Finding Dorothy | Review
The sweeping fictionalized story behind The Wizard of Oz.
⭐⭐⭐
Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts
351 pages | Published by Ballantine Books
The Set Up: Finding Dorothy tells the story behind The Wizard of Oz from the perspective of the author’s wife, Maud Baum. Told in two timelines, we follow Maud’s life as she meets her husband and raises a family, and then flash forward to the set of the iconic film where Maud meets Judy Garland.
I think if you LOVE historical fiction or have an obsession with The Wizard of Oz, this book would be a big hit for you. I’m pretty middle of the road for both, which is where this landed for me.
I loved the back and forth movement between the two timelines. It was fun to spot little details of the Wizard of Oz in Maud’s life. The story has a an epic, sweeping feel to it - a lot of moving, fresh starts, and hopeful new beginnings.
“Kansas is just the place you’re stuck in, wherever that might be.”
These characters are loveable, especially Maud and Frank. Their love story and partnership was my favorite part of the whole story. But it was hard for me to reconcile what had been fictionalized versus what was actually true. I think because so many of the people were real and The Wizard of Oz is such a cornerstone of pop culture, I had trouble suspending belief on it’s true origins.
Where this one really lacked for me is the ending. I didn’t feel like the story truly went anywhere by the end, and I felt there needed to be more closure. There were certain characters who’s fate I was invested in, but we didn’t get that. I know an author can only do so much when writing about a real event or piece of media, but something about the end felt unfinished for me.
