_The Emerald City of Oz_
by L. Frank Baum
book six of the Oz series
Things aren't going too well either for the fairy country of Oz or for
the family of Dorothy Gale in Kansas.
First Roquat the Red, the King of the Nomes, is still fuming at his
defeat at the hands of Ozma of Oz, and the loss of his Magic Belt to
Ozma's companion, Dorothy. He intends to fully humiliate both Ozma and
Dorothy, and sets his Nomes to digging a tunnel under both the Deadly
Desert and the whole Gillikin region of Oz so as to come up within the
grounds of Ozma's palace, and chooses a new general for his army.
General Guph decides to ally with other magical countries that have the
reputation for cruelty and spite, and enlists the Whimsies, the
Gollywogs, and the Fanfasms to go in first to do the major fighting
with the Ozites, and he will then lead the Nome army afterwards,
allowing his master to retrieve the Magic Belt and deal with the
untrustworthy Fanfasms, Gollywogs, and Whimsies.
It sounds like a plan that will work.
As for Dorothy's family--Uncle Henry has been ill and hasn't been able
to work the farm properly for a few years, and the mortgage is coming
due. If he and Em can't pay the bank, they'll lose everything.
Dorothy decides it's now time to ask Ozma for a new place to live for
herself and her aging aunt and uncle. To keep Henry and Ev distracted
while Ozma finds convivial work for them to do, Dorothy sets off with
her relatives, the Wizard, and Omby Amby, the Captain-General of the Oz
army, to explore some of the more interesting little corners of Oz,
where they visit the Cuttenclips, both Bunbury and Bunnybury, and
several other intriguing peoples. But when they reach the Tin
Woodman's tin castle, they learn that Ozma has learned of the plans the
Nomes have to destroy Oz but refuses to fight, refusing to return evil
for evil. It is up to the Scarecrow to use his marvelous brains to
come up with a scheme to stop the fight altogether, using the water of
a certain magic fountain.
Baum was hopeful to make this the last Oz book, which obviously didn't
happen as he wrote I believe fourteen Oz books as well as a collection
of "Little Wizard" stories before his death and the series continued in
the capable hands of Ruth Plumly Thompson. His plans to cut off all
communication between Oz and the outer world obviously wasn't without
flaws!
Most critics found this the best book in the series so far, and I agree
it is interesting enough. A fun way to spend a quiet evening visiting
in that most delightful of fairy countries!
Bonnie L. Sherrell
Teacher at Large
"Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise
cannot see all ends." LOTR
"Don't go where I can't follow."
