Audiobook · read by volunteers
Emerald City of Oz
L. Frank Baum (1856–1919)
Read by Judy Bieber · 30 chapters · 5 h 26
About the book
Dorothy's uncle and aunt are in serious trouble: their Kansas farm is about to be taken by the bank. Ozma, the young ruler of Oz, has a generous answer and invites Uncle Henry and Aunt Em to live in the Emerald City, where nobody needs money. Once there, they are given a tour of the wonders of the country, but the tale soon splits into two strands. While the visitors explore strange regions with names that are a joy to say, a darker plot is building at the edge of the land, led by the ambitious Nome King. Old friends such as the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Wizard return to help, and the road is full of peculiar characters. Judy Bieber reads this lively adventure in about five and a half hours, bringing an easy warmth to a story with plenty of surprises.
Introduction
The Emerald City of Oz was published in 1910 and is the sixth of L. Frank Baum's Oz books. Baum (1856-1919) had hoped that this book would be the last of the series; readers, of course, would not allow it, and he went on to write many more. The result is a story that wraps up the fate of Dorothy's family in a satisfying way while leaving the door open.
The book is, in effect, a travelogue of a fantasy country. Baum delights in inventing odd communities and their customs, and in showing how people adapt to a world where magic is part of daily life. At the same time there is a plot of conquest and defence that gradually draws all the heroes together. The thirty chapters mix humour, danger and the quiet utopian idea of a land without poverty, an idea that is easy to notice in a book written for children but with grown-up concerns underneath.
This audio edition lasts about 5.4 hours and is read by a single LibriVox volunteer, Judy Bieber. The chapters are short enough to enjoy one by one at bedtime.
Why listen today? Because Baum's imagination remains fresh, because the story is generous and kind, and because the many oddly named places are simply fun to hear read aloud. It suits families and anyone who likes classic fantasy. Because the story follows the visitors rather than only the veterans of earlier books, a newcomer can begin here without much trouble, although longtime fans will enjoy meeting old friends again. The invented places and their inhabitants, with names that are almost tongue-twisters, are a particular pleasure in audio form.
Public domain
L. Frank Baum died in 1919: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text