A Man With An Agenda

I'd finally broken through the long dark night of poor Oz books with 'Rinkitink in Oz', the books still fail to work as delights in their own right, but at least Baum feels a little free to actually experiment with his writing again.

'The Lost Princess of Oz' has a good plot to begin with - Ozma is missing, perhaps taken, and with her all of the magical accoutrements in the land! Glinda's record book and instruments as well as the Wizards black bag and Ozma's magic picture have all been stolen in the night. Readers of the whole series will notice one big item missing in that list that is conveniently unknown to the thief. Meanwhile, in a hitherto unmentioned town in the middle of Winkie country Cayke the Cookie Cook is missing her jeweled dishpan and enlists a haughty talking Frog to help her find it.

All of the residents of the royal palace turn out to help search for Ozma, the party containing the most interesting characters bizarrely are the ones who head on the right track to intercept Cayke and find the thief. Of course such a plot cannot be allowed to be solved without some overpowered magical artifact that prevents any cleverness from being displayed.

Despite the usual forced ending, I like 'Lost Princess' better than many of the Oz sequels because without stupid magic the story is allowed to unfold in a natural way and the focus of seeking Ozma puts digressions at a minimum. The size of the party prevents character development. Our travelers come across many other unexplored areas and meet new friends, including a kingdom of teddy bears, but there is more charm than irritation.

Oz

Next: 'The Tin Woodman of Oz'

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