Tag Archives: the hungry tiger of oz

Nonestic Promotion, Part 2: Didja Ever Hear of Oz?

While Ruth Plumly Thompson would eventually become frustrated at how little promotion Reilly & Lee did for the Oz books, they did make some attempts early on in her tenure as Royal Historian. One such promotion was a short play … Continue reading

Posted in Advertising, Characters, Gina Wickwar, Humor, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Music, Oz, Oz Authors, Plays, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

All in How You Spell ‘Em

I saw something recently about the difference between the words “fairy” and “faerie.” Really, there’s no difference; the latter is just an archaic spelling. The word comes from the French for “fate,” and therefore “enchantment”; and was applied to many different … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, British, Celtic, Discworld, Etymology, Greek Mythology, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Mythology, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Shave and a Haircut, Two Squits

Jenny Jump might well be the foremost stylist in Oz, but there are other mentions of hairstyling being a thing in Oz even before her arrival, if perhaps less creative. There’s a pun in The Patchwork Girl of Oz when Bungle … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Characters, Edward Einhorn, Etymology, Humor, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Language, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unequal Reprozentation

Picture by Jimmy Robinson I had observed before how L. Frank Baum didn’t do a whole lot with the Gillikin Country after introducing it The Marvelous Land of Oz, then had a lot happen there in his last three Oz … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Jack Snow, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Get Out of Town

There are a lot of characters who come to live in Ozma’s palace, or sometimes elsewhere in or near the Emerald City. Is the city becoming overcrowded? Probably not, considering that it has the same population in L. Frank Baum’s … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Characters, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rings and Things

A lot of jewelry appears in the Oz books, but I can only think of a few magic rings. I believe the first one mentioned in the expanded Oz universe, albeit not in an official Oz book, is the one … Continue reading

Posted in Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Jared Davis, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s All About the Shoes

On Facebook, there’s been some argument on the cover of the latest Baum Bugle, which I haven’t received. It’s possible my membership has lapsed, because it seems like I never get warnings about that. It isn’t a great design, as … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Chris Dulabone, Eric Shanower, Greek Mythology, Hugh Pendexter, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Marin Elizabeth Xiques, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Phil Lewin, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Shopping O-Z

I wrote about traveling salesmen in Oz last week, but I forgot about one. That was none other than Ruggedo, the former Nome King, who was a peddler of sunglasses at the beginning of Pirates in Oz. Now, I might … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Dick Martin, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Marcus Mebes, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

$ave! $ave! $ave!

Maybe it’s because of role-playing video games where you have to buy a bunch of stuff for your quest, but I tend to associate fantasy lands with wandering merchants. That sounds so much classier than traveling salesmen, even though I … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Characters, Dick Martin, Economics, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, March Laumer, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson, William Shakespeare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Magic of the Written Word

Last week, I discussed signs that appear in the Oz series. This time, I’m going to look at a related topic, that of magical items or characters producing printed (or written; I don’t think it’s generally specified) messages, or accepting … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments