''Prince Silverwings and Other Stories'' is a 1902 children's book by Edith Ogden Harrison. The book is best known because she collaborated with

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 ...

on an uncompleted stage adaptation of the book as a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

extravaganza An extravaganza is a literary or musical work (often musical theatre) usually containing elements of Victorian burlesque, and pantomime, in a spectacular production and characterized by freedom of style and structure. The term is derived from th ...

in 1903. Baum composed music for the play as well, and at least one of these songs, "Down Among the Marshes," survives and has been recorded by James Patrick Doyle on his 1999 album, '' Before the Rainbow: The Original Music of Oz'', and Baum scholar Michael O. Riley published a complete edition of their ''Scenario and General Synopsis'' for the play through the Pamami Press in 1982 in a limited run of 125 copies in white cloth bound in purple with illustrations by

Dick Martin Thomas Richard Martin (January 30, 1922 – May 24, 2008) was an American comedian and director. He was known for his role as the co-host (and comic foil of Dan Rowan) of the sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 to 197 ...

. It is otherwise known only from a typescript in the

Chicago Historical Society Chicago History Museum is the museum of the Chicago Historical Society (CHS). The CHS was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. The museum has been located in Lincoln Park since the 1930s at 1601 North Clark Street at the ...

. The play, which was never staged, is discussed at length in "The Faltering Flight of Prince Silverwings" by David L. Greene, Peter Hanff, and

Michael Patrick Hearn Michael Patrick Hearn is an American literary scholar as well as a man of letters specializing in children's literature and its illustration. His works include '' The Annotated Wizard of Oz'' (1973/2000), '' The Annotated Christmas Carol'' (1977/2 ...

in the Autumn, 1974 issue of ''

The Baum Bugle ''The Baum Bugle: A Journal of Oz'' is the official journal of The International Wizard of Oz Club. The journal was founded in 1957, with its first issue released in June of that year (to a subscribers' list of sixteen). It publishes three times p ...

'' (18:2). They argue that the work depicts the beginnings of such Oz characters as the

Nome King The Nome King is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum, introduced in the 1907 book ''Ozma of Oz''. The Nome King recurs in many of the ''Oz'' novels, being the most frequent antagonist in Baum's book series. Precursor ...

Trot The trot is a two-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is som ...

, the

Shaggy Man The Shaggy Man is a character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He first appeared in the book ''The Road to Oz'' in 1909. He is a kindly old wandering hobo, dressed in rags. His philosophy of life centers on both love and an aversion to material ...

Polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

, and

John Dough John Dough was a common name for a gingerbread man at the turn of the 20th century, though the best-remembered John Dough is the character created by L. Frank Baum in his 1906 novel, ''John Dough and the Cherub''; the character also makes a cameo ...

as well as the premises for ''

Ozma of Oz ''Ozma of Oz'' was the third book of L. Frank Baum's List of Oz books, Oz series, published in 1907. Publication The full title of the first edition read ''Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Billina the Yellow ...

'', ''

Tik-Tok of Oz ''Tik-Tok of Oz'' is the eighth book in the Oz series written by L. Frank Baum, published on June 19, 1914. The book has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man (introduced in ''The Road to Oz'') to rescue his b ...

'', and '' Rinkitink in Oz'' owe a debt to this collaboration.

References

* Book review of ''Scenario and General Synopsis of Prince Silverwings'' by

Douglas G. Greene Douglas G. Greene (born September 24, 1944) is an American historian, editor, and author. He is the son of Margaret Chindahl Greene and the Reverend George L. Greene, He is married to Sandi Greene with whom he has a son, Eric and a daughter, Kathe ...

. ''

'' 27:2 (Autumn 1983)

External links

* 1902 short story collections Children's short story collections American children's books A. C. McClurg books Unfinished plays 1902 children's books {{1900s-child-story-collection-stub