L. Frank Baum & Ruth Plumly Thompson 3 hr 12 min read

Stung by a slur on his family tree, the Scarecrow of Oz sets off to trace his roots, and tumbles down his own beanpole into a hidden underground kingdom and a royal adventure.

Ruth Plumly Thompson's 1921 novel, developed from Baum's notes, is the first Oz book after his death. Warm, whimsical, gloriously inventive. Read it for the passing of the torch to the second Royal Historian, a delightful quest to discover the Scarecrow's ancestry, in a worthy continuation of the beloved series.

In its time

Published in 1921, during the 1920s, the pulp era proper.

Reading it

3 hr 12 min read (a novel-length work, settle in).

Illustrated by

John R. Neill