On My Shelves: The Marvelous Land of Oz

The success of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz naturally brought a demand for new Oz material; Baum obliged by producing this, the second in the series.

Unlike The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz takes place entirely in fairyland, and all of its characters are natives of Oz itself. The main character is a boy named Tip (short for "Tippetarius") who was left with the witch Mombi as an infant, and has lived there as her ward-cum-servant for all his life. There is no love lost between the boy and the clearly wicked witch, and so when Mombi is off for a few days, Tip decides to play a prank on her; he creates a wooden, pumpkin-headed man, dresses it up, and places it on the road, hoping to scare Mombi.

The witch is made of sterner stuff than he guesses, however, and she instead decides to use the mannequin as a test subject for the legendary Powder of Life; the powder proves effective, and Jack Pumpkinhead is born. However, Mombi has decided that Tip has become too much of a bother, and intends to turn him to a decorative statue the next day, having Jack Pumpkinhead replace him as a worker.

Tip, not at all liking the thought of becoming a marble statue, runs away that night, taking Jack with him. So begins an odyssey that will take Tip across the length and breadth of Oz and even a little ways outside of it before returning at the end. We meet some old friends – the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow – and new ones, ranging from the stolidly reliable Sawhorse to the pompous and pun-loving H.M. Wogglebug, T.E., and see new sights in the world that Baum is building.

The Marvelous Land of Oz is a more clearly political book than The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and in some ways dates itself far more with its sometimes clumsy handling of the subject matter. General Jinjur's army of the women of Oz exhibits some of the most stereotyped traits of women, yet at the same time some of the events and commentary show that the Scarecrow (and apparently the author) is not entirely unsympathetic to their complaints and that there may well be substance to their protests. People of more modern sensibilities may find these sequences difficult to get past.

However, this is overall a fast-paced and often amusing adventure, with Tip trying to stay out of Mombi's hands (even harder once Mombi has joined up with Jinjur), the Scarecrow deposed from the throne he was given by the Wizard, and eventually all of them having to flee from the Royal Palace in a unique flying contrivance which takes them over the Deadly Desert and back.

However, this book holds one of the greatest surprise endings in all of childrens' literature, in the explanation as to why Mombi has had Tip in her possession – and was desperate to get him back. When the Wizard of Oz managed to take over Oz, there was one remaining legitimate heir to the throne of Oz: a baby girl named Ozma. She disappeared, and Glinda discovered that at the same time the Wizard had visited Mombi.

Tip is, of course, Ozma – transformed into a boy to hide the Princess where no one would ever find her, where – indeed – she would never find herself. At the end of the book, the enchantment is broken and Tip becomes Ozma.

This was one of the most jawdropping moments of my childhood. The whole dénouement is very well orchestrated, so that a reader – especially a child – probably won't catch on until almost the moment the secret is revealed. Tip himself is shown as uncertain about changing back to a girl, as he has no memory of being one, and is reasonably comfortable as a boy. But he has learned something of responsibility on his journey, and reluctantly allows Glinda to undo the transformation. Ozma retains the memories of being Tip; as she says shortly afterward:

"I hope none of you will care less for me than you did before. I'm just the same Tip, you know; only—only—"

"Only you're different!" said the Pumpkinhead; and everyone thought it was the wisest speech he had ever made.

At the same time, there's a marked change in Ozma/Tip's behavior after the change, and by the next book, there appears to be little left of Tip. This sometimes gives me the creeps; it was as though Ozma took Tip's knowledge, but was always a different person, so that in effect Tip died in the transformation.

This is, however, typical of Oz; it has a lot of creepy elements, far more than one might expect of a kid's book, and some of those elements will get even darker in later books.

The Marvelous Land of Oz is still a strong entry into the Oz canon, and in some ways one of the most important, as it introduces Ozma, who is undoubtedly one of the most influential characters in the series. It remains one of the more enjoyable reads, and the final sequence is one of the most innovative and interesting parts of the entire Oz series. Highly recommended!