Audiobook · read by volunteers
Marvelous Land of Oz
L. Frank Baum (1856–1919)
Read by Paul Harvey · 25 chapters · 4 h 32
About the book
In the Land of Oz a new adventure begins with a boy named Tip, who lives with an old witch and one day decides to make himself a companion out of a pumpkin. The result, Jack Pumpkinhead, comes to life through a magic powder, and Tip escapes with him just as trouble arrives. Soon they meet the Scarecrow, whose Emerald City has been overrun by an Army of Revolt, and the Tin Woodman, who is ready to help. The heroes need the aid of Glinda the Good to restore the rightful ruler, and on the way they meet a talking sawhorse, a sizeable insect with a lot of learning and some surprises about who is who. Paul Harvey reads the twenty-five chapters in about four and a half hours.
Introduction
The Marvelous Land of Oz was published in 1904 and is the second of L. Frank Baum's Oz books. Baum (1856-1919) had not planned a series; the first book had been so popular that readers asked for more, and this sequel set the pattern for the many that followed. It follows the adventures of the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and a new hero, Tip.
The story has a distinct personality. It is brisk and inventive, full of puns and comic characters, and it makes fun of authority and of fashionable causes of its day, including the idea of an army of revolting young women, which Baum treats with good-natured satire. The Emerald City is taken over, and the friends have to rely on cleverness and loyalty to put things right.
The recording has 25 chapters, beginning with the preface and the author's note, and lasts about 4.5 hours. It is read by a single LibriVox volunteer, Paul Harvey.
Why listen now? Because the book is delightfully strange and quick, because it extends the world of Oz in surprising directions, and because it is an early example of a sequel in children's fantasy. It makes an excellent follow-up for listeners who have enjoyed the first book. The audio format is a good choice for this book because so many of its jokes are verbal: the names, the arguments and the odd habits of speech of the characters. Listeners who know the later books will enjoy spotting what Baum later developed, and newcomers will find the story easy to follow from the start.
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