Tag Archives: the enchanted island of yew

Tell Me About the Dragons, George

I had a few other things I wanted to write about, but since I found out Saturday was St. George’s Day, I thought he might be worth looking into. As someone who didn’t attend a church where saints were really … Continue reading

Posted in Anglicanism, Authors, Catholicism, Christianity, Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Crusades, Diana Wynne Jones, Eastern Orthodox, England, Greek Mythology, History, Holidays, Humor, Islam, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Monsters, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Religion, Roman, Roman Empire, Stan Freberg, Tom Holt | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Literary History Drags On

I shared this article on the history of dragons in Western literature on Facebook, and there was a comment about how Oz wasn’t represented in it. It does, however, quote Ruth Berman, a long-time Oz fan; and I think she’s … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Characters, Humor, J.R.R. Tolkien, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll, Monsters, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What Makes a Fairy?

Happy birthday to Ozma, Fairy Ruler of the Land of Oz! I’ve looked before at how Ozma was basically retconned into being a fairy, but what exactly does that mean? A fairy, in L. Frank Baum’s mythology, can be basically … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Half-Civilized

When Dorothy first comes to Oz, the Good Witch of the North tells her, “In the civilized countries I believe there are no witches left; nor wizards, nor sorceresses, nor magicians. But, you see, the Land of Oz has never … Continue reading

Posted in Environmentalism, Fairy Tales, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Poetry, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Science, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ask the Flowers to Tell You

Yesterday was L. Frank Baum’s birthday, and Tuesdays are my designated days for writing about Oz, although it doesn’t always work out that way. Since I had something more pressing to write about yesterday, I’m going to look at a … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Fairy Tales, Greek Mythology, Holidays, L. Frank Baum, Magic, March Laumer, Melody Grandy, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Phyllis Ann Karr, Ray Powell, Roman, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Lovable and Not-So-Lovable Rogues

I’ve now read a few of the Best of the Baum Bugle volumes I just recently purchased, and there are some interesting articles in there, including some on the Nome King and L. Frank Baum’s other villains. I’ve already covered … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Eric Shanower, Focus on the Foes, Humor, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sizing Up and Down

Characters changing in size is a pretty frequent occurrence in the Oz books. It’s sort of a transformation, but not entirely, as someone exposed to such magic keeps the same shape. At least, that seems to be the case for … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Eric Shanower, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, March Laumer, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Phyllis Ann Karr, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Loyalty to Royalty

I like to make connections between pretty much everything and the Oz books, although usually the parallels aren’t that close. It works out better when I connect them to The Simpsons. People are saying the show predicted President Trump, which … Continue reading

Posted in Cartoons, Characters, Current Events, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Politics, Prejudice, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Television, The Simpsons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Princess of Power

In case you didn’t know, Ozma’s birthday was on Sunday, so I should probably write an Ozma-centered entry. I know I’ve discussed the ruler’s magical powers in the past, but I can’t find a post where I did so. Since … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Oz Con Artists

I’ve written before about how L. Frank Baum’s position on trickery is somewhat mixed. As someone who had worked as a salesman, he knew the value of a certain amount of balderdash in order to sell things to people. And … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments