Category Archives: Ruth Plumly Thompson

Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves

As I mentioned last week, deportation from Oz doesn’t appear to be too common, and new arrivals can usually stay. The general exception to this rule is invading populations like the pirates and Octagon Islanders in Pirates in Oz and … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, John R. Neill, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Immigrant Post

I was recently thinking about two things that inspired this post. One was how, in the Narnia books, Aslan basically tells the Pevensies they’re too old to keep coming to Narnia. The other is how Oz always appealed to me … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Characters, Chris Dulabone, Chronicles of Narnia, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Oz in Four Parts

It seems that the division of Oz into separate countries is rather too neat, with all four countries being roughly the same size and shape, and each one color-coded. Is this just part of its being a magical fairyland, or … Continue reading

Posted in Eloise Jarvis McGraw, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Country Colors

Today is L. Frank Baum’s birthday, and I’m making an Oz post. Granted, I do this pretty much every week, but still. Today’s subject is one that comes into play all the way back in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, … Continue reading

Posted in John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Keep on Rockin’ in a Tree World

Trees bearing unusual items are a regular occurrence in the Oz series, so it’s kind of interesting that they weren’t really part of Oz as it was first envisioned. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has fighting trees, but otherwise fruits … Continue reading

Posted in L. Frank Baum, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Girl Power in Oz

Joe Roth, the producer of Oz the Great and Powerful, has gone on record as saying he liked the story because “a fairy tale with a male protagonist is very hard to come by.” Obviously, this has raised the question … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Fairy Tales, Feminism, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Keeping the Palace Running

As egalitarian as Ozma and her court might try to be, it is a sad fact that the palace staff is largely ignored, with the occasional exception of Ozma’s personal maid Jellia Jamb. The most complete count of the staff … Continue reading

Posted in Bill Campbell and Irwin Terry, Characters, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Looking for Oz in All the Wrong Places

Where is Oz located? Of course, Oz isn’t really anywhere, being a made-up country, but what fun is that? L. Frank Baum wrote of Oz as being just as real as the United States, or whatever other country a reader … Continue reading

Posted in Eloise Jarvis McGraw, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Language of Magic

When magic words appear in books and other media, they’re usually either total nonsense or based on some dead language, often Latin. The common term “abracadabra” is thought to be based on Aramaic, with the phrase “Avra Kadavrai” meaning “I … Continue reading

Posted in Harry Potter, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Leave the Real World Far Behind

If you’ve watched the DiC Super Mario Bros. 3 cartoons, you’ll know that the inhabitants of the Mushroom World are always referring to the Earth we know as “the real world.” Wouldn’t their own world be more real to them? … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Harry Potter, L. Frank Baum, Mario, Oz, Oz Authors, Piers Anthony, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Television, Xanth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment