Finding Dorothy

Finding Dorothy is a dual timeline novel by Elizabeth Letts (2019). It follows the life of Maud Gage Baum, the wife of author L. Frank Baum, who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). In one timeline, Maud is an older woman on the set of the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, trying to protect her husband’s story and legacy, only to learn that people matter more than story accuracy. In the other timeline, the 1800s, Letts explores Maud’s college career, her marriage to Frank Baum, and the hardships they endured that led to his publishing the first Oz novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The novel explores several important topics, such as The Power of Stories and Storytelling, The Position of Women in Hollywood, The Value of Education Versus Experience, and what it means to trust others.

This guide refers to the Ballantine Books hardcover edition.

Plot Summary

The story begins in the 1870s, with Maud Gage running away from the bully who believes she cheated to win a prized marble. Sneaking through her neighbor’s yard, she makes friends with a crow that she keeps as a pet. When the neighbor kills the crow, her mother moves to get legislation passed protecting wild animals and asserts that Maud will be able to do this and more when she gets a law degree. Years later, Maud attends Cornell University to earn a degree, which her mother believes will give her the freedom to choose her way in life.

College is not what Maud expected. Her male colleagues refuse to accept her as a member of the community, she isolates herself because her behaviors are considered strange for the time, and she cannot escape the shadow of her mother’s reputation as a suffragist. She leads a séance, which “reveals” that her fated husband’s name starts with the letter “F.” During the Christmas holiday, her roommate takes her home to meet the family, with the intent of introducing her to Frank, a family member whom she believes Maud will get along with well. The two hit it off. However, they struggle to begin their relationship because Matilda insists that Maud’s education comes first. Through many visits to Maud’s family, Frank makes himself welcome, and Maud earns her mother’s blessing to drop out of college and marry Frank.

The early years of their marriage are blissful, and they have two children together. However, their joy does not last as a series of disasters strike Frank’s enterprises and, one by one, crushes his dreams. A shop he owns burns to the ground; his actor troupe moves on without him; he cannot hold a stable job. Through it all, Maud stays at his side. However, their relationship becomes strained when Julia, Maud’s sister, refuses to let her daughter Magdalena move in with them.

Frank stumbles on one final dream—publishing a novel. Though Maud fears this endeavor will end like so many others, she chooses to trust him one more time and let him pursue the dream. It pays off. A publisher picks up his novel and they quickly make more than they have ever made in their lives. Frank settles down as an author writing sequels to his first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

In 1939, Maud Gage Baum goes to the MGM Studios lot to talk with Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM Studios. She wants to offer her services as a consultant on the movie. Nobody knows more about her husband’s books than she does, and she wants to preserve his legacy and ensure the movie stays true to the books. Mayer refuses her offer, though he welcomes her to the lot anytime she wants, as long as she stays out of the way of the filming process. During her first day on the set, she meets Judy Garland, the actress playing Dorothy. Maud believes that Judy is too old to play Dorothy, but she does not say this.

Maud spends most of her time on set trying to get her hands on a copy of the script so she can read what they plan to do with the books. Along the way, she meets the actors who play the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, all of whom win her over by embodying the spirit of the characters and showing they want to do the movie properly. Maud’s purpose shifts from protecting her husband’s story to protecting Judy Garland when she sees how the adults try to force Judy to act older than she is.

When the movie finishes filming, Maud returns home distressed that she was unsuccessful in protecting her husband’s story. The next morning, several crew members call her and ask for her help—Mayer plans to cut the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from the movie. Maud forces her way into the lot one last time, gets to his office, and tries to convince him to keep the song. He refuses to listen to her until Judy comes in and sings the song without backup, without any movie magic—just her, a piano, and the song. He chooses to keep the song in.

Maud attends the premiere of The Wizard of Oz, where she allows herself to let go of her ordinary life and be taken away into the extraordinary land of Oz for a few hours.