With the upcoming release of Wicked: For Good, it seems high time to dive into what shaped the story of Glinda the Good and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. 

*Spoiler Warning* 

The first book published by L. Frank Baum, resembling The Wizard of Oz, was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900. As with all book-to-movie adaptations, it follows a story very similar to the 1939 movie except for a few key differences (such as Dorothy’s red slippers being silver). Instead of going back to Kansas right after the Wizard leaves for Omaha, Dorothy journeys to the Good Witch of the North (Glinda the Good), where Glinda tells her that she just needed to click her heels three times while saying “There’s no place like home”. 

The Wizard of Oz follows the story of farm girl, Dorothy and her trusty dog, Toto. They get swept up in a tornado. They flee into the house, which gets picked up and transported to the magical, colorful land of Oz. Upon landing, Dorothy meets The Good Witch of the North (Glinda) and learns that her house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East. Glinda encourages her to take the ruby slippers of the Wicked Witch of the East, saying it will protect her on the way into the Emerald City to see the Wizard and get back to Kansas. Dorothy sets off to the Emerald City, and on the way meets a Tin Man, Scarecrow, and a Cowardly Lion. 

Upon reaching the Emerald City, The Wizard tells Dorothy that she must complete a quest before he will send her home. She must bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy, Toto, and her friends journey to the West, where Dorothy gets captured by the Wicked Witch of the West. The Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion scheme about getting Dorothy out, but in the midst of the escape, the Wicked Witch of the West sets fire to the Scarecrow, causing Dorothy to throw a bucket of water at the Scarecrow to save him. The water also gets to the Wicked Witch of the West, which causes her to melt. 

After gathering the Wicked Witch of the West’s broom, Dorothy and company go back to the Emerald City. However, upon giving the broom over to the Wizard, they discover that the Wizard isn’t a “Wizard” at all, but just a man from Omaha. In order to fulfill her heart’s desire, the wizard decides to go back to Omaha and take Dorothy with him; however, Toto jumps out of the hot air balloon. Dorothy steps out of the Hot Air Balloon, and the Wizard floats away to Omaha, leaving Dorothy and Toto. Shortly after he leaves, Glinda the Good appears, telling Dorothy that she need only to click her heels and say “There’s no place like home” three times. 

The story ends with Dorothy waking up in her own bed, for it was all a dream. 

That’s only 1 tip of the Ozian Iceberg, after the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) was published, L. Frank Baum released 13 more books in the series. 

• The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)

• Ozma of Oz (1907)

• Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908)

• The Road to Oz (1909)

• The Emerald City of Oz (1910)

• The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)

• Tik-Tok of Oz (1914)

• The Scarecrow of Oz (1915)

• Rinkitink of Oz (1916)

• The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)

• The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)

• The Magic of Oz (1919)

• Glinda of Oz (1920)

After Glinda of Oz was published posthumously, 26 books were added to the series, written by various authors; Ruth Thompson, John R. Neill, Jack Snow, Rachel R.C. Payes, Jarvis McGraw, and Lauren Lynn McGraw. The original 14 books written by L. Frank Baum & the following 26 are known as the “Famous Forty”. Various other authors have continued writing books set in Oz, however, it’s unclear if they are officially part of the Wizard of Oz series. 

Skipping ahead a number of years, in 1995, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire was published. It tells of how Elphaba came to be known as the Wicked Witch of the West. It was later adapted into the popular Broadway musical “Wicked” which premiered on Oct 30th, 2003, starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth as Elphaba and Galinda. In 2024, the first part of a movie adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name was released, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as Galinda and Elphaba. 125 years later, the legacy of the Wizard of Oz, Glinda the Good and The Wicked Witch of the West continue to defy gravity.