Saturday, August 29, 2009

The Inspiration for the Emerald City

L. Frank Baum was 43 years old when he completed his most famous story in 1899. He promptly signed and dated the manuscript, under the words "With This Pencil I wrote the MS of The Emerald City." (It was retitled "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" just before publication in 1900.) The blend of magic and fakery in the White City of the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 likely inspired Baum.

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