To many, the Wicked Witch of the West is one of the scariest literary villains of all time. Not only can she command flying monkeys to attack, but she preys upon poor, innocent Dorothy who just wanted to find her way home. Complemented by full-color images and illustrations, the story of the Wicked Witch and her enslavement of Dorothy is retold for a new generation of readers in this volume. Similarly chilling tales, including “Hansel and Gretel,” "The Horned Women," and "The Master and His Pupil" are also included to introduce readers to mystical worlds made all the scarier by their imaginations.

To many, the Wicked Witch of the West is one of the scariest literary villains of all time. Not only can she command flying monkeys to attack, but she preys upon poor, innocent Dorothy who just wanted to find her way home. Complemented by full-color images and illustrations, the story of the Wicked Witch and her enslavement of Dorothy is retold for a new generation of readers in this volume. Similarly chilling tales, including “Hansel and Gretel,” "The Horned Women," and "The Master and His Pupil" are also included to introduce readers to mystical worlds made all the scarier by their imaginations.

The New York Times bestseller and basis for the Tony-winning hit musical, soon to be a major motion picture starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande With millions of copies in print around the world, Gregory Maguire’s Wicked is established not only as a commentary on our time but as a novel to revisit for years to come. Wicked relishes the inspired inventions of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, while playing sleight of hand with our collective memories of the 1939 MGM film starring Margaret Hamilton (and Judy Garland). In this fast-paced, fantastically real, and supremely entertaining novel, Maguire has populated the largely unknown world of Oz with the power of his own imagination. Years before Dorothy and her dog crash-land, another little girl makes her presence known in Oz. This girl, Elphaba, is born with emerald-green skin—no easy burden in a land as mean and poor as Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or overcome the natural disasters of flood and famine. Still, Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters Shiz University, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz’s most promising young citizens. But Elphaba’s Oz is no utopia. The Wizard’s secret police are everywhere. Animals—those creatures with voices, souls, and minds—are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals—even if it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Ever wiser in guilt and sorrow, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas. Recognized as an iconoclastic tour de force on its initial publication, the novel has inspired the blockbuster musical of the same name—one of the longest-running plays in Broadway history. Popular, indeed. But while the novel’s distant cousins hail from the traditions of magical realism, mythopoeic fantasy, and sprawling nineteenth-century sagas of moral urgency, Maguire’s Wicked is as unique as its green-skinned witch.

“Maguire’s work is melodic, symphonic, and beautiful; it is dejected and biting and brave. How great that people flock to these magical novels.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review Bestselling author Gregory Maguire’s remarkable series, The Wicked Years, comes full circle with this, his fourth and final excursion across a darker, richer, more complex landscape of “the magical land of Oz.” Out of Oz brilliantly reimagines L. Frank Baum’s world over the rainbow as wracked with social unrest—placing Glinda the good witch under house arrest and having the cowardly Lion on the lam from the law as the Emerald City prepares to make war on Munchkinland. Even Dorothy makes a triumphant return in Maguire’s magnificent Oz finale—tying up every loose green end of the series he began with his classic Wicked, the basis for the smash hit Broadway musical.

Full-Length Musical "Delightfully entertaining." -Connecticut Critics Circle Everyone's favorite green-faced villain is back with a vengeance in this imaginative sequel to The Wizard of Oz. The now-powerless Wicked Witch of the West arrives in Kansas on a mission to find Dorothy and retrieve her raspberry slippers and flying broomstick, but soon discovers that forgetful Dorothy has misplaced them. Now everyone is once again off to see the Wizard Of Oz- who currently resides in Wichita. With the help of Glinda, follow Dorothy, Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion on a new tune-filled adventure as they attempt to defeat the Wicked Witch once and for all. (Cast: 5F, 6M, Flexible)

Each title in The Applause Libretto Library Series presents a Broadway musical with fresh packaging in a 6 x 9 trade paperback format. Each Complete Book and Lyrics is approved by the writers and attractively designed with color photo inserts from the Broadway production. All titles include introduction and foreword by renowned Broadway musical experts. Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery, and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious, and very popular. The story of how these two unlikely friends end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes for the most spellbinding new musical in years.