Land of Ev

Last updated
Ev
The Oz series location
Oz-and-surrounding-countrie.jpg
Location of Ev (top right)
Flag of Ev.jpg
Flag of Ev
First appearance Ozma of Oz
Created by L. Frank Baum
Genre Children's fantasy
In-universe information
Other name(s)Land of Ev
TypeFairy country
RulerKing Evardo
Ethnic group(s)Evians, Wheelers, Big Wigs, Blacks
LocationNonestica
LocationsEvna (capital), Smith and Tinker factory, Red Jinn's palace
CharactersKing Evoldo and his children, Princess Langwidere, Tik-Tok, Jinnicky the Red Jinn

The Land of Ev is a fictional country in the Oz books of L. Frank Baum and his successors. [1] The country was first visited in Baum's third Oz novel, 1907's Ozma of Oz , and was the first of Baum's countries that surround the Land of Oz. [2] This book introduced the Nome King, a recurring villain who lives underground beneath the Land of Ev. [3]

Contents

Development

In Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum, Michael O. Riley suggests that the creation of Ev was a compromise between the audience's interest in Oz, and Baum's reluctance to create a long-running series: "Baum was forced by external pressures to develop Oz (unlike Tolkien, whose Other-world grew naturally of its own accord in his mind), which made for a dilemma because Baum's imagination was more geared toward creating new imaginary countries than elaborating previously invented ones. In his book for 1907, Ozma of Oz, Baum attempted to satisfy both his readers and himself by combining his Oz characters with a story takes place outside Oz in a new fantasy country. By this device, he was able to construct a story and a background for it without having to take the "givens" of Oz into consideration; he was also largely able to avoid dealing with the confused state in which he had left that country in The Marvelous Land ." [2]

Classic books

King Evoldo of Ev sold his unnamed Queen and their ten children, Princess Evanna, Prince Evardo, Princess Evedna, Princess Evella, Prince Evington, Princess Evirene, Prince Evring, Prince Evrob, Prince Evroland, and Princess Evrose, to Roquat, the Nome King, whose dominions are underneath Ev, in exchange for a long life. Evoldo regretted it and destroyed the life that King Roquat had provided him. Believing that Roquat had simply stolen the royal family, the Ozites entered the kingdom on a diplomatic mission to free them. When Roquat informs them of the fair deal, they play by his rules, and thanks to Billina, win back the family of Ev and the Nome King's Magic Belt.

During the time that the family was enslaved, Princess Langwidere, Evoldo's niece, took the throne as regent, but was too vain to do many administrative tasks, and spent most of her time admiring her 30 interchangeable heads. She had three wings of the palace demolished in order to direct visitors to the left wing, which is to one's right, but is the only wing left. She is relieved to give up the throne to her cousin, King Evardo, the eldest of Evoldo's children.

Also, in Evna is the factory of Smith and Tinker, who created Tik-Tok and the Giant with the Hammer, the latter to the specifications of King Roquat, the former a unique and prototypical gift to King Evoldo. Tik-Tok reports that Smith drowned in his own painting while Tinker built a ladder to the moon, so they are no longer in Evna. Later stories, such as Mr. Tinker in Oz and "Button-Bright and the Knit-Wits of Oz" from Oziana 1987, reveal them alive and well.

In most subsequent books, visits to Ev are primarily under Ev, and few of its inhabitants or towns are ever seen. Known unusual creatures consist only of the Wheelers who claim the Royal Family's Lunch Box Trees and Dinner Pail Trees and defend them through scaring travelers, though they are scrawny and have wheels made of keratin rather than hands or feet.

The Royal Family of Ev again appears in The Road to Oz, having changed but little from its initial disenchanted appearance. The family, without cousin Langwidere, are honored guests at Ozma's birthday party.

In later books

Ruth Plumly Thompson made a major addition to Ev in the form of Jinnicky the Red Jinn, Wizard of Ev, who has a red glass palace nearer to the edge of the Land of Ix, which compasswise is either northeast or northwest. Sometimes Thompson implies that Jinnicky is the ruler of Ev, though she included a mention of Evardo briefly in The Wishing Horse of Oz that regarded him as a boy king, though if he is still a boy king at this point, Evoldo would have had no motivation for trading his family.

Thompson's The Hungry Tiger of Oz introduces Rash, a small principality within Ev ruled by Prince Evered, as well as Down Town and Immense City. The Wishing Horse of Oz introduces Bitty Bit, the Seer of Some Summit.

Jack Snow's The Shaggy Man of Oz includes a visit to the Valley of Romance in Ev, ruled by King Ticket and Queen Curtain, and the underground Kingdom of the Fairy Beavers.

In Out of Oz , the fourth and final volume of "The Wicked Years", Gregory Maguire's revisionist Oz series, Tip mentions that Mombey took him across the sands to "one of the duchy principalities, I think it was Ev" to visit "some second-rate duchess" who knew how to change the appearance of her head and body.

Emerald City

The Land of Ev plays a major role in Emerald City . Tip and Jack escape there in the second episode and find a steampunk-style city. They have a trade relationship with the Land of Oz, and magic is banned there as it is in Oz. It is ruled by the King of Ev, who in a reversal of the books, lost his entire family to drowning. He has dementia and things someone can restore his dog, Randall, to life, although no magic user is depicted in the show as able to bring back the dead. He is accompanied by his daughter, Princess Langwidere, who is always masked. Dr. Jane Andrews, an American scientist, builds things for them, but is sacked when she refuses to replicate the police gun with which Dorothy Gale came to Oz. Jack kisses Tip when the magical potion wears off and tuyrns him into a girl, and she is so shocked that she pushes him hard enough to knock him off a balcony. Jane rebulds him out of tin, but most all he has left ishis head and right arm. After the death of the King of Ev, Langwidere is crowned queen. She takes the Wizard's gold but refuses to deliver the guns, which others in Ev have built, which results in many of he guards being slain and a confrontation with the Wizard in her bedchamber.

Location

The Land of Ev's exact location is unclear between text and maps. The Road to Oz states that Ev is to the north of the Land of Oz, and in Ozma of Oz , Princess Ozma of Oz and her procession enter the Munchkin Country and meet the King of the Munchkins upon leaving the palace at Evna, the capital city. In The Emerald City of Oz , Ev is stated to be directly to the east of Oz, but the book also says that Winkie Country is the nearest part of Oz to Ev, which would then imply it’s in the west. The map on the endpapers of Tik-Tok of Oz shows the Munchkin Country as having no northern border with the desert that surrounds Oz, as a thin strip of the Gillikin Country extends even farther east than most of the Munchkin Country. This map depicts Ev as a small country to the northwest (the compass rose is reversed) of Oz, with the Dominions of the Nome King as a separate area. James E. Haff and Dick Martin's map, following the text, place the Nome Kingdom under an Ev that takes up the entire portion allotted to the Nome King's dominions on Baum's map.

Reception

A 2009 article in The Journal of Aesthetic Education, "Philosophical Adventures in the Lands of Oz and Ev", points out the philosophical questions raised by natural features in the Land of Ev, which call into question the differences between nature and man-made products: specifically, the lunchbox trees, the Wheelers and Tik-Tok. [4]

Points of interest

Known inhabitants

Related Research Articles

<i>The Emerald City of Oz</i> 1910 novel by L. Frank Baum

The Emerald City of Oz is the sixth book in L. Frank Baum's Oz series. Originally published on July 20, 1910, it is the story of Dorothy Gale and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em coming to live in Oz permanently. While they are toured through the Quadling Country, the Nome King is assembling allies for an invasion of Oz. This is the first time in the Oz series that Baum made use of double plots for one of the books.

<i>The Road to Oz</i> 1909 novel by L. Frank Baum

The Road to Oz is the fifth book in L. Frank Baum's Oz series. It was originally published on July 10, 1909 and documents the adventures of Dorothy Gale's fourth visit to the Land of Oz. It was followed by The Emerald City of Oz (1910).

<i>Ozma of Oz</i> 1907 novel by L. Frank Baum

Ozma of Oz, published on July 30, 1907, was the third book of L. Frank Baum's Oz series. It was the first in which Baum was clearly intending a series of Oz books. It was followed by Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908).

<i>Tik-Tok of Oz</i> 1914 book by L. Frank Baum

Tik-Tok of Oz is the eighth book in the Oz series written by L. Frank Baum, published on June 19, 1914. The book has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man to rescue his brother, and his resulting conflict with the Nome King. The book was based on Baum's play The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, which was produced in Los Angeles in spring 1913. It was followed by The Scarecrow of Oz (1915).

<i>The Magic of Oz</i> Book by L. Frank Baum

The Magic of Oz is the thirteenth book in the Oz series written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 7, 1919, one month after the author's death, The Magic of Oz relates the unsuccessful attempt of the Munchkin boy Kiki Aru and former Nome King Ruggedo to conquer Oz. It was followed by Glinda of Oz (1920).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land of Oz</span> Fantasy land created by L. Frank Baum

The Land of Oz is a magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deadly Desert</span> Fictional desert

The Deadly Desert is the magical desert in Nonestica that completely surrounds the fictional Land of Oz, which cuts it off from the rest of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tik-Tok (Oz)</span> Fictional character from L. Frank Baums Oz series

Tik-Tok is a fictional "mechanical man" from the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. He has been termed "the prototype robot", and is widely considered to be one of the first robots to appear in modern literature, though the term "Robot" was not used until the 1920s, in the play R.U.R.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nome King</span> Fictional character and antagonist in American author L. Frank Baums Oz series.

The Nome King is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is introduced in Baum's third Oz book Ozma of Oz (1907). He also appears in many of the continuing sequel Oz novels also written by Baum. Although the character of the Wicked Witch of the West is the most notable and famous Oz villain, it is actually the Nome King who is the most frequent antagonist in the book series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mombi</span> Fictional character

Mombi is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's classic children's series of Oz Books. She is the most significant antagonist in the second Oz book The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904), and is alluded to in other works. Mombi plays a very important role in the fictional history of Oz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billina</span> Fictional character

Billina is a fictional character in the classic children's series of Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. She is introduced in Ozma of Oz (1907).

<i>The Hungry Tiger of Oz</i> 1926 book by Ruth Plumly Thompson

The Hungry Tiger of Oz (1926) is the twentieth book in the Oz series created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the sixth written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was illustrated by John R. Neill. The novel was followed by The Gnome King of Oz (1927).

The Shaggy Man is a character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He first appeared in the book The Road to Oz in 1909.

<i>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz</i> (TV series) 1986 TV series

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, known in Japan as Ozu no Mahōtsukai (オズの魔法使い), is a Japanese anime television series adaptation based on four of the original early 20th century Oz books by L. Frank Baum. In Japan, the series aired on TV Tokyo from 1986 to 1987. It consists of 52 episodes, which explain other parts of the Oz stories, including the events that happened after Dorothy returned home.

<i>Trouble Under Oz</i> Book by Sherwood Smith

Trouble Under Oz is a 2006 novel by Sherwood Smith, illustrated by William Stout and published by HarperCollins. It is a sequel to Smith's 2005 novel The Emerald Wand of Oz which is a further continuation of the Oz series originally started by L. Frank Baum in 1900.

<i>Paradox in Oz</i> 1999 novel written by Edward Einhorn

Paradox in Oz is a 1999 novel written by Edward Einhorn. The book is an entry in the series of books about the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum and a host of successors.

Dorothy Meets Ozma of Oz is a 1987 direct-to-video animated short film introduced by Michael Gross of Family Ties. It is based on the 1907 novel Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

<i>Dorothy and the Witches of Oz</i> 2012 American film

Dorothy and the Witches of Oz is a 2012 film directed by Leigh Scott, based on the early 20th century novels The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Ozma of Oz, The Road to Oz and The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The film stars Paulie Redding, Billy Boyd, Eliza Swenson, Mia Sara, Lance Henriksen, and Christopher Lloyd. A longer version of the film was originally released as a TV miniseries in 2011 called The Witches of Oz, distributed by MarVista Entertainment. The miniseries was over an hour longer and had earlier versions of the special effects. The miniseries was originally released in 2011 in Europe, though its United Kingdom premiere was not until July 5, 2012 on the Sci-Fi Channel.

<i>The Tik-Tok Man of Oz</i> Musical play by L. Frank Baum

The Tik-Tok Man of Oz is a musical play with book and lyrics by L. Frank Baum and music by Louis F. Gottschalk that opened at the Majestic Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 31, 1913. It is loosely inspired by Baum's book Ozma of Oz (1907), incorporates much of the material from Baum's book The Road to Oz (1909), and was the basis for his 1914 novel, Tik-Tok of Oz. It was promoted as "A Companion Play to The Wizard of Oz" and directed by Frank M. Stammers. The play is known from its advertising and published music, but survives only in earlier manuscript.

References

  1. Manguel, Alberto; Guadalupi, Gianni (1987). The Dictionary of Imaginary Places. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. p. 120. ISBN   0-15-626054-9.
  2. 1 2 Riley, Michael O. (1997). Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum. University Press of Kansas. pp. 134–138. ISBN   978-0700609338.
  3. Eyles, Allen (1986). The World of Oz: A Fantastic Expedition Over the Rainbow. Macmillan. p. 11. ISBN   978-0907724230 . Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  4. Matthews, Gareth B. (Summer 2009). "Philosophical Adventures in the Lands of Oz and Ev". The Journal of Aesthetic Education. 43 (2): 37–50. doi:10.2307/40263783. JSTOR   40263783 . Retrieved 26 December 2020.