In 1900, L. Frank Baum introduced the world to a new magical land called Oz. Capturing the minds of children and adults alike, Baum’s first Oz book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” introduced us to iconic characters like Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West. It was quickly a success and was turned into stage productions around the country.
Baum followed up that first book with “The Marvelous Land of Oz” in 1904 and many other stories about the magical land of Oz in the following years. It was a common practice in the early 1900s to publish books in pieces, or serialized, in newspapers. A part or chapter of the story would be told each week, and readers would look forward to the next week’s installment. The popular Oz books began appearing in newspapers in 1909, allowing them to reach an even wider audience.
Before the beloved film adaptation was made in 1939, many Americans had grown up with Baum’s Oz stories through books, theater productions and the pages of newspapers. The story extends far beyond Dorothy’s first adventure shown in the movie, continuing with characters such as Ozma, Jack Pumpkinhead, Tik-Tok and the Nome King. If you have only seen the movie and have never been treated to the many other stories from Oz, take a look below to find out where you can read them through the pages of historic newspapers in our Chronicling America* database.
“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900)
The story where it all begins, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” is about the girl Dorothy who gets swept up by a tornado along with her house and dog Toto and transported to the magical land of Oz. Dorothy befriends a scarecrow, a tin woodman and a cowardly lion, and faces a humbug wizard and a wicked witch. You can find this story throughout the pages of several newspapers around the U.S. beginning in July and August of 1909, and continuing through early 1910.
By searching in Chronicling America, you can find each part of the book. Click on the images below to read a few of the selections.
“The Marvelous Land of Oz” (1904)
Originally published in 1904, this story also takes place in Oz, but focuses on a new character, a young boy named Tip. Tip’s adventures lead him to the Emerald City where he meets the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and Glinda the Good. Along the way there are more new characters including Jack Pumpkinhead, the Woggle Bug and Ozma. The Omaha Daily Bee published the book in parts from November 1917 to May 1918.
“Ozma of Oz” (1907)
Baum’s next book was “Ozma of Oz,” published in 1907. In this exciting tale, we return to Dorothy and learn about other fairy lands outside of Oz where she meets two new friends, Tik-Tok and the chicken Billina. In this story, the main characters of the first two books meet and a long friendship between Dorothy and Ozma begins. The stories from “Ozma of Oz” were reprinted in newspapers as the “Wonderful Stories of Oz” throughout 1919.
The Journey Continues
Baum went on to publish several more books about Oz, including “Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz” (1908), “The Road to Oz” (1909) and “The Emerald City of Oz” (1910). The whole series can be found in the Library of Congress’ collections, and the first book is fully available on our website as well as through Chronicling America.
Additional Resources:
- Read about other serialized books found in newspapers: “Serial Fiction, Part 1.”
- Read more about the illustrations in the original Oz books: “Page from the Past: Over the Rainbow, Into the Library.”
*The Chronicling America historic newspapers online collection is a product of the National Digital Newspaper Program and jointly sponsored by the Library and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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