Last month, a new book was released in stores that has Oz fans abuzz with excitement. On all the Oz-related pages I follow on Facebook, I have been seeing excited fans talking about "Finding Dorothy" by Elizabeth Letts. The novel follows Maud Baum, the widow of L. Frank Baum as she strives to protect her husband's legacy as she observes the progress of MGM's latest project: The Wizard of Oz. She faces the problems that were common to women in 1938 Hollywood as she debates with directors and executives, watch scenes be filmed, and befriend a young Judy Garland. In between chapters about 77 year old Maud, we read about milestones in her life and the people who shaped her, including her suffragette mother, Matilda Gage, and her head-in-the-clouds husband, Frank.
Before I go into analysis, I'm just gonna nerd out a bit here. Chapter seven tells of when Maud first met her future husband at a Christmas party during winter break from college. IT IS THE MOST FUCKING ADORABLE MEET-CUTE IN THE HISTORY OF MEET-CUTES!!!!!!! What makes it even better is that it actually happened. From Frank's aunt introducing them, to Frank's killer pick-up line, to their long conversation ending in promises to meet again, it was so. Fucking. Cute!!!!! I want someone with artistic talent to turn this scene into a graphic short story (as in graphic novel but a short story), like, yesterday. By the end of that chapter, my mind was racing: "I want to ship them so bad! Can you ship a nonfictional couple? I need to know because I ship them!"
Then there's chapter 12 where it describes the beginning of their marriage and talks about Maud jumping his bones every night. It makes me want to build a time machine just so I could go back and high-five both of them. "Yeah, get some!" But all that aside, the love story of Frank and Maud is a constant subject that is prevalent throughout the book as the readers witness the the ups and downs of their marriage.
Now, back to more serious (-ish) book talk. The book opens to Maud trying to gain entrance to the MGM studio lot and then to the office of Louis B Mayer, head of the studio, for an appointment. But since she's not an executive or a celebrity, she is denied entrance every step of the way and has to fight to see the great and terrible studio head. The first chapter serves as a reflection of Dorothy's first visit to the Emerald City and the multiple times she's barred from seeing the Wizard. Even Maud's walk to the "White Lung" as she passes costumed actors and dancers is reminiscent to Dorothy's first glimpses of Emerald City's citizens as she approaches the Emerald Palace. Referring to the administration offices as "the White Lung" is no coincidence, either, as Maud later debates with scenery painters that the Emerald City isn't green, but white (made to look green through tinted glasses). This use of reflection, as well as foil, is used a lot throughout the book.
Chapters switch back and forth between 1938 and important years in Maud's life. The firs thing that impressed me about this novel is the amount of research and historical accuracy that was put into it. I don't have anywhere near the level of expertise on the life of L. Frank Baum or the MGM movie as many people I know through the Oz fandom and the International Wizard of Oz Club, but I have learned a lot from them and am familiar enough to point out the more well-known facts an a handful of lesser known. We learn a lot about Matilda Gage, a real-life activist for women's suffrage, and how she acted as a major influence not only to Maud, but to Frank, a suffrage supporter and feminist in his own right (that's right, men can be feminists, too).
Themes of equality and consent play a large role in "Finding Dorothy" as Maud becomes protective of Judy Garland who becomes easy prey to pervy executives and even finds allies in Mayer's secretary and Yip Harburg. A chapter where Maud is assaulted by her sister's drunken fiancee is reflected later on when she helps out a crying Judy after she is assaulted in a similar manner by Arthur Freed, a lyricist and producer for the film. In the first situation, she was too scared to say anything in fear of hurting her sister, but at age 77, she's a hell of a lot wiser and tells Judy how to get these creeps to fuck off (not in those words, but a hat pin is involved). Even readers who aren't die-hard fans of Oz can admire the message that this sends, especially in these times where we have concepts such as the #metoo movement.
We also see reflections of the girls that Maud tried to protect in her life. She considered the worst day of her life when she couldn't save her niece from a life of neglect and poverty, the same niece who called her Aunt M. It's a heart-wretching moment in the book that made me cry and I had to stop reading (it could've been that the CBD I took earlier that night may have exacerbated my emotional response but seeing that I'm tearing up right now at the goddamned memory, maybe not). God-fucking-dammit, why must this book make me feel things! In 1938, Maud takes this experience and not only insists that Dorothy say anything but "Take me to Aunt Em" when she taps her heels, but also becomes motivated to protect Judy from her overbearing stage mother, a demanding Victor Fleming, and a misogynist Mayer. She also takes this as a way to honor her husband whose first priority was to protect children.
In addition to these reflections to times in her life that shape her present, we also see how Judy serves as a foil to Maud. Judy is depicted as a young, naive girl who depends completely on those around her, especially her overbearing stage mom. It gets cringe-y at times when Judy explains to Maud how her mother tells her to do whatever the producers and executives say, even if it means letting them feel her up, as long as it makes her a star. Maud is just as appalled as the reader, if not more, given that her own mother once fought for the rights of women. However, there are many instances in throughout the novel where we observe Matilda grooming her Maud for a certain type of life; not as a performer, but as an independent, college educated woman and speaks of "her diploma" like its some sort of Holy Grail (though in that century, it was for women). There is also the instances where Maud uses the lessons learned from her life to protect Judy from preying men and cheat on her diet of cigarettes and diet pills. The worldly, wise woman-like Maud is a stark contrast to the innocent, day-dreamy Judy.
By the end, we see Maud get her wish; and just like the characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz it's not in the way she expected. She came to MGM to ensure that the movie remained true to its source material (every nerd's dream) and keep her late husband's legacy intact but because she had no power over screenwriters or directors, she couldn't control that, but she preserve his legacy in the sense that children and women are given equal voices to men. She encourages Judy to raise her voice so that she isn't controlled by others in Hollywood like the ones who force feed her pills and cigarettes and treat her like an underage sex doll. She holds up Frank's beliefs that children should come first and her own mother's beliefs that women should be given equal standing to men. By the end, all her hard work is paid off when she sees Frank's name on the screen at the premiere of the movie under "From the book by".
The book is layered with meanings, themes, and fact and fiction that intertwine to make a beautiful narrative that speaks to us about love, loss, independence, and magic. Whether you are as obsessed with Wizard of Oz as I am or are a fan of historical fiction, or just like a well-written story, I highly recommend this book to anyone.
Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts is available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble. Seriously, read this book. Right now!
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