''The Purple Prince of Oz'' (1932) is a children's novel, the 26th book in the
Oz series created 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 ...
and his successors, and the 12th written by
Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson (27 July 1891 – 6 April 1976) was an Americans, American writer of children's stories, best known for writing many novels placed in Land of Oz, Oz, the fictional land of L. Frank Baum's classic children's novel ''The Wonde ...
. It was illustrated by
John R. Neill. The novel was followed by ''
Ojo in Oz'' (1933).
While visiting the neighboring kingdom of Pumperdink (incognito), Prince Randy of Regalia criticizes the king's grapes, claiming they are sour. Randy is sentenced to be "dipped" in a purple well, but
Kabumpo, the Elegant Elephant, makes him his attendant instead. Later, the royal family of Pumperdink gets enchanted by Kettywig and Faleero, an evil fairy, and Randy and Kabumpo must escape and save the day, with the help of
Jinnicky the Red Jinn. At the same time, Randy must earn his crown as Prince of Regalia, by accomplishing the seven challenging tasks required by the law of Regalia.
This is the first of Thompson's Oz books to carry the entire story (except for a bit at the very end) on characters of her own creation. The unpredictable, hot-tempered Red Jinn from ''
Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz'' returns as a much more pleasant companion to Randy, and soon becomes a popular character.
''
The Silver Princess in Oz'' is a direct sequel to this book, reuniting readers with Randy, Kabumpo, and Jinnicky.
Reception
''The Spokane Chronicle'' wrote, "The new Oz book is brim full of adventure and fun and about the sort of people one can't forget." ''The Boston Globe'' agreed, "There are more odd incidents and characters and animals than you can think of to make the book fascinating." ''The Nashville Banner'' said, "The story deals with magic of a highly dangerous quality, which of course makes it all the more exciting."
Copyright status
In the United States, the book is expected to enter the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
on 1 January 2028.
References
External links
On ''The Purple Prince of Oz''*
1932 American novels
1932 children's books
1932 fantasy novels
Fictional princes
Jinn in popular culture
Oz (franchise) books
Reilly & Britton books
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