The Latest Oz Short Story

Ooh, it's time for another tale from the 2024 edition of Oziana. This time it's "The Wicked Witch of the West" by Kathleen Murphey, illustrated with pictures by W. W. Denslow from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It's a pretty simple, straightforward retelling of a portion of Dorothy's initial trip to Oz, told from her own point of view. It opens with her first meeting with the Wizard, as a giant head, and conclusdes with the immediate aftermath of the liquidation of the Wicked Witch of the West. There isn't a lot of variation from the book, although Murphey adds a few Winkie slaves who befriend and assist Dorothy in the Witch's castle. We also get new names for some of the other witches ("Nana North" for the Good Witch of the North, and "Elvira East" of the Wicked Witch of the East). This story doesn't really add much, but it is another perspective on familiar events.