Author: L. Frank Baum
Illustrator: John R. Neill
Publication: Reilly & Lee Co., hardcover, 1904
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series
The Scarecrow’s reign is unexpectedly threatened by an army of girls, led by General Jinjur and armed with knitting needles. He escapes with Tip and Jack Pumpkinhead on the Saw-Horse and seeks help from the Tin Woodman. Their return – with a new companion, the Woggle-Bug – to reclaim the Emerald City is unsuccessful but leads to the creation of the magical Gump, a flying machine made of two sofas with an antlered head attached. Our friends escape from the palace roof on the Gump and go to Glinda, the good witch, although not without difficulty. Glinda saves the day by persuading old Mombi to reveal the whereabouts of the rightful ruler of Oz.
My Impression: Once The Wizard of Oz was a huge success, Baum was emboldened write more of what he considered fairy tales between 1900 and 1904 but did not originally plan to return to Oz or make create a series. However, a new publishing company promised to make him its lead author so he suggested a sequel which was originally called The Marvelous Land of Oz, and shortened after publication to The Land of Oz (Creator of Oz, 121). A new illustrator was necessary because Baum and Denslow had quarreled. A lively adventure story resulted featuring Tip and a varied cast of the quirky characters Baum created throughout his career. Jack Pumpkinhead is always good-natured due to his wide grin despite constant worry that his head will spoil and the Saw-Horse has an irascible wit that is unexpected. The Woggle-Bug is not one of my favorites but the flying Gump makes up for him.
Surprisingly, the book is sexist in a way that The Wizard of Oz was not, despite the fact that Baum's family included ardent suffragettes whom he supported. Dorothy is back in Kansas so does not appear and although General Jinjur has assembled an impressive army of young women from all over Oz, their goal in capturing the Emerald City is to help themselves to the jewels and buy a dozen new gowns from the treasury, which doesn’t seem very admirable. They run from mice (well, I would too but I am not in an army) and they are cruel: General Jinjur says she will return Tip to old Mombi, make a bonfire out of the Scarecrow, chop up the Saw-Horse and Tin Woodman, and make tarts out of Jack Pumpkinhead! Obviously, she must be defeated!
When Baum wrote this book, he was addicted to puns. The Woggle-Bug is the chief but not only offender:
Source: Family copy (shh - I didn't tell my sister I was borrowing the first few books). Please visit Lory at Entering the Enchanted Castle who is hosting Ozathon24 and join in if you can! Here is her review of The Land of Oz as well as The Book Stop's review.
When Baum wrote this book, he was addicted to puns. The Woggle-Bug is the chief but not only offender:
“It means, my dear friend,” explained the Woggle-Bug, “that our language contains many words having a double meaning; and that to pronounce a joke that allows both meanings of a certain word, proves the joker a person of culture and refinement, who has, moreover, a thorough command of the language.”The Scarecrow begs the Woggle-Bug to spare them his superior education and he subsides, thank goodness. I also remember a lot of puns in The Emerald City of Oz (book 6), which had to be explained to us as children when it was read aloud. Overall, however, this is a fun read with a strong but undeniably unexpected conclusion (which I won’t spoil).
“I don’t believe that,” said Tip, plainly; “anybody can make a pun.”
“Not so,” rejoined the Woggle-Bug, stiffly. “It requires education of a high order. Are you educated, young sir?”
“Not especially,” admitted Tip.
“Then you cannot judge the matter.”
There are certainly mixed messages about feminine power in this one -- I posited that Baum was parodying the popular idea of suffragettes as frivolous and cruel ... although it may have missed the mark in terms of anybody getting that point at the time. I do wonder what Maud and Matilda thought about this portrayal.
ReplyDeleteAre those first editions? Very nice collection. It's good you pointed out the sexism ... and the puns must have been overbearing. I look forward to hearing about the others in the series.
ReplyDeleteI was bothered by the mixed messages about feminism also - the mice and particularly the women taking all the jewels. However, the fact that the women are generally portrayed as much more capable than the men, plus the fact that the women's army is defeated by a stronger and more professional army of women, left me feeling that Baum was criticizing sexist stereotypes more than confirming them. Honestly, the wizard comes off looking the worst in this book, so it will be interesting to read the book where he re-enters (which wasn't one of my favorites as a child).
ReplyDeleteDeb, thanks for hosting this readathon with Lory. I liked your comparison of General Jinjur's army being conquered by Glinda and her army of women - that aspect really did not make much impression on me. I agree with you and Lory that given Baum's very positive relationship with suffragettes in his life the characterizations of women in this book is atypical. But we shall see - I have not reread this series, other than Ozma, for many years.
ReplyDeleteSusan, we have a few first editions from my grandmother's childhood but she was one of seven and they are mostly in fragments. We replaced most of them along the way and this one does not have an edition listed but was acquired in the 60s.
I often think the puns are for the adult reader - as in Amelia Bedelia. I don't mind a few.