Baum created Oz in 1900 and wrote 14 Oz novels but sometimes had a less cohesive and consistent idea of Oz than his devoted fans, who faithfully welded together the scraps of information scattered throughout the books. Riley, though a professor of children's literature, is for the most part simply an academically grounded fan. Unlike such critics as Roger Sale (Fairy Tales and After), who saw Baum's faults as clearly as his achievements, Riley sanctifies Baum's (1856-1919) artistic and personal life. Born to a happy and eventually wealthy Syracuse, N.Y., family, Baum grew up with ambitions for a life in theater. Except for the huge success of a stage musical based on (and quite different from) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Baum's show-business aspirations all ended disastrously. His identity as creator and sustainer of Oz was thrust upon him through economic desperation and reader demand. Riley reads Baum's many other, non-Ozian stories and novels as "drawn together into a single Other-world" with the Oz books, which really just means that Baum's creations are characteristically Baumian. He demonstrates how Baum expanded, distorted and changed Oz through both intention and carelessness, as when, in the fifth book in the series, he "banished natural death from Oz... Oz has become more than a haven from danger; it has become a haven from death itself." But rather than explore the meaning of this shift, Riley simply details the inconsistencies it creates in earlier books. (July)
Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum
Narrated by Charles Constant
Michael O. RileyUnabridged — 8 hours, 10 minutes
Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum
Narrated by Charles Constant
Michael O. RileyUnabridged — 8 hours, 10 minutes
Related collections and offers
Overview
Editorial Reviews
L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) was a complex visionary who created a distinctly American form of mythologyan enduring and unforgettable other-world that continues to influence American culture and literature. Riley (Castleton State Coll.) here examines Baum's life and richly creative imagination. Evaluating Baum's writing career within the context of his childhood and adult experiences, he amply explores his literary links to such notables as J.R.R. Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, George MacDonald, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this comprehensive account, he also reviews previous studies of Baum's work and chronologically details significant historical and cultural influences. A literary history examining a rich and varied past, this is a most readable guide to that land over the rainbow, firmly establishing Baum's importance to the history of American children's literature and to the fantasy/folklore tradition. It will inspire renewed appreciation for a great writer's magical vision.Richard K. Burns, MSIS, Hatboro, Pa.
"A most readable guide to that land over the rainbow, firmly establishing Baum’s importance to the history of American children’s literature and to the fantasy/folklore tradition. Will inspire renewed appreciation for a great writer's magical vision."—Library Journal
"Sure to be of interest to both ‘old timers’ in the Oz field and to those who are just discovering L. Frank Baum and the fantastic products of his imagination."—Yellowback Library
"Oz fans will feel vindicated as Riley accords Baum proper literary recognition and celebrates his most important achievement."—The Baum Bugle
"An excellent introduction to the work of America’s greatest writer of children’s fantasy, Oz and Beyond is also a remarkable achievement in the criticism of Baum and American popular culture. It breaks new ground and opens up, really for the first time, all sorts of entrancing possibilities for critical dialogue."—Douglass Parker, professor of classics, University of Texas
"This is not, I hope, the last work that places Baum’s Oz books into an account of his entire career, but it is a most welcome first one. Queen Xixi of Ix and The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, marvelous books almost lost to us, are here given the attention they deserve."—Roger Sale, author of Fairy Tales and After: From Snow White to E. B. White
"The best critical analysis of Baum and his contributions to American children’s literature since the publication in 1929 of Edward Wagenknecht’s Utopia Americana. Given that Baum still has a huge readership, the book should also have a large commercial market."—Douglas G. Greene, director, Institute of Humanities, Old Dominion University
"Written with honest respect and great affection for Baum and his achievement. This book is refreshingly free of the humbuggery of much current literary criticism, for Riley has no hidden agenda to promote. He lets the stories speak for themselves. A rewarding guide to Baum and Oz."—Michael Patrick Hearn in the Washington Post Book World
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940178668658 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Oasis Audio |
| Publication date: | 03/01/2022 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Videos
