The Cowardly Lion of Oz

Dorothy and her little dog Toto befriend the Tinman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion as they travel down the yellow brick road to the City of Emeralds. Maureen Lipman cackles splendidly as the Wicked Witch of the West in this acclaimed BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of L. Frank Baum's famous and much-loved tale.

The Cowardly Lion of Oz (1923) is the seventeenth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the third written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. The story opens with Mustafa of Mudge, a turbaned desert monarch with blue whiskers, who collects lions.

The Cowardly Lion of Oz (1923) is the seventeenth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the third written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was illustrated by John R. Neill.

The story opens with Mustafa of Mudge, a turbaned desert monarch with blue whiskers, who collects lions. Mustafa demands one more lion — he already has nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine and a half lions, but there are no more lions in Mudge, and Mudgers are forbidden by Ozma, on penalty of death, to travel beyond the desert borders of Mudge. However, when Notta Bit More, a clown from the circus in Stumptown (somewhere in the humdrum backblocks of the United States of America), and a serious-minded orphan boy called Bobbie Downs (but renamed as Bob Up, by the cheerful Notta) drop into Mudge together, this seems to Mustafa to be his chance to send a non-Mudge person out to bring the famous Cowardly Lion to be the ten thousandth lion in Mudge. Using a magic ring, he enchants Notta and Bob and compels them to set out on a quest to capture the Cowardly Lion.

Meanwhile, in the Emerald City, the Cowardly Lion believes that he has depleted the reserve of courage imbued in him by the Wizard (as told in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz). The mischievous Patchwork Girl, Scraps (who was first introduced in an earlier Baum-written title), misdirects the Lion into thinking that he can replenish his courage by eating a courageous man. Since the Lion dislikes the notion of harming anyone, he resolves to do the deed as quickly as possible, and so embarks on his quest to find, and eat, the bravest man in Oz.

Unbeknownst to the Cowardly Lion, he is being hunted by Notta Bit More and Bob Up. Accidentally, the three meet each other. Concealing their objective from the lion, Notta and Bob resolve to trick him into going to Mudge.

Read the complete novel for further story....

 

Mustafa of Mudge, a turbaned desert monarch with blue whiskers, who collects lions, demands one more lion — he already has nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine and a half lions, but there are no more lions in Mudge, and Mudgers are forbidden by Ozma, on penalty of death, to travel beyond the desert borders of Mudge. However, when Notta Bit More, a clown from the circus in Stumptown (somewhere in the humdrum backblocks of the United States of America), and a serious-minded orphan boy called Bobbie Downs (but renamed as Bob Up, by the cheerful Notta) drop into Mudge together, this seems to Mustafa to be his chance to send a non-Mudge person out to bring the famous Cowardly Lion to be the ten thousandth lion in Mudge. Using a magic ring, he enchants Notta and Bob and compels them to set out on a quest to capture the Cowardly Lion...

The Cowardly Lion of Oz is the seventeenth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the third written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Included in this edition are the original illustrations by John R. Neill.

This book was the third of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, originally published in 1907. In this book, the majority of the narrative transpires outside of the Land of Oz, and it is only in the last two chapters that the characters visit The Land of Oz . Effectively the antithesis of the original, Oz is Dorothy's final destination in this book whereas in the first book Dorothy must traverse the dangerous Oz to find her way back to Kansas. The wonderful tales of Dorothy and the Land of Oz are timeless classics, world-famous and enjoyed by millions today just as they were in the past. A wonderful addition to any collection, this magical story is a must-have children's book. Lyman Frank Baum was a prolific American author of children's books best remembered for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This book has been elected for republication due to its literary value and is proudly republished here complete with its original illustrations and a new introductory biography of the author.

The Magic of Oz: A Faithful Record of the Remarkable Adventures of Dorothy and Trot and the Wizard of Oz, Together with the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger and Cap'n Bill, in Their Successful Search for a Magical and Beautiful Birthday Present for Princess Ozma of Oz is the thirteenth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 7, 1919, one month after the author's death, The Magic of Oz relates the unsuccessful attempt of the Munchkin boy Kiki Aru and former Nome King Ruggedo to conquer Oz.
The novel was dedicated to "the Children of our Soldiers, the Americans and their Allies, with unmeasured Pride and Affection."

- Wikipedia, The Magic Of Oz

Ozma of Oz is the third book in L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz series.  While most of the tale is set outside of the Land of Oz, many of the classic characters from Oz return including Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion.  The story is the adventure of Dorothy's arrival in a neighboring land, the Land of Ev, and eventual return to the Land of Oz.