Queen Ann in Oz
Encyclopedia
Queen Ann in Oz is a 1993
children's novel written by Karyl Carlson and Eric Gjovaag, and illustrated by William Campbell and Irwin Terry. As its title incidates, the book is an entry in the large and growing literature on the Land of Oz
, begun by L. Frank Baum
and continued by many successors.
Queen Ann in Oz is a sequel to Baum's 1914 novel Tik-Tok of Oz
, and derives characters and plot elements from that book. The sequel occurs "several years" after the original story. Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo (the title character), the Shaggy Man
, and Tik-Tok
all re-appear; and Moretomore, a small orange dragon, is a hatchling of Quox, the big dragon in Baum's book.
After receiving Ann's letter via mailbird, the Shaggy Man investigates the situation, but with limited success. Glinda's Great Book of Records is surprisingly unhelpful on the location of the missing royals. It follows their activities well enough, up to a point — then breaks off with a cryptic "forget it." Princess Ozma
tries to find them in the Magic Picture, but it shows only a pink haze with the inscription "no data available."
Shaggy meets Ann and her party; they travel to Sand City, ruled by King Lysander and Queen Cassandra. (Puns and word play on "sand" flow freely.) A patch of quicksand speeds them on their way. They encounter the overly eager practitioners of Barberville, and spend an idyllic interval at the Friendly Forest.
Finally they reach a wall with a gate in it. The gate bears a strange warning:
The wall surrounds a fog-shrouded village. When the members of the party enter, they lose their memories. Moretomore is immune from the spell, because he carries with him a fragment of his natal eggshell, which prevents him from ever forgetting anything. The little dragon is desperate to help his companions, but doesn't know what to do. Ozma, however, has been monitoring the Shaggy Man's progress, as she told him she would; and she sends Tik-Tok to help. The mechanical man brings the search party members out of Forgetville. The searchers learn to counter the memory spell with forget-me-not
s, and they draw the inhabitants out too — including the lost King and Queen of Oogaboo. They also seek to end the spell on the town.
They find and read the journal of Amnesia, the witch who cast the spell. They learn that they can bring the wall down with the "Ancient Traditional Wall Removal Method." Shaggy suspects that this is a reference to the story of Jericho
. The searchers and townspeople re-enact the siege of Jericho; they march around the city seven times, Jo Musket plays his trumpet, and the multitude shouts at dawn. The wall falls and the spell is broken. Forgetville returns to being the town of Goldendale, as it was before.
Ozma arrives with breakfast; together, the characters piece out the story of how Goldendale lost its memory, a tale that involves Jo Jemkiph, the witch Amnesia, and the Love Magnet (from The Road to Oz
). Ozma uses the Magic Belt to bring the former Amnesia, now Amy, from Butterfield, Kansas, where the Shaggy Man knew her and stole the Love Magnet from her (closing a story loop with Baum's original books). In the process, the Shaggy Man's true name is revealed: he's Shagrick Mann (but Ozma agrees to keep this knowledge secret).
Ann's reunion with her parents is a happy one. The people of Goldendale choose Jol Jemkiph and Dede Soforth as their rulers. Ann remains in power in Oogaboo.
of the Bible
, primarily in the Book of Joshua
, Chapter 6. Baum, however, was not a traditional Christian; to the contrary, he was skeptical of organized religion, and influenced by spiritualism
and Theosophy
. Biblical allusions and references are generally not found in Baum's work. In bringing the story of Jericho into Queen Ann in Oz, Carlson and Gjovaag take the Oz mythos in an atypical direction.
1993 in literature
The year 1993 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Professor Stephen Hawking's book, A Brief History of Time, becomes the longest running book on the bestseller list of The Sunday Times....
children's novel written by Karyl Carlson and Eric Gjovaag, and illustrated by William Campbell and Irwin Terry. As its title incidates, the book is an entry in the large and growing literature on the Land of Oz
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
, begun by L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
and continued by many successors.
Queen Ann in Oz is a sequel to Baum's 1914 novel Tik-Tok of Oz
Tik-Tok of Oz
Tik-Tok of Oz is the eighth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum, published on June 19, 1914. The book actually has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man to rescue his brother, and his resulting conflict with the Nome King.The endpapers of the first edition...
, and derives characters and plot elements from that book. The sequel occurs "several years" after the original story. Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo (the title character), the Shaggy Man
Shaggy Man
The Shaggy Man is a character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He first appeared in the book The Road to Oz in 1909.He is a kindly old wanderer, dressed in rags, whose philosophy of life centers on love and an aversion to material possessions. His one possession of value is the Love Magnet...
, and Tik-Tok
Tik-Tok
Tik-Tok is a fictional character from the Land of Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He has been termed "the prototype robot," and is widely considered to be the first robot to appear in modern literature, though that term was coined after Baum's death....
all re-appear; and Moretomore, a small orange dragon, is a hatchling of Quox, the big dragon in Baum's book.
Synopsis
At home in Oogaboo, a tiny principality in the northwestern corner of Oz, Queen Ann is restless for a new adventure; she decides to search for her lost parents, King Jol Jemkiph Soforth and Queen Dede Soforth. Her attempt to re-muster her army is a total failure; but four enterprising children are eager to join her search party. They are a girl and three boys, Jody Buttons, Jo Musket, Jo Fountainpen, and Jo Dragon (with his pet Moretomore). Ann also writes to the Shaggy Man, inviting him to meet them on their way.After receiving Ann's letter via mailbird, the Shaggy Man investigates the situation, but with limited success. Glinda's Great Book of Records is surprisingly unhelpful on the location of the missing royals. It follows their activities well enough, up to a point — then breaks off with a cryptic "forget it." Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the series except the first, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz .She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and L...
tries to find them in the Magic Picture, but it shows only a pink haze with the inscription "no data available."
Shaggy meets Ann and her party; they travel to Sand City, ruled by King Lysander and Queen Cassandra. (Puns and word play on "sand" flow freely.) A patch of quicksand speeds them on their way. They encounter the overly eager practitioners of Barberville, and spend an idyllic interval at the Friendly Forest.
Finally they reach a wall with a gate in it. The gate bears a strange warning:
-
-
-
-
-
-
- FORGETVILLE
- Beware the
-
-
-
-
-
The wall surrounds a fog-shrouded village. When the members of the party enter, they lose their memories. Moretomore is immune from the spell, because he carries with him a fragment of his natal eggshell, which prevents him from ever forgetting anything. The little dragon is desperate to help his companions, but doesn't know what to do. Ozma, however, has been monitoring the Shaggy Man's progress, as she told him she would; and she sends Tik-Tok to help. The mechanical man brings the search party members out of Forgetville. The searchers learn to counter the memory spell with forget-me-not
Forget-me-not
Myosotis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae that are commonly called Forget-me-nots. Its common name was calqued from the French, "ne m'oubliez pas" and first used in English in c. 1532. Similar names and variations are found in many languages.-Description:There are...
s, and they draw the inhabitants out too — including the lost King and Queen of Oogaboo. They also seek to end the spell on the town.
They find and read the journal of Amnesia, the witch who cast the spell. They learn that they can bring the wall down with the "Ancient Traditional Wall Removal Method." Shaggy suspects that this is a reference to the story of Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
. The searchers and townspeople re-enact the siege of Jericho; they march around the city seven times, Jo Musket plays his trumpet, and the multitude shouts at dawn. The wall falls and the spell is broken. Forgetville returns to being the town of Goldendale, as it was before.
Ozma arrives with breakfast; together, the characters piece out the story of how Goldendale lost its memory, a tale that involves Jo Jemkiph, the witch Amnesia, and the Love Magnet (from The Road to Oz
The Road to Oz
The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz. is the fifth of L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz books...
). Ozma uses the Magic Belt to bring the former Amnesia, now Amy, from Butterfield, Kansas, where the Shaggy Man knew her and stole the Love Magnet from her (closing a story loop with Baum's original books). In the process, the Shaggy Man's true name is revealed: he's Shagrick Mann (but Ozma agrees to keep this knowledge secret).
Ann's reunion with her parents is a happy one. The people of Goldendale choose Jol Jemkiph and Dede Soforth as their rulers. Ann remains in power in Oogaboo.
Old-time religion
The story of the siege of Jericho is told in the Old TestamentOld Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, primarily in the Book of Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
, Chapter 6. Baum, however, was not a traditional Christian; to the contrary, he was skeptical of organized religion, and influenced by spiritualism
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
and Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
. Biblical allusions and references are generally not found in Baum's work. In bringing the story of Jericho into Queen Ann in Oz, Carlson and Gjovaag take the Oz mythos in an atypical direction.