author
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Best known for opening the gate to Oz, this imaginative American writer turned fairy tales into something warm, funny, and unforgettable. His stories still charm readers with their sense of wonder and playful invention.
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About the author
Born in New York in 1856, L. Frank Baum tried his hand at many kinds of work before becoming a famous writer, including theater, journalism, and business. That wide-ranging life shows up in his fiction, which mixes stagecraft, humor, and a strong feeling for adventure.
He is most closely linked with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, a book that became a classic of children's literature. Baum went on to write many more books set in Oz, and his larger body of work also included novels, short stories, poems, and scripts.
Later in life he moved to California, where he continued writing and explored the new world of film as well as the stage. Even more than a century after his death in 1919, his best-loved tales remain inviting, strange, and full of heart.