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Classic Authors: L. Frank Baum

© Susan Jensen

In the year before his marriage, Frank wrote a melodrama entitled "The Maid of Arran." The production became a local hit. After the wedding, Frank and Maud toured with the company. When Maud became pregnant, Frank resigned, and the couple settled in Syracuse, where Frank labored as a salesman. Although Benjamin Baum had passed his businesses and money on to his son, Frank soon found that a clerk had gambled away all of the business's capital. He continued to write, attempting to pull himself out of bankruptcy. Several years later, the Baums moved to the Dakota Territory, where yet another business dissolved in bankruptcy.

In May of 1891, Frank moved his family to Chicago, drawn by the excitement of the World's Fair, which would soon take place in the Windy City. He rented a house on the West Side, and became a buyer and a salesman. Although he traveled a great deal, he continued to write.

Frank loved children, and delighted in telling them stories. He would read Mother Goose rhymes to his children, who simply could not understand why a mouse would run up a clock or why a cow would jump over the moon. Frank made up his own explanations, which Maud urged him to publish. Her insistence led to Mother Goose In Prose (1897). He continued to write and publish both fiction and non-fiction.

Although he published many books, Frank achieved popularity and fame because of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). The book wowed audiences with its story and its vivid illustrations. It became an instant hit, and earned the honor of best-selling book in 1900. Since the book had been so successful, Frank decided to adapt it for the stage. Oz, his musical extravaganza became immensely popular, and toured for 9 years. Frank wrote 13 more Oz books, two of which were published after his death. He also tried adapting the stories for stage and film, but had marginal success. Once again, he faced bankruptcy.

After many years of hard work, Frank grew weaker and weaker. Still plagued by heart problems, Frank also began to experience gall bladder attacks. Pain and weakness became constant companions, but he continued to write, even if it was only a little each day. He stashed two manuscripts in a safe deposit box to be published if he became too ill to write.

On May 5, 1919, L. Frank Baum suffered a stroke. He died quietly the next day. He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.