L. Frank Baum’s Oz stories have been a staple of children’s literature for generations and they’ve inspired many retellings on stage, screen, and in books. Perhaps the most famous, and certainly the most influential, has been Wicked by Gregory Maguire. The Wicked saga reimagines the story of the wicked witch of the West as one of a misunderstood freedom fighter who is smeared as evil by a devious state. The novel became a Broadway musical, one of the most successful in history, and is now a film, starring Cynthia Erivo and Arana Grande.
But there are so many more Oz remakes, subversions, and homages out there too. Here are eight you can read right now.
Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears
World Fantasy Award-winning editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling bring together some of the biggest names in speculative fiction for 21 new stories that reinvent classic fairytales and children's fiction for adults. Joyce Carol Oates, Gene Wolfe, and Tanith Lee are among the writers who have taken on the likes of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast. In "Ruby Slippers" by Susan Wade, Dorothy Gale retells the classic Wizard of Oz tale through the lens of showbusiness.
Twisted
Dee finds herself torn between two strange yet oddly familiar worlds. When she befriends a witch to help her find a way home, she ends up tumbling down the rabbit hole. The veil between Oz and Wonderland is coming down, and with it, there is chaos. Dee just wants to get back to her world but with flying monkeys on the loose, a mad hatter stuck on the yellow brick road, and a pair of sparkly shoes missing, she'll have to go through magic and pure madness to survive.
Heartless as a Tin Man (Heirs of Oz Book 1)
Briella Mae trying to pick up the pieces of her crumbling life when she finds herself suddenly flung into a strange nightmarish world known as Oz. New to this odd place, she makes her way to Gillikin City, hoping it'll be a safe harbour, but she soon learns that this is the wrong move. The Tin Man rules Gillikin with an iron axe, and he doesn’t take kindly to newcomers.
Briella Mae refuses to roll over for any man, however. As Oz begins to crumble, Briella finds herself with no option but to team up with the heartless Tin Man. Will she survive the coming storm, or will her heart be added to his growing collection?
Dorothy Must Die
Amy Gumm is just another girl from Kansas who gets swept up by a tornado and sent to a strange faraway land. But this Oz is different from the one in the stories Amy read as a child. This place is desolate, dangerous, and full of treachery. The yellow brick road is crumbling to pieces. Nobody can be trusted, not even the good witches. And it's all Dorothy's fault. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe. Their only hope is Amy. She must kill Dorothy to save Oz.
Lost Girls
Legendary comics writer Alan Moore teamed up with his partner Melinda Gebbie for an erotic retelling of three children's fiction icons for a story that is wholeheartedly not suitable for kids! For more than a century, Alice, Wendy, and Dorothy have been our guides through the Wonderland, Neverland, and Land of Oz of our childhoods. Now, they're aging into adults and want to explore the worlds of their own pleasures.
On the eve of the First World War, at the luxurious Hotel Himmelgarten in Switzerland, these three women gather to share the stories of their lives, loves, and sexual encounters that defined them.
Spelled (The Storymakers Book 1)
Dorothea, crown princess of Emerald, lives a privileged life. She gets to go to all the best balls, wear the hottest shoes, and have her every desire fulfilled. The only problem is that, as a princess, she's expected to marry a prince, whether she wants to or not. Her parents are forcing her to wed the charming brooding prince Kato, which is not part of her plans. But getting out of them only causes more problems.
Wishing on a star backfires and leaves her kingdom in chaos while her parents are stuck in some place called Kansas. It's up to Dorothea and Kato to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz and undo the curse. If they don't, then the wickedest of all witches will rise.
Was: a novel
Award-winning author Geoff Ryman explores the Oz mythos through the lens of the novel, the fans it inspired, and the legendary movie that remains a generational classic.
The novel is separated into three parts. There's the tragic life of "Dorothy Gael" in 1800s Kansas, whose traumatic experiences with her abusive aunt and uncle inspire her to create an imaginary world for her to escape to. But never getting to experience the magic of Oz leaves her broken and bitter. She shares her story with a substitute teacher named L. Frank Baum who then creates the Oz we know today. The novel then follows Judy Garland, the prodigious young actress who was made iconic by her performance as Dorothy in the 1939 movie, but was also left broken by the cruelty of Hollywood's studio system. Finally, there's Jonathan, a gay actor living with AIDS who goes on a pilgrimage to Manhattan, Kansas, in search of his own Dorothy.
The Brides of Maracoor
Gregory Maguire's Oz world has grown so large beyond its initial set-up of a Baum retelling that it has its own spin-off. The Brides of Maracoor follows Elphaba's granddaughter Rain and her fate following the end of the final story in the Wicked quadrilogy, Out of Oz.
After crashing into the sea, Rain wakes up on the shores of a foreign island far from Oz where a community of single women take her in and offer shelter. These women are devotees of obscure devotional practices, and the arrival of a mysterious green-skinned girl from a far-off land could spell magic or trouble for the mainland of Maracoor, which is under assault by a foreign force. Rain will have to learn how to return to Oz but before that can happen she has to discover the secrets of this new land.
Featured image: Universal Pictures / YouTube
