The Lost King of Oz
Cover of The Lost King of Oz
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| Author | Ruth Plumly Thompson |
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| Illustrator | John R. Neill |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Oz books |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Reilly & Lee |
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Publication date
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1924 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Preceded by | Grampa in Oz |
| Followed by | The Hungry Tiger of Oz |
The Lost King of Oz (1925) is the nineteenth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the fifth written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was Illustrated by John R. Neill.
As she sometimes does in her books, Thompson exploits a detail in Baum's work to generate her story. Baum mentions Pastoria, Ozma's father and former ruler of Oz, only briefly in the twentieth chapter of The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904); Thompson spins Baum's hint into a full tale of Pastoria's exile and rescue.
Thompson dedicated The Lost King of Oz to her invalid mother. She suggested to her publishers that the dedication be made in the form of a crossword puzzle — but Reilly & Lee rejected the idea.
Old Mombi, formerly the Wicked Witch of the North, is now a cook in the land of Kimbaloo. One day she comes across Pajuka, the former prime minister of Oz, transformed by Mombi into a goose years before. She sets out to find Pastoria, the king of Oz, whom she also enchanted in the past. However, she has forgotten what shape she transformed Pastoria into. She kidnaps a local boy called Snip as her unwilling assistant and bearer of burdens. Eventually deciding, however, that he knows too much, Mombi throws Snip down a well; he ends up in Blankenburg, populated by the invisible Blanks. Snip meets and soon rescues Tora, an amnesiac old tailor. Tora has been held prisoner for many years by the Blanks, to do their tailoring; he has compensated by sending his detachable ears flying about the countryside to hear the news.
Meanwhile, Dorothy is accidentally transported to Hollywood, where she meets Humpy, a live stunt dummy, whom she brings back to Oz. They escape the Back Talkers in Eht Kcab Sdoow (by running backwards), and meet the Scooters who help scoot them on their way. Kabumpo the Elegant Elephant shows up to provide transport (of the mandane sort). Dorothy's party encounters Snip and Tora, and Mombi and Pajuka too. They come to the conclusion that Humpy the dummy is the enchanted Pastoria.
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Wikipedia