The Enchanted Island of Oz has an unusual publication history that sets it apart from the other Oz books. It was written by Ruth Plumly Thompson, who succeeded L. Frank Baum as the Royal Historian of Oz and contributed nineteen books to the “Famous Forty” series published by Reilly & Lee between 1921 and 1939. However, this novel was not published during her tenure as Royal Historian.

Thompson originally wrote the manuscript around 1948 as a standalone fantasy novel, completely unrelated to Oz. Decades later, Fred Meyer, the president of the International Wizard of Oz Club, requested that Thompson revise the story into an Oz tale. The book was finally published in 1976 by the International Wizard of Oz Club, a fan organization, rather than by the traditional Oz publisher Reilly & Lee. The first edition featured illustrations by Dick Martin, maps drawn by Martin and James Haff, and an afterword by Dorothy C. Maryott. This was Thompson’s twenty-first and final Oz novel, as well as her shortest, running only 77 pages. Because it was not published by Reilly & Lee, The Enchanted Island of Oz is not counted among the “Famous Forty” Oz books. However, the International Wizard of Oz Club considers it #42 in their “Sovereign Sixty” and “Supreme Seventy-Five” numbering systems for the extended Oz canon. The book was followed by another late Thompson Oz novel, Yankee in Oz (1972), which the club had published four years earlier.

Summary

Thompson’s book tells the story of David Perry, a boy from Pennsylvania who, on a visit to a circus, wishes that a camel could talk. He is amazed when his wish is granted. (Only later does David learn that he possesses a magic wishing button, which enables and empowers the action of the story.) David nicknames the talking camel Humpty Bumpty; together the boy and camel embark on a whirlwind tour of strange lands, including Somewhere, Dwindlebury, and the flying island of Kapurta (which is the enchanted Island of the title). They meet the range of strange characters typical of Oz literature—among them, Water Lily (a lake nymph), Queen Else of Somewhere, and a dragon named Dismocolese. Eventually the boy and camel make their way to the Emerald City in time for a birthday party for the Cowardly Lion.

The Enchanted Island of Oz shows strong resemblances with Thompson’s previous Oz book, Yankee in Oz. It also bears clear relationships to a larger context of fantasy works; Jonathan Swift’s flying Island of Laputa in Gulliver’s Travels is one of the most obvious of these links.

The original edition of the book contains maps of the fantasy territories drawn by Martin and James Haff, and an afterword by Dorothy C. Maryott.

The Enchanted Island of Oz | First Edition Identification Guide

Please refer to the gallery for detailed images of binding(s) and dust jackets.

The Enchanted Island of Oz | First Edition Binding Identification

First edition binding(s) identification.

Reference:

• Wikipedia
• Bibliographia Oziana – Haff, Greeme, Martin. 2002