Celebrating Wicked And The Books That Lead To The Phenomenon

Wicked is about to enter a new era with a two-movie adventure that stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, as leads Glinda and Elphaba, respectfully. The musical, on which the film is based, has been ultra-successful with thousands of shows internationally. However, what many people don’t know is that a book was involved. For books on Nonfiction witches, go here!

Yes, Ozians. You read that correctly. The Wicked musical and the two-part movie, were based on a book. It's a series of novels. Written by Gregory Maguire, the book, known as The Wicked Years, examines Oz as a war breaks out as the animals become silenced and the Wizard fights to keep the truth of his fraud under wraps. Without further delay, let’s take a peek, shall we? Please remember that we will be talking spoilers, so if you don’t want them, turn away now.

1. Wicked: The Life And Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West

The first book, Wicked, was published in 1995 and is the only one that physically features the Wicked Witch of the West.

Like the musical, the book starts with the birth of Elphaba, who would become the Wicked Witch of the West. The child is considered an abomination as she has green skin, sharp teeth and a fear of water. Her mother, Melena is horrified at first but comes to love her.

Years later she attends Shiz University where she meets snobby rich girl Galinda Upland, who becomes her roommate. During this time, the pair discover that politics have taken over Oz. Madame Morrible suggests they work for her as she helps stabilize the situation. They go to the Emerald City to plead their case, only to find The Wizard is a fraud.

Elphaba then rebels and hooks up with Fiyero, who by this time is married with three children. From this affair, a son, Liir is born. Fiyero is captured. Elphaba blames herself and runs to a nunnery. Years pass and the future witch goes to Fiyero’s family, asking for forgiveness, taking Liir with her. She then starts studying magic.

Fiyero later dies.

Elphaba is refused an apology by Sarima, Fiyero’s widow. Liir bonds with his half-sister, Nor. When Elphaba’s father asks for help, he also asks her sister, Nessarose, who has taken over as the Heredity ruler and has become a witch. She later dies when a house falls on her, thanks to the arrival of Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto. Elphaba then receives the slippers that Nessarose owns

Elphaba learns that her biological father is The Wizard and that she is a child of two worlds, where she doesn’t fit anywhere. Upon being confronted by Dorothy, Elphaba is told that she [Dorothy] had been sent to kill her. She also learns that Fiyero’s daughter Nor, is being held prisoner

Dorothy attempts to save Elphaba when the witch accidentally sets her skirt on fire. Water is thrown at her, but it causes her to die. Gale visits the Wizard and gives him a green bottle. He instantly recognizes it as the drug he used on Melena, Elphaba’s mother, the night he assaulted her

2. Son Of A Witch

A sequel to Wicked was released in 2005, a decade after the original. Son of a Witch continues the story of Liir, Elphaba and Fiyero’s son. In an interview, Author Gregory Maguire explained why he wrote the book. He had been asked what happened to Nor.

The story also explains what happened to Liir in the years after his mother’s death. He traveled with Dorothy and company to the Emerald City. After this, Liir went searching for Nor but was unsuccessful. He runs away with Candle, a young Quadling woman who lives with her uncle.

While Liir is unconscious, Candle takes advantage of him and ends up pregnant as a result. The child is thought to have died at birth but is revived by her father. The baby is named Oziandra but is known as Rain. Like her grandmother, Elphaba, she has green skin.

3. A Lion Among Men

The third book is set 8 years after Son of a Witch and focuses on Brrr, the Cowardly Lion. He made his debut as a cub in Wicked. It also reveals several revelations including that Brrr (the Cowardly Lion)’s pet shadow puppet was a spy for the government who had been watching Elphaba and had played a small role in Fiyero’s death.

Another revelation that is made includes one of Brrr’s companions being an alchemist who gave Nanny the pills to prevent Melena Thropp (the mother of Elphaba) from giving birth to another green-skinned child (Nessarose).

However, the pills ended up disfiguring Nessarose as she wasn’t born with arms and was unable to support herself. Just a note: this was changed for the musical and the films due to Nessa being wheelchair-bound.

Brrr also doesn’t remember who his parents are or where he came from.

4. Out of Oz

The final book in the Wicked Years saga ties up loose ends. The prologue explains what happened to Dorothy after she and Toto left Oz. Like in the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, no one believed Dorothy’s account of where she had been. Also, when she returns, Dorothy is 16 whereas when she arrived in Oz, for the first time (in The Wizard of Oz) she was ten.

In Oz, the Emerald City and Munckinland are at war. Glinda is the first reintroduction. She is watched over very closely and gets her hands on the Grimmerie. Rain, Liir’s daughter is also present. Brrr pops up and is now married to Nor, Liir’s paternal half-sister.

Rain is used as a spy. As things get desperate, the characters begin looking into how the Wizard came to be in power in the first place.

Liir and Candle are seen living together and Liir tells Rain that he is her father. There is little affection between them like there was between Liir and Elphaba. Rain also holds no affection towards her mother.

Dorothy, meanwhile, is put on trial for killing Nessarose and Elphaba years earlier. It’s revealed the Munchkinlanders, who gave Nessarose the moniker “The Wicked Witch of the East”, have softened their opinions and think of her as a saint.

Dorothy is released and accompanies Rain back to the Emerald City. As the conflict winds down, it is theorized that Elphaba has come back to life. But there is no evidence to confirm this.

The Themes Of The Wicked Years Books

Unlike the family-friendly Wizard of Oz novels, The Wicked Years is for mature readers as there are frequent references to adult situations. The events of the books, not only play on those of the Wizard of Oz books written by L Frank Baum, but those of real life. One example is crimes committed by children.

War and civil unrest are also covered along with found family.

The books are very different from the two films and the musical because there is space to cover more material. With the screen and stage adaptations, they had to be toned down greatly to fit into the somewhat family-friendly dynamic theatres and cinemas provide. Also, there are narrative beats that should never be witnessed on a stage or a screen.

The Spin-Off Series

To end this article, it’s worth mentioning that there is a sequel series of books that focus on Rain, called Another Day. The books are called:

• The Brides of Maracoor

• The Oracle of Maracoor

• The Witch of Maracoor