A wonderful book that's hard to put down.
Author Elizabeth Letts has novelized the life of Maud Gage Baum, the wife of L. Frank Baum, the writer of The Wizard of Oz, but even quick research will reveal that the book is squarely based on fact. Several of her relatives, including Baum himself, her mother, a leading feminist of her time, and her sister Julia are major characters in the book. Many incidents in Maud Baum's life are faithfully recounted.
Maud Baum was a consultant to MGM during the filming of The Wizard of Oz, and the book moves back and forth in time through earlier periods of Maud's life to that time. The depictions of Maud's inner life and her interactions with Frank Baum and her relatives, and then with Judy Garland, the other actors, Yip Harburg, the lyricist of Over the Rainbow, and others, are where the novelization comes in. Whatever imaginings Elizabeth Letts has created make Maud all the more multi-dimensional and compelling as a character.
For those of us who have delighted for decades in The Wizard of Oz, the later Oz books and the movie, this novel is a warm, loving tribute to their contributions to American culture, and a great read about how they came to pass. Highly recommend!
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