AMERICAN STORYTELLER


L. (Lyman) Frank Baum was born in Chittenango, New York in 1856. His family was privileged, his father having found fortune in the oil business. And though Baum's home life was happy and stable, he suffered health problems from a young age that left him isolated from the games, activities and friendships of other children his age. However, this solitude may have nurtured his creativity and laid storytelling foundations that would later evolve into his own wondrous tales.
As a boy, Frank Baum read "voraciously," mostly fairytales and stories by British authors such as Dickens (McGovern 3). These interests would ultimately foster his own talents that would lead to his creation of a modern American fairytale of the fantasy land of Oz.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a best seller among children's literature at the turn of the century and received several printings. Baum experienced additional success with the first stage adaptation in 1902.

He responded to readers' demands for more stories about the magical land of Oz and in his lifetime, twelve more Oz books were published, with two more printed after his death in 1919. Baum wrote and published other books in addition to his Oz stories, and continued to enjoy success in the theatre with the characters and tales of Oz that he had created. As well, he established the Oz Film Manufacturing Company and produced three children's films about Oz.

After his death, rights were granted to children's writer Ruth Plumly Thompson, to continue the Oz chronicle. In all, more than forty Oz books have appeared. The most enduring, though, is that first story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which laid the groundwork for successful stage and screen adaptations.