This magical, unique novel features parallel narratives. In one story, Maud Baum, widow of Frank L. Baum, gets involved with the making of the movie adaptation, The Wizard of Oz, of Frank's book in the 1930's. In the other, Maud is a child, growing up in the 1870's in upstate New York with her suffragette mother and kind father. The two stories alternate, so the reader goes along as Maud meets and marries Frank and they raise their children and also sees the details of their lives that made it into Frank's famous children's book...and eventually onto a Hollywood soundstage.
The novel is beautifully written, the characters are three-dimensional, the historical fiction is fascinating, and the behind-the-scenes details of a beloved Hollywood classic (one of my personal favorites) are such fun! I really loved this novel!
You can read my full review at Shelf Awareness.
368 pages, Ballantine Books
Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in
return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced
by my relationship with the publisher or author.
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Listen to a sample of the audio book - it sounds wonderful!
You can purchase Finding Dorothy from an independent
bookstore, either locally or online, here:
How fun to see the connections between Oz and the author and his family. This sounds like fun.
ReplyDeleteLots of fun - and wonderful historical fiction, too!
DeleteOoh, this sounds fascinating! I generally enjoy dual narrative historical fiction, books about women in history and books about authors, so this ticks lots of boxes for me :)
ReplyDeleteAw, right! Then this one sounds right up your alley! I really enjoyed it.
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