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In: Children & Young Adult Reading·Science-Fiction & Fantasy·Novels
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #41667.
The Emerald City of Oz is a collaborative adventure that blends L. Frank Baum’s familiar Ozian cast with fresh ideas supplied by young readers. The book opens with a playful author’s note in which Baum acknowledges his “correspondents” – children whose suggestions have shaped the plot – and then launches straight into a new episode featuring the irritable Nome King, Roquat the Red, whose loss of a magical belt drives him to plot revenge against Dorothy, Ozma and the Emerald City. The narrative quickly moves from the subterranean throne room, where the king’s fury and his scheming generals are introduced, to a glimpse of Dorothy’s Kansas life, establishing the dual settings of underground menace and familiar farm hardship that will intertwine throughout the story.
Baum’s prose retains the breezy, whimsical tone of early twentieth‑century juvenile fantasy, with exaggerated dialogue and vivid, almost theatrical descriptions of magical creatures and royal tantrums. The style is straightforward enough for younger readers yet peppered with the clever wordplay and moral undertones that appeal to adults who enjoy classic fairy‑tale storytelling. Fans of the original Oz books, lovers of imaginative world‑building, and anyone who appreciates a tale where children’s imagination literally fuels the plot will find this volume an engaging continuation of the Oz saga.
The opening · free to read
Perhaps I should admit on the title page that this book is "By L. Frank Baum and his correspondents," for I have used many suggestions conveyed to me in letters from children. Once on a time I really imagined myself "an author of fairy tales," but now I am merely an editor or private secretary for a host of youngsters whose ideas I am requested to weave into the thread of my stories.
These ideas are often clever. They are also logical and interesting. So I have used them whenever I could find an opportunity, and it is but just that I acknowledge my indebtedness to my little friends.
My, what imaginations these children have developed! Sometimes I am fairly astounded by their daring and genius. There will be no lack of fairy-tale authors in the future, I am sure. My readers have told me what to do with Dorothy, and Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, and I have obeyed their mandates. They have also given me a variety of subjects to write about in the future: enough, in fact, to keep me busy for some time. I am very proud of this alliance. Children love these stories because children have helped to create them. My readers know what they want and realize that I try to please them. The result is very satisfactory to the publishers, to me, and (I am quite sure) to the children.
I hope, my dears, it will be a long time before we are obliged to dissolve partnership.
Coronado, 1910 L. FRANK BAUM.
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