-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. It is advisable, however, to go to Yahoo!Groups homepage and sign up as a member (it's free) if you haven't already. Then you can take advantage of Yahoo-provided features like the file archive, etc., as well as change your settings for the format you wish to receive Nonestica postings (see below).
To leave (unsubscribe) Nonestica, send an empty message to Nonestica-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.
As far as rules for posting messages, generally speaking I do not believe in imposing many rules or restrictions, so long as the discussions stay Ozzy. My only admonitions for messages are these:
It's also a good idea when posting a message to use a descriptive mnemonic
at the beginning of the subject line (OZHIST in the above example), so that
members can quickly ascertain the general subject matter of your message.
The mnemonics I have establsihed are:
| ADMIN | Some administrative point regarding the Nonestica List itself |
| ADULT | "Adult" postings (see below) |
| AUCTION | Announcements of Oz items for auction |
| BCF | "Book of Current Focus" -- We will at any given time have one Oz book that is the main topic of our book discussions. (But people can discuss others as well!) |
|---|---|
| BOOKS | Use this for general book discussions (i.e. besides the Book of Current Focus). |
| MOVIES | The movies: The MGM Wizard of Oz, Disney's Return to Oz, The Oz Kids, Lost in Oz ( if it's ever made :) ), etc., etc. |
| OT | Off-Topic posts (see below). |
| OZHIST | "Oz as History": For discussions of Oz as a "real" place, including continuity of events chronicled in the series and apparent contradictions therein, Oz lifestyles, the personalities/characters of various Oz personages, etc. |
| OZLIT | "Oz as Literature": For discussion of the Oz books as works of literature, including criticisms, speculations on whether The Patchwork Girl of Oz is an allegory of Clinton's impeachment, etc. |
| SALE | Announcements of Oz items for sale |
I don't require the use of these mnemonics, but I do advise it (especially
for ADULT posts!); I also will consider suggestions for the adoption of
additional mnemonics. Also, it's part of the legacy of "The Ozzy Digest"
that some long-time members include multiple subjects in one post. I strongly
request that members make an effort to relegate each topic to a separate post.
Please DO NOT post any but very brief (5 lines max.) quotes from published
materials (Oz books or otherwise).
And if you are yourself an aspiring Oz author, please DO NOT post any
of your own writing without speaking to me privately about it first!
It is not really the intent of this digest to publish original works, and
I feel that posting writing that you intend to publish to a public forum
is extremely risky anyway! (However, I might consent to posting brief original
writings if the author consults me privately first.)
Irrelevant advertisments and other forms of "spam" will not be tolerated.
8) Fan Fiction and Fan Art
"Fan fiction" is any work of fiction set in a particular world (in this case Oz) that is unpublished. Fan Art is similar, excpet they're images. I welcome everyone sharing their writings that they do not intend to publish, but rather than posting them on the List, please upload them as text files to the "Fan Fiction" folder of the file section (See FAQ section 1.12). Because images are binary in nature they must be uploaded to Files (ideally, the "Fan Art" folder). This also applies to "adult" stories and artwork, though they have folders of their own set aside (see below).
The only exception is "Filks" (i.e. parody song lyrics) -- These may be posted on the List, provided they are Ozzy.
Brief responses to a previous post that express gratitude of approbation, such as, "Thank you", or "Me too", or "I wholeheartedly agree". Should be addressed directly to the recipiant via private E-mail, rather than a post to Nonestica.
Note that I do not mean here for the word "Adult" to mean "the naughty bits" (though such content may exist therein), but only to refer to any discussion of Oz that departs from the strictly "childlike" doctrine adopted by the "Canonical" Oz authors and all who seek to emulate them.
Such "Adult" topics would include (but not necessarity limited to):
-- "Shipping", i.e. speculating about possible (romantic/sexual)
relationships bewteen different Oz characters
-- "Slashing", i.e. same-sex "shipping"
-- Discussion of any Oz fiction that might involve "Adult themes"
(Laumer's books, "Land of Oz" comics, etc.)
Erotic Oz stories, vignettes, and images will also be allowed, but they must be placed in the file archive (just like other fan fiction and artwork) and must be placed in the "EroticOz" folder with an optional brief and not-explicit announcement to the List that they have been uploaded, and also a "TV rating"-style codes in the file's description so someone accessiong the files will know what to expect:
S -- Sexy/erotic
SX -- Sex acts described/depicted
V -- Violence
I am the Digest's editor and moderator, and I reserve the right to edit
messages for content or to remove from the list anyone who repeatedly abuses
their privileges on the list. On the rare occasions that I deem it
appropriate to reject or edit a message for Nonestca, it will be posted as
originally written on Nonestica-Alt (see below)..
If there are those who consider these guidelines unreasonably restrictive,
there is a sister list, "Nonestica-Alt",
which is unmoderated, and memebrs are free to uninhibitedly say whatever they
want, from four-letter words to open debate on whether Ozma prefers front-entry
or doggy-style. I only ask the the main List remain "family"-oritented.
| FF | The "Famous Forty" (i.e. the 40 original "canonical" Oz books) |
|---|---|
| EC | The Emerald City (Famous Oz locale) |
| PD | Public Domain (Books, etc. no longer protected by copyright) |
| IE | Irrelevant Episode (Book episode that doesn't advance the main plot) |
| FAQ | "Frequently Asked Questions" (What this document is!) |
| BTW | "By the way" (Common Internet-ese) |
| LFB | L. Frank Baum (Oz's "discoverer") |
| RPT | Ruth Plumly Thompson (The second Oz Historian) |
| RCP | Rachel Cosgrove Payes (Another Oz Historian) |
| WWW | The Wicked Witch of the West (not "World Wide Web" in this case) |
| ILL | Inter-Library Loan (Good way to borrow hard-to-find Oz books) |
| R&L | Reilly & Lee (Original Publisher of the "Famous Forty") |
| R&B | Reilly & Britton (Original name of Reily & Lee) |
| BoW | Books of Wonder (Ozzy publisher) |
| ECP | Emerald City Press (Subsidiary of BoW) |
| QFS | "Quasi-Famous Series" (The non-"canonical" books by "canon"-authors) |
| BCF | Book of Current Focus (Book currently at center of Ozzy discussions) |
| IWOC | International Wizard of Oz Club (Worldwide Ozzy Fan Club) |
| RCOO | Royal Club of Oz (Ozzy Club for children ages 1 to 147) |
| HACC | Historically Accurate Chronological Chain (see Section 4.2) |
| IMHO | "In My Humble Opinion" (Common Internet-ese) |
| KISS | "Keep it Short [or Simple] and Sweet" |
| IIRC | "If I Recall Correctly" (Common Internet-ese) |
| ISTR | "I Seem To Recall" (Common Internet-ese) |
| FWIW | "For What It's Worth" (Common Internet-ese) |
| BEOO | Buckethead Enterprises of Oz (Former name of TCLF, see below) |
| TCLF | Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends (Ozzy publisher) |
| HI/RCC | Historically Inaccurate/Rejected Chronological Chain (see Section 4.2) |
| MOPPET | "My Own Personal PEt Theory" |
(This list may grow in future...)
Tyler Jones maintains an archive of most issues of Nonestica's predecessor, "The Ozzy Digest", at: http://members.home.net/cruenti/oz/digest.html, though his arvhive is generally available only on weekdays.. He can also be reached at tyler.jones@buzzsaw.com. I also have made available a companion CD-ROM to the Nonestica List, which includes a complete archive of "The Ozzy Digest" as well as some other goodies. (See Section 1.16.)
Quick links to some of the files are below (Note that this is not an archive of Nonestica messages; See FAQ section 1.5):
BookRtng.txt -- Ratings of Oz books by Digest members. (NEW!)
Copy_Law.txt -- A description of Copyright Law at it relates to Oz Books
Garden.txt -- Let Melody Grandy take you through Ozma's Royal Gardens!
LFBnonOz.txt -- Some info about Baum's non-Oz books. (NEW!)
MOPPeTs.txt -- A collection of Digest members' theories about Oz
OzChrons.txt -- Ken Shepherd's chronological timeline of events in the Oz books
OzCntrys.txt -- The frequency that various Oz countries are visited
Ozma.txt -- Today on C-SPAN, David Hulan assesses Ozma's first term! :)
Oz_Guru.txt -- A weird Internet story w/ Oz references (NOT for kids!)
Palace.txt -- Melody Grandy's excellent tour of Ozma's Royal Palace!
Pluto.txt -- News and Info. about the (now defunct) Campaign to Honor Oz on Pluto(!)
Rulers.txt -- Who really rules over the Ozian provinces? by Ruth Berman (NEW!)
WizAlleg.txt -- Essay on the alleged "populist" allegory in The Wizard of Oz
WizPopul.txt -- Critique of Oz "Populism" thesis by David B. Parker
WizTheos.txt -- Essay on Oz as a Theosopical Utopia by David B. Parker
Also available online is the complete ASCII texts of the following Oz books:
The Wizard of Oz
The Land of Oz
Ozma of Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
The Road to Oz
The Emerald City of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Tik-Tok of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz
Rinkitink in Oz
The Lost Princess of Oz
The Tin Woodman of Oz
The Magic of Oz
Glinda of Oz
The Royal Book of Oz
Kabumpo in Oz
The Wishing Horse of Oz
Captain Salt in Oz
Handy Mandy in Oz
The Silver Princess in Oz
Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz
The Magical Mimics in Oz
The Shaggy Man of Oz
And also these non-Oz books by Baum:
John Dough and the Cherub
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
The Magical Monarch of Mo
Queen Zixi of Ix
The Sea Fairies
Sky Island
These texts are available from Eric's page at: http://www.eskimo.com/~tiktok/links.html
and on my Oz CD-ROM (See section 1.16)
By default, when you first subscribe it is to receive Individual E-mails. I'd like to be able to tell that you merely can send another message to switch to a different setting, but I can't. You must go to Yahoo!Groups, register as member if you haven't already (See section 1.14), go to "My Groups", and change your settings under "Delivery Options" (Don't forget to click "Save Changes"!).
Go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nonestica/polls, scroll down until you find the poll you want to vote in, click on the poll question, click on the button next to your desired vote, and click the "Vote" button. (Note that some polls -- the ones with square "checkmarks" rather than round "radio buttons" -- allow for voting for more than one item.)
1. Go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nonestica/files
2. Click on the appropriate folder (I strongly encourage putting
files in folders to keep them well-organized.)
3. Click "Add File"
4. Click "Browse" to find the file to upload on your system
(or enter its full path in the "File name" text box.
5. Enter a description of the file in the other text box (so
people will know what your file is!)
6. Click "Upload".
-- Complete texts of the Canonical Oz books currently in
public domain (All Baum's + seven of Thompson's + the two Snow books)
-- Selected Oz artwork by Denslow, Neill, and myself
-- A complete archive of the Nonestica List's precursor, The
Ozzy Digest (Dec. 1995 - Aug. 2000)
-- An MPEG-format movie of my 3D Oz-Nonestica fly-through animation
-- Miscellaneous Oz files -- Texts, essays, etc.
Anyone interested in purchasing a copy of the CD, please E-mail me.
Furthermore, Oz has been rendered invisible to outsiders, so access to Oz is extremely difficult indeed, and communication with Oz is only possible by radio, wireless telegraph, and special magical wireless telephones.
Oz is mainly countryside, and is divided into four sub-countries, each of which has its own ruler and its own dominant color. Gillikin Country is in the north, its dominant color is purple, and its rulers are Joe King and Queen Hyacinth; Munchkin-land is in the east, has blue for a favorite color, and is ruled by King Cheriobed and Queen Orin; The Land of Winkies is in the west, yellow is the prominent color, and their emperor is Nick Chopper the Tin Man; and Quadling Country is in the south, dominated by hues of red, and is governed by the great sorceress Glinda the Good.
In addition, Oz's outskirts have several smaller communities with local sovereigns, but all in Oz pledge ultimate allegiance to the supreme sovereign, Princess Ozma, who benevolently rules Oz from her palace in the magnificent Emerald City, which lies at the very center of Oz, and is dominated by Emerald shades of green.
Being at the hub of Baumgea, Oz is where the magic is strongest. Everyone leads a happy existence in Oz, and the fairy forces are so great that wondrous happenings abound, including talking animals, animated Scarecrows and Tin Men, and no one ever ages (unless they want to) or dies. The Oz people are happy and contented, and Oz is undoubtedly the most ideal place to live in this or any universe!
Ozma is also famous for her long dark hair, her long gowns that show off her shoulders, and the two big red poppies she always wears in her hair.
For much more about Ozma (including a separate FAQ just about her), visit Nonestica's sister List, "Ozmahome".
For more infoformation about the Oz series, see the next two sections.
After Baum's death, Ruth Plumly Thompson succeeded him as "Royal Historian" and wrote 19 Oz books. Then she retired and was succeeded by long-time Oz illustrator John R. Neill, who wrote three, then Jack Snow, Rachel Cosgrove (later Payes); and finally Eloise and Lauren McGraw, who wrote the fortieth Oz book, Merry Go Round in Oz. After Merry Go Round, the "official" series came to an end. Oz books are still written but there has long been no "Official Oz Historian".
Some more recent Oz books have been written by FF authors, but these are considered only "Quasi-Canon" and are not included as part of the FF. There isn't even any consensus about what books the "Quasi-Canon" should contain, and so here I will make only mention of the "Famous Forty" with an "honorable mention" of other famous Oz books that at least some fans regard as "Quasi-Canonical".
Here are the "Famous Forty", including authors, illustrators, and original year of publication:
Besides the Canon are the "unofficial" books, which are "Canon" or "Quasi-Canon" in minds of some fans. But unlike the "Famous Forty" there is by no means any consensus on the status of these books. We can only list the books with an explaination of why some consider them, if not "Canon", at least "Oz History".
Little Wizard Stories of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Illustrated by John R. Neill
(Six short Ozzy stories; Originally published by Reilly & Lee; Currently
reprinted by Books of Wonder)
Yankee in Oz, by Ruth Plumly Thompson, Illustrated by Dick Martin
The Enchanted Island of Oz, by Ruth Plumly Thompson, Illustrated by Dick Martin
The Forbidden Fountain of Oz, by Eloise and Lauren McGraw, Illustrated by Dick Martin
The Ozmapolitan of Oz, Written and illustrated by Dick Martin
The Wicked Witch of Oz by Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Illustrated by Eric Shanower
Little Wizard Stories of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, Illustrated by John R. Neill
(Six short Ozzy stories; Originally published by Reilly & Lee; Currently
reprinted by Books of Wonder)
The Runaway in Oz, by John R. Neill, Edited and Illustrated by Eric Shanower
(Published by Books of Wonder)
The Rundelstone of Oz by Eloise McGraw, Illustrated by Eric Shanower (new!)
(Published by Hungry Tiger Press)
The Hidden Prince of Oz by Gina Wickwar, Illustrated by Anna Maria Cool
(Published by the International Wizard of Oz Club)
Queen Ann in Oz by Karyl Carlson and Eric Gjovaag
(Published by Emerald City Press)
Paradox in Oz by Edward Einhorn
(Published by Hungry Tiger Press)
Seven Blue Mountains of Oz, vol 1: The Disenchanted Princess of Oz by
Melody Grandy
(Published by Tales of the Cowardly Lion and Friends)
Seven Blue Mountains of Oz, vol 2: Tippetarius of Oz by Melody Grandy
(Published by Tales of the Cowardly Lion and Friends)
The Glass Cat of Oz by David Hulan
(Published by Emerald City Press)
There is also a book by L. Frank Baum, called The Third Book of Oz which consists of two Oz stories: "Queer Visitors from Oz" and "The Wogglebug Book". This book is however hard to come by and appears to be irreconcilable with events described in the Original Series.
Unfortunately March Laumer recently passed away and his books are currently unavailable for purchase.
If you want to try tracking down copies of his works (Interlibrary Loan is probably your best bets), here are the titles:
The Green Dolphin of Oz
Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in Oz
The Ten Woodmen of Oz
A Fairy Queen in Oz
The Good Witch of Oz
The Umbrellas of Oz
A Farewell to Oz
The Woozy of Oz
The Talking City of Oz
Dragons in Oz
Russian author Alexandr Volkov wrote a series of fantasies that are popular throughout the former USSR. The first of these, The Wizard of the Emerald City was adapted from The Wizard of Oz, and the subsequent works used the same Oz-like land. Laumer used some of Volkov's ideas and names in his Oz books, but many Oz scholars doubt that the land in Volkov's books is really Oz, but say it is a separate world with only a superficial resemblance to Oz.
Here are Volkov's "Oz" Books:
The Wizard of the Emerald City, 1939 (revised in 1959)The first four in this list are available from Peter Blystone and the Red Branch Press.
Urfin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers, 1963
The Seven Underground Kings, 1969
The Fiery God of the Marrans, 1972
Yellow Fog, 1988
The Secret of the Witches Deserted Castle, 1989
International Wizard of Oz Club
P.O. Box 10117
Berkeley, CA 94709-5117
http://www.ozclub.org
-- Scarecrow of Oz, Hidden Valley of Oz, Most of Thompson's books, all of the "quasi-official" books (except Runaway), Shanower's Graphic Novels, and others.
Galde Press
Box 460
Lakeville MN 55044
Phone (952) 891-5991
Fax (952) 891-6091
Toll-free orders: 1-800-777-3454
oz@galdepress.com
http://www.galdepress.com
-- The publishers of my first book, The Unknown Witches of Oz!
Books of Wonder/Emerald City Press
16 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
(800) 207-6968
bookswonder@earthlink.net
(Be sure to ask for their catalog, The Oz Collector!)
-- Near-facsimiles of all of Baum's fourteen Oz books, Little Wizard Stories of Oz (a volume of Baum's short Oz stories); Thompson's books 15, 16 and 30 through 33 (see Section 2.8); Del Rey paperbacks of Baum's Oz books; facsimiles of Neill's and Snow's books, Merry Go Round in Oz, Runaway in Oz; Shanower's Graphic Novels, and a number of original Oz books published by Emerald City Press.
Hungry Tiger Press
5995 Dandridge Lane, Suite 121
San Diego, CA 92115-6575
(619)582-5106 (voice/fax)
tigerbooks@aol.com
http://www.hungrytigerpress.com/index.shtml
-- Paradox in Oz (excellent!), The Rundelstone of Oz, the OzStory series, and more.
Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends (formerly Buckethead Enterprises
of Oz)
1606 Arnold Palmer Loop
Belen, NM 87002-7063
(505) 864-4690
LionCoward@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/LionCoward/home.html
(For a printed catalog, send a SASE and a check for $1.00)
-- Many original Oz stories, including the excellent Seven Blue Mountains of Oz series by Melody Grandy.
Another possibility is to submit your manuscript to a major publisher, but I have no idea how major printing houses feel about new Oz books that are faithful to Baum's Oz, since the only Oz-related novels to be released by mainstream publishers in recent years are books such as Wicked and A Barnstormer in Oz, which represent vast and radical departures from the Oz Canon (Ozma and other elements of post-Wizard Oz books are generally not in these stories, and they often start with "heretical" premises, such as Wicked's assertion that the Witch of the West was good and the Wizard of Oz was evil.) Still, it may be possible to get a "Historically Accurate" Oz book published by a major or minor-but-not-devoted-to-Oz publisher if the story was sufficiently well written. No doubt if a new book "Founded On and Continuing" the saga of the "real" (Canonical) Oz were to be published by a mainstream house, it would awaken the general public at long last to existence of the post-Wizard Oz series-- an exhilarating prospect for Oz fans! An unlikely scenario maybe, but I wouldn't discount the possibility.
Otherwise though, TCLF and Emerald City Press are your best bets, since they are committed to publishing new Oz books. One important thing to bear in mind, though, is that some Oz characters are still under copyright and cannot be used in new stories legally. The original characters that Baum himself created are all public domain, so they can used without any problem. Due to loopholes in copyright law, the characters introduced in the Jack Snow books and the last five of Thompson's books in the "Famous Forty" (Wishing Horse through Ozoplaning) are also PD. There is a grey area for characters in these five PD Thompson books that also appear in her books still under copyright. As best we on the Digest understand the existing U.S. copyright law (and we have professional lawyers here on the Digest), these characters can also be used legally, provided they are portrayed as they appeared in the PD book, not the copyrighted book (if there is a significant difference). The characters appearing only in Thompson's copyrighted books, or that make their debut in books by Neill, Cosgrove-Payes, or the McGraws, as well as all new characters in any of the Non-"Famous Forty" books are definitely still under copyright, and are OFF LIMITS!
Two of Books of Wonder's reprints of Baum's Oz books have been slightly edited for content, mainly to remove references that some people regard as offensive to African Americans. Namely, the edits are these: In Patchwork Girl of Oz, the "My Coal-Black Lulu" song is changed to "My Cross-Eyed Lulu" (even though someone once pointed out that the original could be a love song for crows!), and in the "Tottenhot" episode, one illustration has been removed, and the description of the Tottenhots slightly altered so that there is no reference to dark skin. And Rinkitink in Oz, in the scene of Bilbil's disenchantment, the Tottenhot picture is omitted, as is the corresponding reference to "a lower form of man".
To read past debates on this, please search the list Archives. It is a volatile issue that no one on Nonestica is anxious to see resurface.
Nonestica-Alt:
For Oz fans who want to discuss "Adult" aspects of Oz freely and openly. (WARNING:
This list is frequented by persons who like to use "colorful" language, envision
"action" Oz films, and/or view Ozma, Glinda, and other Oz ladies as erotic/sensual
entities. Definiitely NOT for the Oz "purist" or the faint-of-heart!)
Ozmahome:
For Fans of our gracious queen
OzWriters:
A discussion roundtable for authors of Oz novels/stories, both published and
aspiring.
Some other notable sites (there are many others, all accessible from Eric's
page) are Piglet Press at http://www.halcyon.com/piglet
which has an online Oz Encyclopedia and offers Oz books and books on cassette
for sale; the home page of Oz fan Tyler Jones at http://members.home.net/cruenti/oz/oz.html
-- Tyler's page includes the "HACC", a "time-line" of the history of Oz
showing (nearly) all the Oz books that have been written, and also reviews
of Oz books published by Buckethead/Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends,
as well as TCLF's own homepage at http://members.aol.com/LionCoward/home.html
which has info. on the books they have for sale.
International
Wizard of Oz Club Board
Beyond the
Rainbow Message Central
Crisis
On Infinte Ozes -- An Ozian fantasy involving several Oz universes
and their versions of the characters trying to stop an evil force forom
destroying the infinity of "Ozziverses". (WARNING: This RPG contains
content definitely not suitable for children or "Oz Canon Purists"!)
The addresses for the two clubs follow:
International Wizard of Oz Club
P.O. Box 10117
Berkeley, CA 94709-5117
http://www.ozclub.org
The Royal Club of Oz
P.O. Box 714
New York, NY 10011
"Oz as Literature" and "Oz as History" are terms used on the Digest to describe two different approaches to explaining inconsistancies in the Oz books. "Oz as Literature" offers "realistic" explanations involving the authors of the books themselves, whereas "Oz as History" works on the assumption that events in Oz actually did occur (if only in another universe) and seeks explanations involving doings and goings on in Oz which the "Oz Historians" may have omitted or inaccurately reported.
Many of the questions in this section describe some of the most common MOPPET's that are discussed on Nonestica
The HACC is in fact a kind of "mega"-MOPPeT put together by Chris Dulabone and Tyler Jones which establishes a historical "timeline" for all Oz books, both in and out of the Famous Forty. This "timeline" shows when each book takes place in Ozian history, rather when the book was actually published.
Click here to see the current version of the HACC
Here are additional comments on the HACC from Tyler:
"When the Oz series began, it was the creation of L. Frank Baum, and he alone had the power to define Oz and to determine its history. As Oz grew, it became something greater than it was before and eventually superseded Baum and the publisher, Reilly and Lee.The members of Nonestica do not all agree on the importance of the HACC. Some say that it is an invaluable tool in reconciling descrepancies and contradictions in the Oz books; others on the other hand wonder if such contradictions are really so detracting from the "realness" of Oz that it is worth all the trouble of forming a theory for everything (after all, there are plenty of discrepancies and contradictions in our world's recorded history!). Then there are those proponents of the "multiple Oz universe" theory (see section 4.10), who say that an HACC is wholly unnecessary, because any contradictions can be attributed to the conflicting facts/incidents occuring in different Oz universes."The uniqueness of Oz is such that it now belongs to no single person, family or publisher. It belongs to everybody who believes in its spirit.
"However, I hold that the FF is the basis for all that is Oz. It is in these books that the nature of Oz was created and first explored. For any other item to be called Historically Accurate, it must be true to the events recorded herein first.
"The whole of Oz is a living breathing saga, with each new episode adding a new thread to the ongoing tapestry that is the history of Oz. Some threads may appear to contradict others, but that is only an illusion. Diligent effort, which includes such things as resolving contradictions and sharing of information to ensure that major contradictions do not occur, can make all contributions to Oz vibrate together in a symphony of harmony without sacrificing that which made Oz what it is: telling fun stories that are a simple joy just to read, although they are also so much more. Of course, this assumes that the stories agree with the FF.
"Many of these goals are difficult, if not impossible. Many stories are very rare, so people cannot read them. Many people write stories and each has their own interpretations, beliefs and ways in which they love Oz. 100% total agreement and consistency will never be achieved, and every single niggling little detail will never be fully resolved, but we owe it to Oz and to ourselves to make the best attempt that we can. Why? Because.
"Just because. It is the search for truth that is its own reward and its own reason, even the imaginary truth that is the world of Oz."
There is also a HICC ("Historically Inaccurate Chronological Chain) for all of the books (e.g. Wicked and Dorothy: Return to Oz) that totally, utterly, and beyond all redemption, contradict the Oz Canon (in the opinion of many respected Oz scholars). You can find it at: http://www.musc.edu/~adelmaas/HIRCC.html
As for the Good Witch of the North, she is called Tattypoo in the Oz Canon, but her name is Locasta in Baum's own stage play of The Wizard of Oz, and this may in fact be the name of the "real" Good Witch of the North. (See Section 4.4)
So what about Glinda? She is usually considered a sorceress (more powerful than a normal witch), but when she is referred to as a "witch", she is the Good Witch of the South. (The MGM movie got it wrong.)
In her non-canonical but excellent book, The Disenchanted Princess of Oz, Melody Grandy "resurrects" Tip by revealing Mombi's modus operandi for transformations: A "Switcheroo Spell" that Mombi used in Marvelous Land to disguise herself as Jellia Jamb and Jellia as her was also used on Ozma and one Prince Tippetarius of Lostland. So when Tip was changed back into Ozma, the real Tip in Lostland (who had occupied Ozma's physique) was also restored to his true, boyish form. Tip is then his "own man" once again, and he leaves Lostland to have adventures in Oz with his friend Zim the Flying Sorcerer.
In my own MOPPeT, it turns out that Mombi used this "Switcheroo Spell" yet again -- with Princess Orin and the Good Witch of the North. In my soon-to-be-published Oz book, Locasta and the Three Adepts of Oz, I reveal that Tattypoo was NOT the same Good Witch of the North that Dorothy met in The Wizard of Oz. The Good Witch Dorothy met is Locasta, who is later banished from Fairyland by Mombi. Mombi then performed the "Switcheroo Spell" once more, turning Orin into the elderly Locasta (though she adopted the name "Tattypoo", since she didn't become Locasta, she just assumed her bodily form, and maybe a few of her most on-the-surface personality traits); and Locasta, faraway in her exile, suddenly found herself in Orin's lovely body. When in Giant Horse Orin regained her natural form, Locasta did hers; and then in my book Locasta returns at last to Oz and resumes her influential role in Ozian society.
This "Switcheroo Spell", then, has allowed for two "dead" Oz characters who were sorely missed to be "resurrected"!
So in general, magic is disallowed by the laws of nature; but in the universe containing Oz, there are isolated pockets in space where the invisible barrier between the everyday world and the "ebbs and flows" of the cosmic forces of nature is torn away, and people with a dynamic connection to those intricate cosmic forces are said to have 'magical powers'. And the magnitude of their powers is merely a measure of on how great a scale they are capable of changing the natural course of the "ebbs and flows". Any magic spell that is executed calls on and executes lower and lower levels of magic, and ultimately the lowest level, the Magic of Everything, the most fundamental of all incantations, is executed and causes sub-atomic fluctuations in the Cosmic ebbs and flows, and thus makes magical things happen. (Almost like a computer's operating system.) And in spite of all the power of these ultimate cosmic incantations in the Magic of Everything, they are so elegantly simple that they could be written on a tunic! Yet the incantations themselves contain so much information about other incantations derived from them that mere knowledge of the Magic of Everything can be more precious than having an equivalent level of actual magical powers.
The "Scale of Magic" is a scale that measures the overall magnitude of the sum total of the magical prowess of each of the magic-workers in he Oz universe. Here it is in brief:
| Index | Examples |
|---|---|
| 9.9 | (“All-Powerful” Genies) |
| 9.5 | Glinda (Sorceress) |
| 9 | The Adepts at Sorcery |
| 8.5 | Zim (Sorcerer) |
| 8 | Gyma (Fairy) |
| 7.5 | The Wizard of Oz |
| 7 | Reera (Yookoohoo) |
| 6 | Ozma (Fairy) |
| 5 | Locasta (Witch) |
| 4 | Polychrome (Fairy) |
| 3 | Mrs. Yoop (Yookoohoo) |
| 2 | Mombi (Quasi-Witch) |
| 1 | (Magic-less Immortals) |
Zim, one of the more colorful of post-Canon Oz characters, appears in "The Seven Blue Mountains of Oz" trilogy, by Melody Grandy, the first two of which have been published -- The Disenchanted Princess of Oz and Tippetarius of Oz -- by Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends. He is undoubtably a very interesting character: Eight feet high, green haired, owner of a secret magical arboretum, and teacher of Melody's resurrected version of Tip (see Section 4.4). And of course he can fly. Melody herself has described him as a cross between Merlin and Sherlock Holmes, and that is probably an apt description.
Harmetz, Aljean. The Making of The Wizard of Oz. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978.
Langley, Noel, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf. The Wizard of Oz: The Screenplay. New York: Delta Books, 1989.
McClelland, Doug. Down the Yellow Brick Road: The Making of The Wizard of Oz. New York: Pyramid Books, 1976.
All of these should be available at your local library.
Dorothy ....................................... Judy Garland(Note that "Jellia Jamb" is in quotes because the movie character in question -- the girl in the "Merry Old Land of Oz" number who "can make a dimple smile out of a frown" -- probably wasn't intentionally meant to be the Royal Maid of Oz, but many of Jellia's ardent admirers like to think it's her in that scene!)
Scarecrow/Hunk .................................. Ray Bolger
Tin Man/Hickory ................................. Jack Haley
Cowardly Lion/Zeke ............................... Bert Lahr
Glinda ........................................ Billie Burke
Wicked Witch of the West/Miss Gulch ...... Margaret Hamilton
Auntie Em ................................... Clara Blandick
Uncle Henry ............................... Charley Grapewin
Winkie Guard ................................ Mitchell Lewis
Nikko (Winged Monkey Supremo) ................... Pat Walshe
Wizard/Professor Marvel/Doorman/Guard/Cabby ... Frank Morgan
"Jellia Jamb" ................................. Lois January
Toto ................................................. Terry
The Munchkins ........................... The Singer Midgets
Not all of the casting were the original choices. Buddy Ebsen was originally to play the Scarecrow and Ray Bolger the Tin Man, but Bolger fought for his dream role as the Scarecrow and won. (To watch him dance in other films, one wonders how they could have considered anyone but Bolger for the Scarecrow!) Ebsen was then switched to the Tin Man, but a nearly fatal allergic reaction to his metallic makeup forced him to withdraw, and Jack Haley replaced him.
Gale Sondergaard (the Cat in the original Shirley Temple version of The Bluebird) was originally cast as the Wicked Witch of the West, the idea being for the witch to be a glamourous "femme fatale" like the Wicked Queen in Disney's Snow White. But this idea was quickly dropped in favor of a conventional "sufficiently decayed" witch.
Both Ed Wynn (Uncle Albert in Disney's Mary Poppins) and W. C. Fields were considered for the Wizard, but they wanted higher pay than MGM could afford. And "Leo", MGM's ever-roaring trademark, was even quasi-seriously contemplated as a superlatively realistic Cowardly Lion. Ironically, the only major character whose casting was never in dispute was the one that some Oz fans consider the movie's one miscasting: Billie Burke as Glinda.
Dorothy's singing "Over the Rainbow" was almost cut, but fortunately the Mervin LeRoy and/or Arthur Freed (the accounts differ) finally convinced Louis B. Mayer that "Over the Rainbow" neither slowed down the picture nor was demeaning to Judy Garland to be heard singing in a barnyard. So the song was retained.
But Oz wasn't totally overlooked. Herbert Stothart won for Original Score and "Over the Rainbow" took Best Song. Judy Garland was also presented a special award for outstanding performance as a screen juvenile.
-- L. Frank Baum's own silent versions of his stories: His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, and The Magic Cloak of Oz.
-- The original 1925 silent version of The Wizard of Oz with Oliver Hardy as the Tin Man. Any resemblence to Baum's original story is completely coincidental, but this movie did introduce the idea used later in the MGM film of the Kansas farmhands also playing the parts of the Scarecrow and Tin Man.
-- The Land of Oz. A TV version of the second Oz book featuring Shirley Temple as Tip and Ozma, Ben Blue as the Scarecrow, Sterling Holloway as Jack Pumpkinhead, and Agnes Moorehead as the witch Old Mombi (as a warm-up for her portrayal of Endora in the sitcom "Bewitched"!). Sadly this is not available on video.
-- Journey Back to Oz, a 1972 animated film bearing a remote resemblance in plot to the second Oz book, The Marvelous Land of Oz. The voices featured Liza Minnelli as Dorothy, Mickey Rooney as the Scarecrow, Ethel Merman as Old Mombi, Margaret Hamilton as Auntie Em, and Paul Lynde as Jack Pumpkinhead.
-- The Wiz. The 1977 movie version of the Broadway musical, with Diana Ross as Dorothy, Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, and Lena Horne as Glinda.
-- Oz (a.k.a. "Dorothy in the Land of Oz", "Thanksgiving in the Land of Oz", etc.) is a half-hour TV special first shown on CBS (following "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving") in 1980. Produced by Muller-Rosen Productions / Murakami-Wolf-Swenson Productions / Toei Doga Animation. Available on video.
-- Return to Oz. A 1985 Disney live action film that is based mostly on the third book, Ozma of Oz, but also contains aspects of Land, including Jack Pumkinhead and the flying Gump. Many who were expecting something light-hearted like the MGM film were sorely disappointed by this movie's dark and somber tone. Return to Oz is available on video.
-- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, and The Emerald City of Oz are animated films, made by Canada's Cinar Films in 1987, were edited video compilations of the "Wizard of Oz" TV series
-- "The Oz Kids". An animated TV series that has been shown in Japan and released on video in the US. The videos are available from Books of Wonder.
-- "Lost in Oz". A work-in-progress Oz TV series to be produced by Tim Burton. It promises that it will focus on the "later" (meaning those not in the first book, Wizard) Oz characters and their adventures, but I must admit that the idea of Tim "Nightmare Before Christmas" Burton doing Oz makes me very uneasy. IMHO a Jim Henson or even a Sid and Marty Krofft treatment of Oz would be far more appropriate...But we'll wait and see, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised...(It's worth noting that as of the last revision of this FAQ, the Internet Movie Database still lists Lost in Oz as in "pre-production", though it was supposed to premiere in the fall of 2000, so it looks like this project has become "vaporware"...
I can't think of the reason so many people seem to think that the film was originally all black-and-white, unless they are remembering seeing it on TV in the 50's and 60's... But that was only because color televisions were not prevalent then. The movie itself was always color.
(Sorry for the outburst.) :)
Judy Garland
A Star is Born
Meet Me In Saint Louis
The Harvey Girls
Easter Parade
Judgment at Nuremberg
A Child Is Waiting
Frank Morgan
The Shop Around the Corner
Sweethearts
Enchanted April (1935 version)
The Good Fairy
Naughty Marietta
The Human Comedy
White Cargo
Billie Burke
Dinner at Eight
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Father of the Bride
Sergeant Rutledge
The Young Philadelphians (and stole the show!)
Margaret Hamilton
My Little Chickadee
People Will Talk
State of the Union
Rosie!
(Numerous coffee commericals and guest appearences)
Ray Bolger
The Great Ziegfeld
The Harvey Girls
Babes in Toyland
Jack Haley
Moon Over Miami
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Bert Lahr
Rose Marie
The Night They Raided Minsky's
(Also numerous stage shows, such as, "Waiting for Godot")
"Toto"
Fury (as a pooch rather prophetically named "Rainbow"!)
The Women
(It's worth noting that Terry/Toto's daughter "Rommie" was also a
big "movie star", appearing in such films as "Reap the Wild Wind" and "George
Washington Slept Here".)
A lot! Here is a list of elements of the original book of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that the MGM film changed. This list does not purport to be complete, and additions are welcome if I've left out your favorites...
"I'm Glinda, the Witch of the North." -- Glinda and the Good Witch of the North are two different people. The Good Witch of the North is a grandmotherly, roly-poly lady that Dot meets in Munchkinland. Glinda is the beautiful and dignified sorceress of the South who tells Dorothy how to use the Slippers to get home.
"If you please, what are Munchkins?" -- The Munchkins met by Dorothy at the beginning of Wizard are described as, "not as big as the grown folk [Dorothy] had always been used to; but neither were they very small. In fact, they seemed about as tall as [her]." So Munchkins may tend to be petite, but not midgets. And there are examples in the later books of Munchkins of normal size, such as Ku-Klip, Unc Nunkie, and Nimee Aimee. Perhaps shortness was a quality of the particular community Dot landed in. But in any case, they aren't midgets.
"That was her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East ..." -- There is no evidence in the books that the two Wicked Witches were sisters, or even allies.
" ... This is the Wicked Witch of the West ..." -- The Witch as depicted by W.W. Denslow looks markedly different... She wears an eye patch, petal-pushers, spats, and a barbershop pole-colored hat. She has pigtails, carries an umbrella, and her skin is not green.
" ... And she's worse than the other one was." -- Based on her actions documented in the books (including her mutilation of the youth who became the Tin Man), the Wicked Witch of the East seems like the "worse" of the two.
"Are you forgetting the Ruby Slippers?" -- The Slippers are Silver. Got that? Silver! Symbol Ag. Atomic number 47. Atomic Weight 107.880. Not Ruby, not Gold, not Praseodymium... They're SILVER!!! Thank you.
"I'll get you my pretty!" -- The Wicked Witch of the West does not appear until Dorothy enters her realm, afer the first visit to the Wizard. She does not show up in Munckinland to threaten Dorothy and her little dog too.
"The Munchkins will see you safely to the border of Munchkinland" -- Munchkin Country extends all the way to the edge of the green "suburbs" of the Emerald City, where the poppy field is. Dot is still in "Munchkinland" when she meets the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion.
"Now which way do we go?" -- There is no indication of a fork in the road. There is a second Yellow Brick Road, further north and traversed by the protagonists of The Patchwork Girl of Oz, but there is no evidence that the roads cross.
"How did you ever get like this?" -- The Tin Man's movie story of how he rusted omits his full history, of how he was once a normal man of flesh, until the Wicked Witch of the East enchanted his ax to chop off his body parts, one-by-one replaced by artificial components by Ku-Klip the Tinsmith, until he was completely a man of metal. Also there's no movie mention of his former sweetheart, a "pretty Munchkin girl" named Nimee Aimee.
"It's the Wicked Witch! What'll we do?" -- The Wicked Witch of the West had nothing to do with the poppies.
"Unusual weather we're having, ain't it?" -- The snow breaking the spell of the poppies is a holdover from Baum's 1902 stage musical of Wizard, but in the book, the Scarecrow and Tin Man successfully remove Dot and Toto from the field, and the Lion is hauled to safety by a team of field mice.
"We can make a dimple smile out of a frown." -- On arrival at the Emerald City, Dorothy et. al. receive hospitality from "a young girl, dressed in a pretty green silk gown", this girl is almost certainly Jellia Jamb of later books. Whether it is in fact this High Priestess of Sassy, Sprightly and Cuddly Maids who sings about "dimple smiles" in the film is open to debate.
"Bring me the broomstick of the Witch of the West!" -- The book Wizard is not so subtle... He unequivocally declares, "Kill the Wicked Witch of the West!" Also, the four friends all visit the Wizard individually, and he appears in a different guise to each: A great head to Dorothy, a pretty lady to the Scarecrow, a monster to the Tin Man, and a ball of fire to the Lion.
"Take your army to the Haunted Forest, and bring me that girl and her dog." -- The Winged Monkeys have no special loyality to the Witch, but perform three tasks for whomever possesses their magic golden cap (seen held by the Witch in one scene in the film). Later, Dot uses the cap herself and eventually gives it to Glinda.
"I'm frightened, Auntie Em!" -- MGM was determined to portray Dorothy as a standard damsel in distress, but she is in fact much more spunky and does a good job of protecting herself and the Slippers without her friends' aid (who are still stuck in the forest when she melts the Witch).
"I didn't mean to kill her" -- Dot didn't know the water would kill her, but she did throw it on her deliberately, in anger after the Witch finally gets one of the Slippers by making her trip on an invisible rod.
"... I was instantaneously acclaimed Oz, the first Wizard deluxe." -- The Wizard's name is Oscar Zoraster, which initials on the balloon made the Ozites think he was their heaven-sent new ruler. Also it was the Wizard who built the Emerald City -- there was only a rural area with a few buildings when he first arrived.
"... Until what time, if any, that I return ... " -- In fact, the Wizard does return (in Book 4, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz), and Glinda subsequently trains him to be a true Wizard, not a humbug. (Though many of his magical inventions, such as Ozoplanes and Scalawagons, still make use of modern technology.)
"The Scarecrow ... shall rule in my stead ..." -- The Scarecrow's reign is brief, lasting only until the rightful Oz heir Princess Ozma ascends the throne at the end of the second book.
" ... assisted by the Tin Man ..." -- The Tin Man becomes emperor of the Witch of the West's former slaves the Winkies, his office to this day.
" ... and the Lion ... " -- The Lion is briefly King of the Forest, until he and his friend the Hungry Tiger become Princess Ozma's formidable bodyguards. ( And what a body to guard! :) )
"Look! Here's someone who can help you." -- Dorothy and her friends must make a long journey to the South to find Glinda, featuring such perils as the fighting trees and the Hammerheads (not to be confused with the Flatheads of Glinda of Oz). But this section is a bit lengthy and anti-climatic and the screenwriters probably can't be blamed for omitting it and bringing Glinda to the Emerald City.
" ... And think to yourself: 'There's no place like home'." -- The magic words are "Take me home to Aunt Em!"... Baum always makes it clear that it's her family she really wants, so that her moving permanently to Oz in the sixth book makes sense, because Ozma allows her to bring her aunt and uncle as well (and Toto too!).
Which brings us of course to the most important difference of all: OZ WAS NOT A DREAM!!! Dorothy really travelled to Oz, and indeed made several subsequent visits until she and her family relocated there permanently in The Emerald City of Oz.
The movie is an immortal classic and a wonderful introduction to Oz. But I personally recommend the books.