Lyman Frank Baum Book summary

L. Frank Baum was born on May 15, 1856, in New York to wealthy parents. He grew up on a vast estate and was home tutored until the age of 12. He was then sent to a military boarding school, he hated it there and so returned two years after studying at the school. He had eight siblings but four of them died in childhood, Frank himself had a weak heart since childhood.

He spent a lot of time pursuing varied interests, including newspaper publishing, poultry farming, manufacturing axel grease, theatre, and many other professions that he briefly pursued. He married the daughter of a celebrated feminist and had four sons. He also made the acquaintance of W.W. Denslow in 1898 and they first collaborated by creating Father Goose. The title was an immediate success and it was then followed by The wonderful wizard of Oz. The book was a huge success and spawned several musical adaptations even during the early days. The art in the book was just as famous as the text itself, but Frank Baum and W.W. Denslow parted ways in 1901.

Frank and his family lived lavishly with the money from his books, but Frank's extravagant expenditure on the theatrical productions of this book led him to finally declare bankruptcy in 1911. He was then forced to write one Oz book annually to keep financially afloat, and he continued to do so until he passed away in 1919. Frank Baum has been criticised for his writing, while some have raised valid arguments about the nature of the book, the straightforward nature of the story has always appealed to children and continues to do so.