The Magical Monarch of Mo

L. Frank Baum

Dec 2008 · Matrix · Narrated by James Jordan

About this audiobook

The Magical Monarch of Mo (1898) was the first full-length children's fantasy book by L. Frank Baum. Originally published in 1899 as 'A New Wonderland', the book was reissued in 1903 with a new title in order to capitalize upon the alliterative title of Baum's successful 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'. An amazing collection of juvenile short stories, involving wizards and a sadistic dragon. It takes us to the enchanted land of Mo where people do not die and animals can speak. Baum has portrayed the fantastic world with such brilliance and vibrant imagery that we can picture it in the mind’s eye. Guaranteed to charm young readers and all who are young at heart.

About the author

Best known as the author of the Wizard of Oz series, Lyman Frank Baum was born on May 15, 1856, in New York. When Baum was a young man, his father, who had made a fortune in oil, gave him several theaters in New York and Pennsylvania to manage. Eventually, Baum had his first taste of success as a writer when he staged The Maid of Arran, a melodrama he had written and scored. Married in 1882 to Maud Gage, whose mother was an influential suffragette, the two had four sons. Baum often entertained his children with nursery rhymes and in 1897 published a compilation titled Mother Goose in Prose, which was illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. The project was followed by three other picture books of rhymes, illustrated by William Wallace Denslow. The success of the nursery rhymes persuaded Baum to craft a novel out of one of the stories, which he titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Some critics have suggested that Baum modeled the character of the Wizard on himself. Other books for children followed the original Oz book, and Baum continued to produce the popular Oz books until his death in 1919. The series was so popular that after Baum's death and by special arrangement, Oz books continued to be written for the series by other authors. Glinda of Oz, the last Oz book that Baum wrote, was published in 1920.