An Ozpicious Celebration-Baum's Wizard Marks 100 Wonderful Years - Page 2
© Kevin Reed
Later that year, facing financial difficulties, Baum shyly approached his publisher to ask for an advance of $100 towards his next book. His publisher countered with a more appealing offer - they would pay Baum a royality for all of his books sold to date, presenting the author with a check in the amount of $3,400.
Baum's career and future success now assured, he branched off into other avenues writing serial novels for adults and teenagers, scripts, short stories, and lyrics for musicals. None of these ventures, however, ever approached the appeal and charm of Oz.
By this time Baum had been inundated by letters from thousands of children eager for the next installment. Not one to dissapoint, he agreed and in 1904 The Marvelous Land of Oz was published.
This story and others that followed introduced new characters and settings. In 1907 Dorothy herself even made a return trip in Ozma of Oz which featured a sidekick named Tik-Tok, a mechanical man who is credited as being the first ever robot-like being in a book that could talk and think.
As the self-proclaimed Royal Historian of Oz, L. Frank Baum would go on to pen fourteen books in the series, which would later be carried on by a host of other authors with the blessing of the Baum estate.
Though the writer and his wonderious world that he created became inseparable, Baum regarded his lot with a gracious manner:
"When I was young I longed to write a great novel that should win me fame," he noted. "But to please a child is a sweet and lovely thing that warms one's heart and brings it's own reward."
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