How did he come to write The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?
Like most of his early writings, it started off as a story he was telling his sons and their friends in 1898. At that time in Frank’s Chicago neighborhood, a number of children would come to the Baum’s house to listen to his stories in the evening. He came to Dorothy meeting the Scarecrow when one of his listeners asked, “Mr. Baum, where did they live?” He thought about it for a moment, and replied, “The Land of Oz,” and continued the story. (For details on how he may have come up with the name so quickly, see question 1.2.) Later that night, his wife, who had also been listening as she worked on her sewing, urged Frank to write the story down, and he quickly produced a manuscript. His friend W. W. Denslow agreed to illustrate it, and they tried to find a publisher. But at that time American publishing firms were only interested in children’s stories from European, and especially British, writers. Nobody was interested in an American fairy tale. Finally, Baum and Denslow struck a deal
Like most of his early writings, it started off as a story he was telling his sons and their friends in 1898. At that time in Frank’s Chicago neighborhood, a number of children would come to the Baum’s house to listen to his stories in the evening. He came to Dorothy meeting the Scarecrow when one of his listeners asked, “Mr. Baum, where did they live?” He thought about it for a moment, and replied, “The Land of Oz,” and continued the story. (For details on how he may have come up with the name so quickly, see question 1.2.) Later that night, his wife, who had also been listening as she worked on her sewing, urged Frank to write the story down, and he quickly produced a manuscript. His friend W. W. Denslow agreed to illustrate it, and they tried to find a publisher. But at that time American publishing firms were only interested in children’s stories from European, and especially British, writers. Nobody was interested in an American fairy tale. Finally, Baum and Denslow struck a deal
