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''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'' is an American novel published in 1995, written by
Gregory Maguire Gregory Maguire (born June 9, 1954) is an American novelist. He is the author of ''Wicked (Maguire novel), Wicked'', ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister'', and several dozen other novels for adults and children. Many of Maguire's adult novels are ...
with illustrations by Douglas Smith. It is the first in ''
The Wicked Years ''The Wicked Years'' is a series of novels by Gregory Maguire that present a revisionist take on L. Frank Baum's ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', its 1939 film adaptation, and related books. Unlike the original novel series, the ''Wicked Year ...
'' series, and was followed by ''
Son of a Witch ''Son of a Witch'' (2005) is a fantasy novel by American writer Gregory Maguire. The book is Maguire’s fifth revisionist story and the second set in the land of Oz conceived by L. Frank Baum. ''Son of a Witch'' continues the story after the ...
'' (published in September 2005), ''
A Lion Among Men ''A Lion Among Men'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Gregory Maguire Gregory Maguire (born June 9, 1954) is an American novelist. He is the author of ''Wicked (Maguire novel), Wicked'', ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister'', and several ...
'' (published in October 2008), and ''
Out of Oz ''Out of Oz'' is the fourth and final novel in Gregory Maguire's '' The Wicked Years'' and was released on November 1, 2011. ''Out of Oz'' brings a conclusion to the narratives spread across ''The Wicked Years'' while providing a revisionist lo ...
'' (published in November 2011). ''Wicked'' is a darker and more adult-themed revisionist exploration of the characters and
setting Setting or Settings may refer to: * A location (geography) where something is set * Set construction in theatrical scenery * Setting (narrative), the place and time in a work of narrative, especially fiction * Setting up to fail a manipulative tec ...
of the 1900 novel ''
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a 1900 children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the ma ...
'' by
L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', part of a series. In addition to the 14 ''Oz'' books, Baum penned 41 other novels ...
, its sequels, and the 1939 film adaptation. It is presented as a
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...
of the
Wicked Witch of the West The Wicked Witch of the West, a fictional character in the classic children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) by the American author L. Frank Baum, is the evil ruler of the Winkie Country, the western region in the Land of Oz. ...
, here given the name "
Elphaba Elphaba Thropp () is the protagonist of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', the novel's musical theatre adaptation, and the musical's two-part film adaptation, '' Wicked'' (2024) and '' ...
". The book follows Elphaba from her birth through her social ostracism, school years,
radicalization Radicalization (or radicalisation) is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly radical views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of rad ...
, and final days. Maguire shows the traditionally villainous character in a sympathetic light, using her journey to explore the
problem of evil The problem of evil is the philosophical question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an Omnipotence, omnipotent, Omnibenevolence, omnibenevolent, and Omniscience, omniscient God.The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ...
and the
nature versus nurture Nature versus nurture is a long-standing debate in biology and society about the relative influence on human beings of their genetics, genetic inheritance (nature) and the environmental conditions of their development (nurture). The alliterative ex ...
debate, as well as themes of terrorism, propaganda, and existential purpose. In 2003, it was adapted into the
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
-winning
Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), many of the extant or closed Broadway venues use or used the spelling ''Theatr ...
''
Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * ''Wicked'' (Maguire novel), a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', a 1997 novel series collaboration between Australian children's authors Paul Jennings and Morris ...
'', which was in turn adapted into a two-part musical film series, with the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-winning first film released in November 2024 and the second film expected in November 2025.


Background

Maguire began contemplating the nature of
evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...
while living in London in the early 1990s. He noticed that while the problem of evil had been explored from many different perspectives, those perspectives were seldom synthesized together. He wondered whether calling a person evil might be enough to cause a
self-fulfilling prophecy A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes true at least in part as a result of a person's belief or expectation that the prediction would come true. In the phenomena, people tend to act the way they have been expected to in order to mak ...
.
If everyone was always calling you a bad name, how much of that would you internalize? How much of that would you say, all right, go ahead, I'll be everything that you call me because I have no capacity to change your minds anyway so why bother. By whose standards should I live?
He was also inspired by the 1993
murder of James Bulger On 12 February 1993 in Merseyside, England, two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, abducted, tortured, and murdered a two-year-old boy, James Patrick Bulger (16 March 1990 – 12 February 1993). Thompson and Venables led Bulger ...
, in which both victim and perpetrators were young children.
Everyone was asking: how could those boys be so villainous? Were they born evil or were there circumstances that pushed them towards behaving like that? It propelled me back to the question of evil that bedevils anybody raised
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.
Up to that point strictly a children's author, Maguire had difficulty finding an effective way to write about evil, since in his mind, there were no truly evil characters in children's literature. In what he later described as "the one great revelation of my life," Maguire realized that there were in fact villains in children's books; however, they were usually written as one-dimensional
stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...
s in order to provoke a quick emotional reaction from young readers. Wondering whom to write about, he envisioned the Wicked Witch of the West, as played by Margaret Hamilton in the MGM film, delivering her classic line, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!" Maguire had a lifelong fascination with ''The'' ''Wizard of Oz'', both Baum's original novel and the film, which he watched every year during its annual broadcast. He decided to tell the Wicked Witch's life story using the same large scale and broad moral messages found in the novels of
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
.


Plot

In the
Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a fantasy world 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, the Gillikin Countr ...
, a minister's wife, Melena Thropp, gives birth to a daughter,
Elphaba Elphaba Thropp () is the protagonist of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', the novel's musical theatre adaptation, and the musical's two-part film adaptation, '' Wicked'' (2024) and '' ...
. Elphaba has green skin, sharp teeth, a savage demeanor, and a fear of water. The story details Elphaba's difficult childhood before flashing forward to show her at Shiz University with her
social climbing A ''parvenu'' is a person who is a relative newcomer to a high-ranking socioeconomic class. The word is borrowed from the French language; it is the past participle of the verb ''parvenir'' (to reach, to arrive, to manage to do something). Origin ...
roommate Galinda, who is destined to become
Glinda Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Coun ...
. While at Shiz, the two girls discover that Oz is rife with political tension. Headmistress and Ozian power broker
Madame Morrible Madame Muriel Morrible is a fictional character and the main antagonist in author Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West''. The character also appears in the Broadway musical '' Wicked,'' whic ...
suggests that Elphaba and Glinda work for her from behind the scenes to help stabilize the political situation in Oz. Preferring more direct action, Elphaba and Glinda travel to the
Emerald City The Emerald City (sometimes called the City of Emeralds) is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's ''Oz'' books, first described in '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). Fictional description Located in the center of ...
, where they meet the Wizard and plead their case. When the Wizard dismisses their concerns, Elphaba takes matters into her own hands. She goes into hiding and joins an underground terrorist group working out of the Emerald City. Five years later, Elphaba reconnects with former schoolmate Prince Fiyero, now married with three children, and the two begin an illicit affair. While Elphaba makes an attempt at assassinating Madame Morrible, Fiyero is caught in Elphaba's hideout and murdered by the Wizard's secret police force. Blaming herself for his death, Elphaba takes refuge in a
convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
. Seven years later, she visits Fiyero's family at their castle, Kiamo Ko, in hopes of gaining their forgiveness. She brings along a boy named Liir, implied to be her son by Fiyero. Fiyero's family allow her to stay as their guest, but his wife Sarima refuses to hear her apology. While there, Elphaba finds the Grimmerie, a book of spells and magic, and begins to study
sorcery Sorcery commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Goetia, ''Goetia'', magic involving the evocation of spirits ** Witchcraft, the ...
, gaining a reputation as a
witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...
. Elphaba's father asks for her help with her sister Nessarose, who has also become a witch and has taken Elphaba's hereditary position as ruler of
Munchkinland Munchkin Country is the fictional eastern region of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). It is popularly known as Munchkinland, as it was first called in the 1939 film '' The Wiza ...
. Tired of being used as a pawn in other people's agendas and having no interest in ruling, Elphaba instead renounces her claim. Nessarose promises to give Elphaba her enchanted silver shoes after she dies. When Elphaba returns to Kiamo Ko, she discovers the Wizard's troops have taken Fiyero's family prisoner. Seven years later, a storm visits Munchkinland, dropping a farmhouse on Nessarose and killing her. The farmhouse's passengers are a little girl named
Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by the 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 o ...
and her little dog, Toto. Elphaba and Glinda reunite for the first time in years shortly after Nessarose's death. Upon learning Glinda sent Dorothy off with Nessarose's shoes, for fear of their power igniting a civil war in Munchkinland, Elphaba is furious, as the shoes were rightfully hers. She fears the shoes will fall into the hands of the Wizard, who may use them to further advance his power and political agenda. Elphaba meets with the Wizard to beg for the release of Fiyero's family in exchange for the Grimmerie. The Wizard explains that he has killed them all except for Fiyero's daughter Nor, whom he keeps as a slave. He explains that he comes from a different world, the same world the book comes from, and is not bound by the laws of Oz. Elphaba then seeks out the elderly Madame Morrible to complete the assassination she failed at years earlier, only to discover that she had died, mere moments before Elphaba arrived. After bludgeoning the old woman's corpse, Elphaba learns from the Clock of the Time Dragon that the Wizard is her biological father, making her the child of two different worlds and thus destined never to fit in anywhere. She returns to Kiamo Ko and Liir informs her he has learned from soldiers stationed nearby that the Wizard has sent Dorothy and her companions on a mission to kill Elphaba. When Dorothy and her friends arrive at Kiamo Ko, she tells Elphaba that while the Wizard sent her with orders to "kill the Wicked Witch of the West," Dorothy came to apologize for killing Nessarose. Furious that Dorothy is asking for the forgiveness she herself has been denied, Elphaba waves her burning broom in the air and inadvertently sets her skirt on fire. Dorothy throws a bucket of water on her to save her, unaware that Elphaba is allergic to water. The water melts her away. Dorothy returns to the Wizard with a green bottle, which he recognizes as the potion he used to drug Melena years earlier. He hastily departs the Emerald City for his own world mere hours before a coup would have overthrown and killed him. The book ends with political chaos reigning over Oz.


Major characters

*
Elphaba Thropp Elphaba Thropp () is the protagonist of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', the novel's musical theatre adaptation, and the musical's two-part film adaptation, ''Wicked'' (2024) and '' ...
: The
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of the book, Elphaba is a green-skinned girl who later becomes known as the
Wicked Witch of the West The Wicked Witch of the West, a fictional character in the classic children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) by the American author L. Frank Baum, is the evil ruler of the Winkie Country, the western region in the Land of Oz. ...
. Later in the book, it is revealed that she is the daughter of the Wizard. The Wicked Witch of the West is not given a name in Baum's novels; Maguire derived the name Elphaba from Baum's initials, LFB. * Galinda Arduenna Upland (later
Glinda Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Coun ...
): Elphaba's roommate at Shiz University, who eventually becomes the Good Witch of the North. She hates Elphaba at first, but they later become close friends. * Nessarose Thropp: Elphaba's younger sister, who eventually becomes known as "the
Wicked Witch of the East The Wicked Witch of the East is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is a crucial character but appears only briefly in Baum's classic children's series of ''Oz'' novels, most notably '' The Wonderful Wizard of ...
." Nessarose was born without arms. She is extremely beautiful and is better-liked than Elphaba, causing Elphaba to resent her. * Fiyero Tigelaar: The prince of the Arjiki tribe, in the Vinkus. He meets Elphaba at Shiz and later has an affair with her while she is involved in the resistance movement against the Wizard of Oz. *
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a 1900 children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the ma ...
: The book's main
antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
and take power for himself. *
Madame Morrible Madame Muriel Morrible is a fictional character and the main antagonist in author Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West''. The character also appears in the Broadway musical '' Wicked,'' whic ...
: Headmistress of Shiz University's Crage Hall, which Elphaba and Galinda attend, and a behind-the-scenes power broker in Ozian politics. * Dr. Dillamond: Elphaba's mentor and favorite professor at Shiz. A Goat who is later assassinated as part of the Wizard's campaign against sentient Animals. * Melena Thropp: The mother of Elphaba, Nessarose, and their brother Shell. * Frexspar: Melena's husband, a traveling minister and the father of Elphaba, Nessarose and Shell. * Shell: Elphaba and Nessarose's younger brother.


Themes


Nature of evil

According to author Maguire, ''Wicked'' is primarily about identifying with someone who is ostracized. '' The Gazette'' called ''Wicked'' "a cautionary tale...about what happens when we as a society decide to label anyone who differs from the norm as evil." Prior to writing ''Wicked'', Maguire became interested in examining the nature of evil from the perspective of someone considered evil. He noted that while Baum had deliberately avoided using traditional fairy tale characters in writing the original novel, the Wicked Witch of the West was the sole exception, being depicted as the stereotypical "witch in her castle" figure, with wickedness her single defining character trait. The novel raises the question of whether evil is inborn or acquired. Elphaba is a social outcast despite being of noble birth, which makes her question how much power she truly has over her own life.


Propaganda and terrorism

Writing for ''
The American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs Documentary film, documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and peop ...
'', Rebecca Onion called ''Wicked'' "an extended meditation on power and politics." Maguire has noted the similarities between the words "wicked" and "
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
," calling it "no accident" that he chose this title for his book. He recalled reading a newspaper headline in 1991 comparing
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
to
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
and feeling firsthand the emotional power of propaganda. Maguire "set out to examine the language and propaganda used to marshal brute force against individuals or minorities that might have been opposed to the war." In the book, one major plank of the Wizard's agenda involves the subjugation of sentient Animals and Madame Morrible promotes this idea using a type of moralistic poem called a "quell." Elphaba instantly sees the propaganda for what it is. ''Tor'' noted that
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
, committed both by and against the state, plays a major role in the second half of the book. The Wizard keeps an SS-like
secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...
, the Gale Force, which uses violence to carry out his totalitarian agenda. Elphaba similarly uses terrorism to combat them, though she shies away from targeting children.


Life purpose

A lifelong Catholic, Maguire remembered the nuns who taught in the
Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...
s of his boyhood home of
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
. He admired their sense of purpose and dedication to their cause, saying that their integrity and inscrutability made them witches in his mind. Elphaba discovers her own purpose as a student at Shiz University, where the murder of her favorite professor, Dr. Dillamond, inspires her to join the cause of Animal rights. As the story progresses, she deepens her commitment to her cause, becoming a political exile for her beliefs.


As revisionist literature

''Wicked'' is on its face a revisionist
parallel novel A parallel novel is an in-universe (but often non- canonical) pastiche (or sometimes sequel) piece of literature written within, derived from, or taking place during the framework of another work of fiction by the same or another author with res ...
for ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' compared it to ''
Wide Sargasso Sea ''Wide Sargasso Sea'' is a 1966 historical novel by Dominican-British author Jean Rhys. The novel is set in Jamaica between the 1830-40s and serves as a postcolonial and feminist prequel to Charlotte Brontë's novel ''Jane Eyre'' (1847), descr ...
'' and ''
Wild Wood ''Wild Wood'' is the second solo studio album by Paul Weller, released in September 1993. It made it to number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, and contained four UK hits: "Wild Wood (Paul Weller song), Wild Wood", which reached number 14 on the UK ch ...
'' as part of "a fascinating sub-genre of novels that revisit well-known stories as much in the spirit of criticism as homage." While previous authors had accepted the existing moral framework of the Oz stories, ''Wicked'' showed affection for the originals while simultaneously questioning everything they stood for. Maguire presents a sympathetic view of a villainous character by detailing her life story and helping the reader understand how "an innocent if rather green and biting child" can become "a still moralistic terrorist." He also transformed the Land of Oz itself, changing what he saw as an insular, parochial world into one where different groups and their political agendas intersect and overlap.


Reception

''Wicked'' received mostly positive reviews. ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' called it a "fantastical meditation on good and evil, God and free will" which combined "puckish humor and bracing pessimism." ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
'' called it "A captivating, funny, and perceptive look at destiny, personal responsibility, and the not-always-clashing beliefs of faith and magic." ''
Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...
'' recommended the book to "good readers who like satire, and love exceedingly imaginative and clever fantasy." The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' favorably compared ''Wicked'' with other "fantasy novels of ideas" such as ''Gormenghast'' and ''Dune''. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' was a notable outlier, criticizing the novel's strident politics and moral relativism. Reviewer
Michiko Kakutani is an American writer and retired literary critic, best known for reviewing books for ''The New York Times'' from 1983 to 2017. In that role, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1998. Early life and family Kakutani, a Japanese Americ ...
argued that Maguire "shows little respect for Baum's original story." ''Wicked'', she felt, "turns a wonderfully spontaneous world of fantasy into a lugubrious allegorical realm, in which everything and everyone is labeled with a topical name tag." In 2024 the book was banned in Texas by the
Katy Independent School District The Katy Independent School District (KISD) is a public school district based in Katy, Texas, United States with an enrollment of over 85,700 students. In 2022, the district was given a grade of "A" by the Texas Education Agency. The distr ...
on the basis that the novel is "adopting, supporting, or promoting gender fluidity" despite also pronouncing a bullying policy that protects infringements on the rights of the student.


Adaptations


Musical

In 2003, the novel was adapted as the Broadway musical ''Wicked'' by composer/lyricist
Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'' (1972), and ...
and librettist
Winnie Holzman Winnie Holzman is an American playwright, screenwriter, actress, and producer. She is best known for writing the book of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical '' Wicked'', and for co-writing the screenplays for the two films based on the music ...
. The musical was produced by
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
and directed by
Joe Mantello Joseph Mantello (born December 27, 1962) is an American actor and director known for his work on stage and screen. He first gained prominence for his Broadway acting debut in the original production of Tony Kushner's two-part epic play ''Angels ...
, with musical staging by
Wayne Cilento Wayne Louis Cilento (born August 28, 1949) is an American director, choreographer, actor and dancer. He is best known for originating the role of Mike in the Broadway show ''A Chorus Line'', and later becoming one of Broadway's most prolific ch ...
. The Broadway production was followed by long-running productions in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in the United States, as well as London, Germany and Japan. It was nominated for ten
Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...
, winning three, and is the 4th longest-running Broadway show in history, with over 7,400 performances. The original Broadway production starred
Idina Menzel Idina Kim Menzel ( ; ; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in Musical theatre, musicals on Broadway theatre, Broadway, she has been Honorific nicknames in popular music, nicknamed the "Queen of ...
as Elphaba and
Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...
as Glinda.


Unproduced television program

In a 2009 interview, Maguire stated that he had sold the rights to ABC to make an independent non-musical TV adaptation of ''Wicked''. It would not be based on
Winnie Holzman Winnie Holzman is an American playwright, screenwriter, actress, and producer. She is best known for writing the book of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical '' Wicked'', and for co-writing the screenplays for the two films based on the music ...
's script. On January 9, 2011, ''Entertainment Weekly'' reported that ABC would be teaming up with
Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...
and her production company to create a TV miniseries of ''Wicked'' based solely on Maguire's novel. The miniseries never entered production.


Films

In September 2010, ''Filmshaft'' disclosed that Universal Pictures was beginning work on a film adaptation of the stage musical. In December 2012, following the success of ''
Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
'', Marc Platt, also a producer of the stage version, announced the film was going ahead, later confirming the film was aiming for a 2016 release. Universal announced in 2016 that the film would be released in theaters on December 22, 2021, with
Stephen Daldry Stephen David Daldry Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway theatre, Broadway and an Olivie ...
directing. After production was shut down during the 2020
Coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, Daldry left the production due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by Jon M. Chu.
Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo ( ; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. Known for her work on both stage and screen, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Cynt ...
and
Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...
were cast as Elphaba and Galinda, respectively, with
Jonathan Bailey Jonathan Stuart Bailey (born 25 April 1988) is an English actor known for his dramatic, comedic, and musical roles on List of Jonathan Bailey performances, stage and screen. List of awards and nominations received by Jonathan Bailey, His accola ...
cast as Fiyero. To meet the demands of the storytelling and ensure no important plot points, characters and songs were cut, the adaptation was split into two parts. The first film of the two-part adaptation was released on November 22, 2024 to critical and commercial success, along with ten Academy Award nominations including
Best Picture The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...
. The second part, '' Wicked: For Good'', will be released on November 21, 2025. The adaptation has since begun its expansion into its own
media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...
, with theme park attractions based on the films currently in the works at
Universal Destinations & Experiences Universal Destinations & Experiences (UDX), formerly Universal Parks & Resorts, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme parks and resort propert ...
, and possible future installments in early development.


Graphic novel

In March 2025, William Morrow Paperbacks will publish the first volume of a graphic novel adaptation of ''Wicked'', with illustrations by
Scott Hampton Scott Hampton (born April 10, 1959) is an American comic book artist known for his painted artwork. He is the brother of fellow comics-creator Bo Hampton. Andelman, Bob"Scott Hampton & Bo Hampton Interview,"''A Spirited Life'' (July 17, 2006). ...
.


References


External links


GregoryMaguire.com - the author's official website, which includes a discussion forum.


* ttp://www.bookrags.com/Wicked_(novel) ''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'' study guide {{authority control Books based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1995 American novels 1995 fantasy novels American fantasy novels Dark fantasy novels Novels by Gregory Maguire Parallel literature The Wizard of Oz The Wicked Years HarperCollins books American novels adapted into plays Novels about rape Witchcraft in written fiction