Ruth Plumly Thompson
From Free net encyclopedia
Ruth Plumly Thompson (1891-1976) was an American writer of children's stories. She is best known for continuing the children's fantasy Land of Oz series after L. Frank Baum died in 1919.
An avid reader of Baum's books and a lifelong children's writer, Thompson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began her writing career in 1914 when she sold stories to newspapers and magazines. Between 1921 and 1939, she wrote one Oz book a year. They were all illustrated by John R. Neill, who had also illustrated Baum's Oz books, except for the first one, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Thompson's contributions to the Oz series are lively and imaginative, featuring a wide range of colorful and unusual characters. However, one particular theme repeats over and over throughout her novels, with little variation. Typically in each of Thompson's Oz novels, a child (usually from America) and a supernatural companion (usually a talking animal), while traveling through Oz or one of the neighboring regions, find themselves in an obscure community where the inhabits engage in a single activity. The inhabitants of this community then capture the travelers, and force them to participate in this same activity.
Oz books by Thompson
- 1921 — The Royal Book of Oz
- 1922 — Kabumpo in Oz
- 1923 — The Cowardly Lion of Oz
- 1924 — Grampa in Oz
- 1925 — The Lost King of Oz
- 1926 — The Hungry Tiger of Oz
- 1927 — The Gnome King of Oz
- 1928 — The Giant Horse of Oz
- 1929 — Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz
- 1930 — The Yellow Knight of Oz
- 1931 — Pirates in Oz
- 1932 — The Purple Prince of Oz
- 1933 — Ojo in Oz
- 1934 — Speedy in Oz
- 1935 — The Wishing Horse of Oz
- 1936 — Captain Salt in Oz
- 1937 — Handy Mandy in Oz
- 1938 — The Silver Princess in Oz
- 1939 — Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz
Non-Oz books by Plumly
- The Curious Cruise of Captain Santa
- The Wizard of Way-Up and Other Wonders
- Sissajig and Other Surprises
Thompson resigned from writing Oz books in 1939 and John R. Neill took over, writing three until his death in 1942. Thompson later wrote two more Oz books, which are typically considered non-canon: Yankee in Oz (1972) and The Enchanted Island of Oz (1976).
Most of these books are still copyright and cannot be reproduced online. Some, however, are available at Project Gutenburg: [1]
| The world of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Oz portalWicked (The books | The musical)
|