Glinda, the Good Witch's Notes

"The witch was in reality the profoundest thinker..."

The magic behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz belonged not to the land of Oz, but to L. Frank Baum’s mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn Gage—a radical suffragist, abolitionist, and intellectual.

Gage’s (1826-1889) fingerprints are all over Oz: She encouraged Baum (1856-1919) to write for children and suggested the now-famous cyclone that transports Dorothy. Mo…