Merryland is a fictional region neighboring 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 ...

, created by author

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 ...

. It is bordered by Noland and the twin kingdoms of Hiland and Loland.

History

Merryland is the setting of the 1901 children's novel ''

Dot and Tot of Merryland ''Dot and Tot of Merryland'' is a 1901 novel by L. Frank Baum. After Baum wrote ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', he wrote this story about the adventures of a little girl named Dot and a little boy named Tot in a land reached by floating on a rive ...

''. Before Dot and Tot arrived, nobody had ever visited Merryland. Merryland has seven valleys and is ruled by Queen Dolly.

Reception

In ''Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum'', Michael O. Riley says that ''Dot and Tot of Merryland'' "is, in fact, one of Baum's weakest books, yet Merryland is one of his most charming, serene, and finished imaginary countries. The problem is one of balance: the fantasy world is strong but the story is not, and both elements too often seem to exist independently of each other."

Points of interest

The locations of Merryland are listed in order of appearance: * Stony Vale - An area at the border of Merryland that is guarded by the Watch-Dog of Merryland and serves as the entrance to Merryland. * Valley of

Clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

s - The first valley which is inhabited by clowns that wear a variety of costumes. The clowns here are experts at tumbling and juggling. * Valley of

Bonbon A bonbon, sometimes bon-bon, is a small chocolate confection. They are sometimes filled with liqueur or other sweet alcoholic drinks and sold wrapped in colored foil. Ingredients Through the Western world, bonbons are usually small candies but v ...

s - The second valley which is inhabited by

candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

people and everything is also made of candy. * Valley of

Babies In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...

- The third valley which is inhabited by hapless babies that are attended to by

Stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...

s. * Valley of

Doll A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...

s - The fourth valley that is home to Queen Dolly. It is surrounded by a high wall which runs along a riverbank and the gate is guarded by wooden soldiers. The inhabitants resemble the different types of dolls ranging from

rag doll A rag doll is a doll made from scraps of fabric. They are one of the oldest children's toys in existence. Today, many rag dolls are commercially produced to mimic aspects of the original home-made dolls, such as simple features, soft cloth bodies, ...

s, wax dolls, wooden dolls, china dolls,

bisque doll A bisque doll or porcelain doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of bisque or biscuit porcelain. Bisque dolls are characterized by their realistic, skin-like Gloss (material appearance), matte finish. They had their peak of popularity betwe ...

s, corncob dolls, rubber dolls, and papier-mâchê dolls. All of the dolls there are stuffed with saw dust which is the only thing they can eat. * Valley of Pussycats - The fifth valley where its inhabitants are cats of different colors and breeds. * Valley of Wind-Up Toys - The sixth valley where a tall forest separates the valley from the river. The inhabitants are wind-up toys who are constantly winding down. * Valley of Lost Things - The seventh and final valley that is uninhabited and seldom visited. Anything outside of Merryland that is lost ends up here.

Known inhabitants

* Queen Dolly - A beautiful wax doll who is the ruler of Merryland and resides in the Valley of Dolls. * Candy Man - A candy person with marshmallow skin and stick candy bones who resides in the Valley of Bonbons. * Flippityflop - A richly-dressed clown

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

with a sweet and pleasant voice who is the ruler of the Valley of Clowns. * King Felis - A large

Maltese Cat A Maltese cat is any whose fur is completely or primarily grey (often called "blue" by Cat fancy, cat fanciers) and regardless of cat breed, breed. ''Maltese'' is a coat-colour term, not a breed name. Description There is some evidence of a his ...

who is the ruler of the Valley of Cats. * Mr. Split - A wooden man who is the keeper of the Valley of Wind-Up Toys. He is always running around constantly winding up the wind-up toys. * Watch-Dog of Merryland - A hairy old man who guards the Stony Vale.

References

{{Oz Fictional elements introduced in 1901 Oz countries Fictional kingdoms