- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Crown Pub; 1st ed. anthology. Limited to 1500 copies. edition (October 1976)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0517500868
- ISBN-13: 978-0517500866
- Product Dimensions: 28.7 x 21.8 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.3 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
An updated version of the definitive guide, The Annotated Wizard of Oz provides a facsimile color version of the first edition of L. Frank Baum's children's classic along with extensive notes and a thorough history of the immense Oz project. In his excellent introduction, Michael Patrick Hearn describes the author's early life and interests and the development of his collaboration with W.W. Denslow, the original illustrator for his books.
An energetic and excitable fellow, Baum's devotion to make-believe began in his early 20s, when he joined a small touring theatrical troupe on the East Coast. Later attempts to run a general store and a newspaper in South Dakota (then the Wild West) failed miserably. Although few of his business ventures or artistic efforts had met with success, in 1897 Baum's "Father Goose" rhymes (designed and illustrated by Denslow) became a surprise bestseller, and Baum was able to buy his family a summer cottage on Lake Michigan, christened "The Sign of the Goose," for which he made most of the furniture (goose-themed, of course) and stenciled the walls with a frieze of green geese.
The idea for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, "a modern fairy tale," as he considered it, soon followed, and the book appeared in May 1900. The 10,000-copy first printing sold out in two weeks, and about 90,000 sold within the first year. Hearn goes on to describe the many books that followed, as well as the 1902 musical extravaganza The Wizard of Oz and Baum's subsequent, ill-starred attempts to depict the world of Oz on film. (He died long before the 1939 MGM musical made his fairy tale known around the globe.) In 1907, he told a reporter for the Grand Rapids Herald why he preferred young readers:
To write fairy stories for children, to amuse them, to divert restless children, sick children, to keep them out of mischief on rainy days, seems of greater importance than to write grown-up novels. Few of the popular novels last the year out, responding as they do to a certain psychological demand, characteristic of the time; whereas, a child's book is, comparatively speaking, the same always, since children are always the same kind of folks with the same needs to be satisfied.Hearn has gone to great lengths in his notes to this facsimile of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, often referring to subsequent volumes in the series, slowly building a key to the rules and history of Oz, pointing out inconsistencies as well as hints to Baum's literary sources (such as Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress), and providing, among other delights, a mini-treatise on malevolent vegetation in Oz. This is an essential volume for the Oz aficionado or the student of children's literature, and a wonderful resource for parents of young readers. --Regina Marler --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
We're off to see the Wizard! Many readers of this annotated version of arguably the most famous American fairly tale will be surprised to learn that the 1939 MGM movie musical was based on a best-selling children's book written 100 years ago; far more readers will be astonished to find out that The Wizard was followed by a good 40 sequels, many as popular as the first Oz tale by Baum and illustrator Denslow. This volume reproduces Denslow's color drawings from the first edition (1900) and includes previously unpublished illustrations. Despite the popularity of that work, whose copyright author and illustrator shared, the two never collaborated again. As the self-styled Royal Historian of Oz, Baum went on to write 13 more Oz adventures; his mantel was then passed to Ruth Plumly Thompson, editor of the Philadelphia Public Ledger's Sunday children's page, who produced an additional 19 titles. John R. Neill, illustrator of all the Oz books but the first, then wrote three more sequels, and since his death in 1943 (Baum died in 1919), numerous others have tried their hand at an Oz story. So powerful was the book's spell that its Russian translator, Aleksandr Volkov, wrote several sequels of his own in Russian for Soviet citizens. Hearn, described by the publisher as "the world's leading Oz scholar," mines The Wizard in this wide-ranging assay of the multifarious strands that fed the imaginations of Baum and Denslow. His explanations and conjectures are enhanced by commentary from such luminaries as Salman Rushdie and Gore Vidal. Of comparable weight to the annotations are the extensive biographical sketches of Baum and Denslow, which elucidate the era in which the book was conceived. The annotations can wander at times, perhaps unavoidably, into tenuous speculation or somewhat irrelevant asides, yet the book is invaluable in pointing out discrepancies that generations of children have wondered about (why the Munchkins live in the east of in some of the Oz books, at other times in the west). And those who know both book and film will delight in discovering why, e.g., the book's Silver Shoes became the film's Ruby Slippers. Hearn, unlike Martin Gardner, the author of The Annotated Alice (LJ 12/99), had many sequels and a film to treat. His painstaking annotation shows us Baum's Wizard as a whiz of a wiz if ever a wiz there was. Highly recommended.
-DEdward Cone, New York
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
-DEdward Cone, New York
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
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First Sentence
Dorothy LIVED IN the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Dorothy LIVED IN the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wowie!,
By
This review is from: Annotated Wizard Of Oz (Hardcover)
I don't need to tell you about the Wizard of Oz - you already know the story.What is amazing about this edition is that the original story is completely reprinted in it's original form. That means that all of the illustrations are included with the text arranged exactly as it should be, something that almost no edition has done correctly. Believe it or not, it makes a difference. The text makes a bit more sense, as the illustrations are integral to the text. The illustrations actually flow INTO the text! It's hard to describe, really, but there is an interaction. This book was a collaborative effort between Baum and Denslow, who split the profits evenly. Okay, so that's it for the actual story. The forward gives a brief but very readable biography of Baum, and the annotations are also quite good. There are a number of color pictures of rare Oz Ephemera, and many good black and white pictures of film and stage productions as well. The type is clearly set, making this book very easy to read. The only faults with this book are that it's a bit heavy for casual reading, and the annotation sometimes severely impact the flow of the story. These faults are easily overlooked when the material is so good! If you've ever read this story and thought that it was merely okay, you really should read a good version such as this, it will change your preception radically! Enjoy!
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great book to read to someone, side by side.,
By
This review is from: Annotated Wizard Of Oz (Hardcover)
I was immediately impressed by the binding, the feel of the cover and the paper on which the book was printed. It is difficult to find the Wizard of Oz in hard cover and this issue is outstanding. The original illustrations help to transport the reader back in time to gray Kansas and the vibrant Emerald City. The annotations add deeper understanding to the story and the conditions of the time period. This book deserves a space on the bookshelves of young families and those of grandparents and aunts and uncles. A great book to read to someone, side by side.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazon - no slipcover?,
By A Customer
This review is from: Annotated Wizard Of Oz (Hardcover)
Beautiful book. But one of the reviewer mentioned that he was missing the slipcover. I also ordered mine from Amazon and it too did not come with an embossed slipcover. I'm also wondering if all the other Norton Annotated selections came with a slipcover. Does anyone have any info?
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