L. Frank Baum

(1856 – 1919)

L. Frank BaumBiographical Sketch

Lyman Frank Baum (Chittenango, NY, USA, May 15, 1856 – Los Angeles, CA, USA, May 6, 1919) was an American author known for his children’s books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the Oz series, plus 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 movie scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema.

Born and raised in upstate New York, Baum moved west after an unsuccessful stint as a theater producer and playwright. He and his wife opened a store in South Dakota and he edited and published a newspaper. They then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a newspaper reporter and published children’s literature, coming out with the first Oz book in 1900. While continuing his writing, among his final projects he sought to establish a movie studio focused on children’s films in Los Angeles, California.

His works anticipated such later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high-risk and action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of clothes advertising (Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Work).

Read more about L. Frank Baum on Wikipedia.

 

Bibliography

Nonestica
Oz
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
  • The Wizard of Oz (1902)
    – Play.
  • The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)
  • Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz (1905)
    – Comic strip depicting 27 stories.
  • The Woggle-Bug Book (1905)
  • Ozma of Oz (1907)
  • Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908)
  • The Road to Oz (1909)
  • The Emerald City of Oz (1910)
  • The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)
  • Little Wizard Stories of Oz (1913)
    • The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger
    • Little Dorothy and Toto
    • Tiktok and the Nome King
    • Ozma and the Little Wizard
    • Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse
    • The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman
  • Tik-Tok of Oz (1914)
  • The Scarecrow of Oz (1915)
  • Rinkitink in Oz (1916)
  • The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)
  • The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)
    The Littlest Giant (1918)
    – Short story.
  • An Oz Book (1919)
    – Short story.
  • The Magic of Oz (1919
    – Posthumously published.
  • Glinda of Oz (1920
    – Posthumously published.
The Forest of Burzee
  • The Runaway Shadows or A Trick of Jack Frost (June 5, 1901)
  • American Fairy Tales (1901)
    – Only 4 out of 15 stories are related to Nonestica:

    • The Queen of Quok
    • The Enchanted Types
    • The Dummy That Lived
    • The Ryl of the Lilies/The Ryl
  • The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1902)
  • A Kidnapped Santa Claus (1904)
  • Queen Zixi of Ix (1905)
  • Nelebel’s Fairyland (1905)
  • The Yellow Ryl (1906)
Trot and Cap’n Bill
  • The Sea Fairies (1911)
  • Sky Island (1912)
Other Lands around Oz
  • Dot and Tot of Merryland (1901)
  • The Magical Monarch of Mo (1903)
    – Originally published in 1900 as A New Wonderland.
  • John Dough and the Cherub (1906)
Non-Oz Fiction
Daring
  • The Daring Twins: A Story for Young Folk (1911)
    – Reprinted in 2006 as The Secret of the Lost Fortune.
  • Phoebe Daring: A Story for Young Folk (1912)
Stand-Alone Children’s Fantasy Novels
  • The Master Key: An Electrical Fairy Tale (1901)
  • The Enchanted Island of Yew (1903)
Mother & Father Goose
  • Mother Goose in Prose (1897)
    – Prose retellings of Mother Goose rhymes.
  • Father Goose: His Book (1899)
    – Nonsense poetry.
  • Father Goose’s Year Book: Quaint Quacks and Feathered Shafts for Mature Children (1907)
    – Nonsense poetry for adults.
Lost Novels
  • Our Married Life (1912)
  • Johnson (1912)
  • The Mystery of Bonita (1914)
  • Molly Oodle (1915)
Short Stories
  • Our Landlady (1890-91)
    – Newspaper stories.
  • They Played a New Hamlet (1895)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • A Cold Day on the Railroad (1895)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • Who Called ‘Perry?’ (1896)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • Yesterday at the Exhibition (1896)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • My Ruby Wedding Ring (1896)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • The Man with the Red Shirt (c.1897)
    – Stand-alone short story; told to Matilda Jewell Gage, who wrote it down in 1905.
  • How Scroggs Won the Reward (1897)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • The Extravagance of Dan (1897)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • The Return of Dick Weemins (1897)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • The Suicide of Kiaros (1897)
  • A Shadow Cast Before (1897)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • John (1898)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • “The Mating Day” (1898)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • Aunt Hulda’s Good Time (1899)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • The Loveridge Burglary (1900)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • American Fairy Tales (1901)
    • The Box of Robbers
      – Illustrated by Ike Morgan.
    • The Glass Dog
      – Illustrated by Harry Kennedy.
    • The Queen of Quok
      – Illustrated by Ike Morgan.
    • The Girl Who Owned a Bear
      – Illustrated by Harry Kennedy.
    • The Enchanted Types
      – Illustrated by Ike Morgan.
    • The Laughing Hippopotamus
      – Illustrated by Ike Morgan.
    • The Magic Bon Bons
      – Illustrated by Ike Morgan.
    • The Capture of Father Time
      – Illustrated by Harry Kennedy.
    • The Wonderful Pump
      – Illustrated by Norman P. Hall.
    • The Dummy That Lived
      – Illustrated by Ike Morgan.
    • The King of the Polar Bears
      – Illustrated by Ike Morgan.
    • The Mandarin and the Butterfly
      – Illustrated by Ike Morgan.
  • The Bad Man (1901)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • The Ryl of the Lilies (1901)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • The King Who Changed His Mind (1901)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • The Runaway Shadows (1901)
  • (The Strange Adventures of) An Easter Egg (1902)
    – Stand-alone short story; also published as the first chapter of The Whatnexters, a 1903 unfinished and probably lost novel co-written with with Isidore Witmark.
  • Chrome Yellow (1904)
    – Stand-alone short story; unpublished, held in The Baum Papers at Syracuse University.
  • Mr. Rumple’s Chill (1904)
    – Stand-alone short story; lost.
  • Bess of the Movies (1904)
    – Stand-alone short story; lost.
  • The Diamondback (1904)
    – Stand-alone short story; first page missing.
  • Animal Fairy Tales (1905)
    – Originally published as a magazine series.

    • Prologue
    • The Story of Jaglon
    • The Stuffed Alligator
    • The Discontented Gopher
    • The Forest Oracle
    • The Enchanted Buffalo
    • The Pea-Green Poodle
    • The Jolly Giraffe of Jomb
    • The Troubles of Pop Wombat
    • The Transformation of Bayal the Porcupine
  • Jack Burgitt’s Honor (1905)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • The Tiger’s Eye: A Jungle Fairy Tale (1905)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • The Witchcraft of Mary–Marie (1908)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • The Man-Fairy (1910)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • Juggerjook (1910)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • L. Frank Baum’s Juvenile Speaker (1910)
    (AKA Baum’s Own Book for Children)
    – Collection of revised and new work; later republished as The Snuggle Tales (1916–17) and Oz-Man Tales (1920).
  • The Tramp and the Baby (1911)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • Bessie’s Fairy Tale (1911)
    – Stand-alone short story.
  • Aunt ‘Phroney’s Boy (1912)
    – Stand-alone short story.
Poetry

By the Candelabra’s Glare (1898)

The Law Enforcement Alphabets
  • The Army Alphabet (poetry, 1900)
  • The Navy Alphabet (poetry, 1900)
Plays and Musicals
  • The Mackrummins ( 1882)
    – Lost play.
  • The Maid of Arran (1882)
  • Matches (1882)
    – Lost play.
  • Kilmourne, or O’Connor’s Dream (1883)
    – Lost play.
  • The Queen of Killarney (1883)
    – Probably lost play.
  • The Songs of Father Goose: For the Kindergarten, the Nursery, and the Home (1900)
    – Father Goose set to music by Alberta Neiswanger Hall (Burton).
  • King Midas (1901)
  • The Octopus; or the Title Trust (1901)
  • Montezuma or The Son of the Sun (1902)
    – Play treatment; music by Nathaniel D. Mann.
  • The Maid of Athens: A College Fantasy (1903)
    – Play treatment; with Emerson Hough.
  • The King of Gee-Whiz (1905)
    – Play treatment; with Emerson Hough.
  • The Woggle-Bug (February 1905)
  • Down Missouri way (1907)
  • Mortal for an Hour or The Fairy Prince or Prince Marvel (1909)
  • The Koran of the Prophet (1909)
  • The Pipes O’ Pan (1909
    – With George Scarborough; only first act completed.
  • Peter and Paul (1909)
    – Probably lost; music by Arthur Pryor.
  • The Girl from Oz or The Girl of Tomorrow (1909)
  • The Clock Shop (1910)
    – Probably lost.
  • The Pea-Green Poodle (1910)
  • The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (1913)
    – Music by Louis F. Gottschalk; the only one of the 1913 Baum / Gottschalk collaborations actually produced.
  • The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)
    – Music by Louis F. Gottschalk.
  • King Bud of Noland, or The Magic Cloak (1913)
    – Music by Louis F. Gottschalk; revised as the scenario to the film The Magic Cloak of Oz.
  • Stagecraft, or, The Adventures of a Strictly Moral Man (1914)
    – Music by Louis F. Gottschalk.
  • High Jinks (24 October 1914)
  • The Corrugated Giant (1915)
  • The Uplift of Lucifer, or Raising Hell: An Allegorical Squazosh (1915)
    – Music by Louis F. Gottschalk.
  • The Birth of the New Year (1915)
  • Blackbird Cottages: The Uplifter’s Minstrels (1916)
    – Blackface minstrel show; music by Byron Gay.
  • Snow White (1916)
  • The Orpheus Road Show: A Paraphrastic Compendium of Mirth (1917)
    – Music by Louis F. Gottschalk.
  • Prince Silverwings (1982)
    – Long term project with Edith Ogden Harrison, based on her book; worked on as late as 1915 and published posthumously.
Nonfiction
  • Baum’s Complete Stamp Dealer’s Directory (1873)
  • The Book of the Hamburgs (poultry guide, 1886)
  • The Art of Decorating Dry Goods Windows and Interiors (1900)
  • Editor: Maud Gage Baum: In Other Lands Than Ours (1907)
    – Collection of Mrs. Baum’s letters.
Writing as Edith Van Dyne
Aunt Jane’s Nieces
  • Aunt Jane’s Nieces (1906)
  • Aunt Jane’s Nieces Abroad (1907)
  • Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Millville (1908)
  • Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Work (1909)
  • Aunt Jane’s Nieces in Society (1910)
  • Aunt Jane’s Nieces and Uncle John (1911)
  • Aunt Jane’s Nieces on Vacation (1912)
  • Aunt Jane’s Nieces on the Ranch (1913)
  • Aunt Jane’s Nieces Out West (1914)
  • Aunt Jane’s Nieces in the Red Cross (1915)
    – Revised and republished in 1918.
The Flying Girl
  • The Flying Girl (1911)
  • The Flying Girl and Her Chum (1912)
Mary Louise
  • Mary Louise (1916)
  • Mary Louise in the Country (1916)
  • Mary Louise Solves a Mystery (1917)
  • Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls (1918)
  • Mary Louise Adopts a Soldier (1919)
    – Largely ghostwritten based on a fragment by Baum; subsequent books in the series are by Emma Speed Sampson.
The Boy Fortune Hunters as Floyd Akers
  • The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska (1908)
    – Originally published in 1906 as Sam Steele’s Adventures on Land and Sea by Capt. Hugh Fitzgerald.
  • The Boy Fortune Hunters in Panama (1908)
    – Originally published in 1907 as Sam Steele’s Adventures in Panama by Capt. Hugh Fitzgerald. Reprinted in 2008 as The Amazing Bubble Car.
  • The Boy Fortune Hunters in Egypt (1908)
    – Republished in 2008 as The Treasure of Karnak.
  • The Boy Fortune Hunters in China (1909)
    – Republished in 2006 as The Scream of the Sacred Ape.
  • The Boy Fortune Hunters in Yucatan (1910)
  • The Boy Fortune Hunters in the South Seas (1911)
Writing as John Estes Cooke
  • Tamawaca Folks: A Summer Comedy (1907)
Writing as Suzanne Metcalf
  • Annabel, A Novel for Young Folk (1906)
Writing as Laura Bancroft
  • The Twinkle Tales (1906)
    – Collected as Twinkle and Chubbins, although not all stories include Chubbins.
  • Policeman Bluejay (1907)
    (AKA Babes in Birdland)
    – Published under Baum’s own name shortly before his death.
Writing as Schuyler Staunton
  • The Fate of a Crown (1905)
  • Daughters of Destiny (1906)
Writing anonymously
  • The Last Egyptian: A Romance of the Nile (1908)
    – Like the novels published as by Schuyler Staunton, adult fiction.
Online editions of L. Frank Baum’s Works

 

A Selection of Quotes

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don’t you think?”

“‘You have plenty of courage, I am sure,’ answered Oz. ‘All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.'”

“My people have been wearing green glasses on their eyes for so long that most of them think this really is an Emerald City.”

The Lost Princess of Oz

“No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.”

The Marvelous Land of Oz

“As they passed the rows of houses they saw through the open doors that men were sweeping and dusting and washing dishes, while the women sat around in groups, gossiping and laughing.
‘What has happened?’ the Scarecrow asked a sad-looking man with a bushy beard, who wore an apron and was wheeling a baby carriage along the sidewalk.
‘Why, we’ve had a revolution, your Majesty – as you ought to know very well,’ replied the man; ‘and since you went away the women have been running things to suit themselves. I’m glad you have decided to come back and restore order, for doing housework and minding the children is wearing out the strength of every man in the Emerald City.’
‘Hm!’ said the Scarecrow, thoughtfully. ‘If it is such hard work as you say, how did the women manage it so easily?’
‘I really do not know,’ replied the man, with a deep sigh. ‘Perhaps the women are made of cast-iron.'”

“How very wet this water is.”

“As a matter of fact, we are none of us above criticism; so let us bear with each other’s faults.”

The Road to Oz

“‘You have some queer friends, Dorothy,’ she said.
‘The queerness doesn’t matter, so long as they’re friends,’ was the answer.”

The Scarecrow of Oz

“No Queen with a frozen heart is fit to rule any country.”

Tik-Tok of Oz

“If we didn’t want anything, we would never get anything, good or bad. I think our longings are natural, and if we act as nature prompts us we can’t go far wrong.”

The Master Key

“Oh, if Shakespeare says it, that’s all right.”

“Familiarity with any great thing removes our awe of it.”

Find more quotes by L. Frank Baum on Wikiquote and Goodreads.

 

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