Finding Dorothy

READ THIS BOOK!  I just put down Finding Dorothy, and for a child of the 1960s this is a journey into a childhood icon, " an object of uncritical devotion", says the dictionary definition.
What an enjoyable novel, based on the true story of the life of L.Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz  and his wife Maud and their personal story.  Incredible, touching and so well written.  Also so much history about the making of the movie, the characters, Judy Garland and MGM and the executives, director, and people behind the scenes. So much fun to read and so emotionally rich.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."  "Follow the yellow brick road.", "I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too." and "Some where over the rainbow..."  so many memorable quotes that have become apart of everyday speech. 

Elizabeth Letts has done a remarkable job recreating the lives of Maud Gage and L. Frank Baum along with their parents, siblings and children.  It was amazing how realistic the book is and how incredible the lives of these people really were. 

Maud Gage was the daughter of Matilda Joslyn Gage one of the suffragettes who along with Suzan B Anthony worked for years to help women today have the right to vote.  Maud was one of the first women to attend Cornell and face the inequalities of higher learning for women at that time.  though her mother wanted so strongly for her to complete her degree, she left to marry Baum and follow him as he traveled across the country with his acting troupe. 

When Maud became pregnant with their first child, Frank tried to settle down and take on regular acceptable employment for the time period.  Though he worked for many years to support their growing family, he was never really happy with conventional jobs. 

Reading the story of their lives and their family trials and tribulations shows how The Wizard of Oz was created in the mind of Baum.  It is not just the imagination of an author's mind, it is based on so many of the real life situations the Baum family found themselves working through.  It is the optimism that Frank Baum was able to maintain through all the troubles and hardships his family endured.  He has left us with a sense of hope and the story has lasted because of the ability to believe the idea that the book carries with it, an incredible message of living a life that is hard, but always looking for the light at the end of the rainbow.