''The Rundelstone of Oz'' is a novel by

Eloise Jarvis McGraw Eloise Jarvis McGraw (December 9, 1915 – November 30, 2000) was an American author of children's books and young adult novels. Career McGraw also contributed to the Oz series started by L. Frank Baum; working with her daughter, graphic artis ...

. It is a volume in the series of fictional works about the

Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a fantasy world, magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by William Wallace Denslow, W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, th ...

, by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

and his successors. ''The Rundelstone of Oz'' was originally the opening section of McGraw's ''

The Forbidden Fountain of Oz ''The Forbidden Fountain of Oz'' is a 1980 children's novel written by Eloise Jarvis McGraw and her daughter Lauren Lynn Mcgraw (or McGraw Wagner), and illustrated by Dick Martin. As its title indicates, the book is one entry in the long-runnin ...

''. Extracted from that book, the Rundelstone story remained unpublished until it was included in the sixth and final issue of ''

Oz-story Magazine ''Oz-story Magazine'' was an annual periodical devoted to the literature and art of Oz, the fantasy land created by L. Frank Baum. It was published in six volumes between 1995 and 2000. ''Oz-story'' was published by Hungry Tiger Press, and edit ...

'', the annual periodical issued by David Maxine and

Eric Shanower Eric James Shanower (born October 23, 1963) is an American cartoonist, best known for his Oz novels and comics, and for the ongoing retelling of the Trojan War as '' Age of Bronze''. Early life Eric Shanower was born on October 23, 1963. Upon hi ...

from 1995 to 2000. The novel was then published in a hardback edition the next year.Eloise Jarvis McGraw,''The Rundelstone of Oz'', San Diego,

Hungry Tiger Press Hungry Tiger Press is an American specialty publisher of books, compact discs, comic books and graphic novels, focused on the works of L. Frank Baum, other authors of Oz books, and related Americana. Hungry Tiger has also published rare, early ...

, 2001. ''

'' was originally intended to be illustrated by Lauren Lynn McGraw, the author's daughter and credited co-author. In ''Oz-story'', ''The Rundelstone of Oz'' was published with Shanower's illustrations, along with Lauren McGraw's design sketches for the characters from the earlier form of the story. (Since McGraw died in 2000, the 2001 edition was published posthumously; it featured an Introduction by Lauren Lynn.)

Synopsis

The Troopadours are travelling entertainers — not human ones, but living

marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...

s. When they reach the village of Whitherwood in the

Gillikin Country The Gillikin Country is the northern division of L. Frank Baum's fictional land of Oz. It is distinguished by the color purple worn by most of the local inhabitants as well as the color of their surroundings. The inhabitants of Gillikin Country are ...

, they are enchanted by a malicious magician called Slyddwyn. Most are transformed into inanimate objects — though Slyddwyn leaves the humblest member of the troupe, Pocotristi Sostenuto, free to serve as a menial servant in his castle. (This plot device, of magically turning "people" into inanimate ornaments, reaches back to Baum's third Oz book, ''

Ozma of Oz ''Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Billina the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People Too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein'', p ...

''.) To work his transformations, Slyddwyn uses the Rundelstone, a fist-sized rock with a "rundel" (a rhyming riddle, in this case also an enchantment) carved on it in "flarns" (

rune Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

s). Puppet protagonist Poco must figure out what has happened to his companions, then obtain the Rundelstone and learn to work its magic. With the help of a young boy named Rolly, and eventually with the aid of

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of it ...

Princess Ozma Princess Ozma is a fictional character from the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the Oz series except the first, '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and Baum ...

and other familiar denizens of Oz, Poco succeeds in restoring his friends, defeating the villain, and ensuring that Good triumphs.

References

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On ''The Rundelstone of Oz''

Synopsis

References

External links

See also