I bought the book yesterday. It says there is a new Wicked Witch of the West... I havent read it yet someone please inform me on the info is it Liir's daughter?

No, it can't be - because this was written by Sherwood Smith, not Gregory Maguire and his characters, including Liir and his descendants, are copyrighted to him I am moving this to the books forum, too, because even though it isn't a specific Wicked book it does reference one.

so no one knows who this new WWotW is?

A little late, but the new Witch of the West of The Emerald Wand of Oz is Bastinda - a descendent of the original Wicked Witch of the West. I believe she may have been the Witch's neice, but not her daughter/granddaugheter. However, this is merely another author's spin-off novel, just like Maguire's. It is ultimately up to the reader to decide whether or not it's in canon or not.

On an interesting note, Bastinda was the name of the Wicked Witch of the West in the Russian version of The Wizard of Oz.

As far as I know, by the end of Baum's books, there is only one witch left ruling a section of Oz, and that is Glinda of the South. No new witch took over Munchkin County. The Tin Woodman took over the West as Emperor after the Wicked Witch was destroyed. In the North, Tattypoo all but disappeared.

Yes! Exactly!!!!!!!
This version is called "Wizard of the Emerald City", and it have 6 sequels :mrgreen:

And the name of the Wicked Witch of the East in our version was Gingema

I do hope these Russian versions are officially translated before too long. I would rather enjoy reading the spin-off series from another country.

However, I have a question: I know Dorothy became Ellie, the Scarecrow was named Strasheela, and Nick was changed to the Iron Woodman, but was the Lion's name ever switched?

Well, Scarecrow's and Tin Woodman's names weren't actually changed. It's just the same word, that they means in English. Tin Woodman was Zhelezhyi Drovosek and Scarecrow...well.. it's Strasheela And Lion in Russia was Lev :mrgreen:
And what about Dorothy... I don't know exactly, why her name was chaged... but I think, it's because of the same word in Russian (Dorodnaya), which means big and fat woman. But really Dorothy wash't fat and big, I hope :mrgreen: So Ellie in this point was better.

Do the witches' names stand for anything in particular, or are they the direct translation of "Witch of the..." in Russian?

No this names means nothing. But I think... well there is a word "bastion", which means "stronghold". So I think "Bastinda" is reminiscent of this word. And Gingema means absolutely nothing.

And in Russian translation "Wicked Witch of West" is " Zlaya Zapadnaya Ved'ma" or "Zlaya Ved'ma Zapada". And "Wicked Witch of the East" is "Zlaya Vostochnaya Ved'ma" or "Zlaya Ved'ma Vostoka"

And Toto was Totoshka ))))

Oh!

I've just remembered!

The Wizard's name in our stories was Goodvin (it also means nothing). And there was no Glinda, but two good soceresses - Willina and Stella.

Munchkin was actually transleted as Zhevoon, and Winkie - as Migoon.

Well.. may be this is offtop..sorry.... but this is picture from our version...

Would you like to know more about it? In Russia we have 6 books, based on the "Wonderful Wizard of Oz":
The Wizard of the Emerald City
Urfin Jus and his Wooden Soldiers
The Seven Underground Kings
The Fiery God of the Marrans
The Yellow Fog
The Secret of the Abandoned Castle

Thank you greatly for the information, Elena-Fan. I enjoy learning something new about Oz everyday.

Love the picture you posted!! I have a Russian Oz book that I was lucky enough to find here in town. I keep hoping to find more but no such luck. There's also lots of games and puzzles too. I would so dearly love to have books from other countries. So far all I have is the Russian one, some little books from Italy and a Japanese Return to Oz book.

So there are more! :mrgreen:

Ellie and Bastinda (= Dorothy and Wicked Witch of the West )




Ellie and Stella (= Dorothy and Glinda). Ellie bring the Golden Hat which help to rule Flying Monkeys.




Gingema spelling tornado (= Wicked Witch of the East)




Gingema spelling tornado 2




Ellie, Totoshka and Strasheela (= Dorothy, Toto and Scarecrow )

And this is from others books...

Urfin Jus and his Wooden Soldiers



The Seven Underground Kings




The Fiery God of the Marrans




The Yellow Fog

(this is new Witch - the Giant, who called Arahna)




The Secret of the Abandoned Castle

Thank you for posting those picutres, Elena-Fan. What a different change, though wonderfully drawn change from W.W. Denslow's drawings. The Russian version let you actually see the Wicked Witch of the East? Far luckier than us, who had to wait until the Tin Woodman of Oz. Was there a specific reason she created the tornado?

As for the other stories, I am aware they take dramatic turns from Baum's sequals. What plots were developed in these books?

URFIN JUS AND HIS WOODEN SOLDIERS
(1963)

A sly, wicked joiner named Urfin Jus, who lives in Blue Land, gets his hands on a powder of life. The malicious joiner constructs an army of wooden soldiers, brings them to life with the powder, and orders them to conquer the Emerald City. Goodwin's successor Strasheela the Wise, Din Gior the long-bearded soldier, Faramant the Guardian of the Gates, and armed townspeople defend their beautiful city with great heroism. But there is a traitor in their midst, Ruf Bilan, and he opens the gates to the enemy. Finding themselves in captivity, Strasheela and the Iron Woodman send their friend Kaggi-Karr the crow to Kansas to seek out Ellie. Ellie, her uncle Charlie Black (a one-legged sailor), and Totoshka head for Magic Land to rescue their friends. Arriving in Magic Land after many adventures, the friends free Urfin Jus's captives, and later they defeat the wooden army. They send Urfin into exile and leave him alone with himself to think about his wicked deeds. Then Ellie and her uncle return home.

THE SEVEN UNDERGROUND KINGS
(1964 )

Traitorous Ruf Bilan, fleeing from justice via an underground passage, ends up in Underground Land a huge cavern below Magic Land, inhabited by the Ore-Diggers, where he accidentally wrecks the Sacred Spring with its Soporific Water, and thus, along with it, the centuries-old system of the land, whereby seven kings rule, one king at a time, and six of them are put to sleep while the seventh takes his turn and rules for a month. At about the same time, Ellie and her cousin Alfred, after wandering through a cavern in Iowa, likewise end up in Underground Land, and her Magic Land adventures begin anew. The kings conclude that Ellie is a fairy and hope that she will restore the Soporific Water for them. But this she cannot do. So Totoshka makes his way to the surface with a letter, and their friends from the Emerald City rush to the kids' rescue. Using a water pump, a squad of Winkies, under the direction of the craftsman Lestar, coax the Soporific Water up from the depths of the earth, and they put all seven of the kings to sleep at one time. When they awaken, they have forgotten about being kings, and become commoners along with their fellow Undergrounders. After that, the friends propose that the Undergrounders resettle on the surface. When it's all over, Ellie, Alfred, and Totoshka head for home on the back of Oyho the huge dragon. But before that, Ellie summons the fairy Ramina, Queen of the Field Mice, who predicts, sadly, that Ellie will never see her friends again.

Oh wow, cool! Those illustrations are awesome!

Although I can see the loose similarities between Ufrin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers and The [Marvelous] Land of Oz, this story certainly sounds interesting. I also see likeness in the King of the Ore-diggers and the Knome King. However, I rather like when authour's try their own mind at spin-off stories, rather than just completely repeating the original. Though these Russian versions broke away from the continuity after the first book, these stories sound as though they would be a wonderful read. Now I wish more that they would be translated and available locally.

Thank you for sharing this with us so far.

Wow that sounds awesome!! Thanks for sharing about the Russian versions!

you're welcome ))

there is somewhere Russian cartoon "The Wizard of Emerald City", and I try to find it :roll:
If I find it - I can share it ))

And now... what about other books...

THE FIERY GOD OF THE MARRANS
(1968)

Following his unsuccessful conquest of Magic Land and his banishment by its residents, Urfin Jus has been living for ten years in solitude in his old hut, with Topotun the Bear and Eot Ling the Wooden Clown for company. He tends to his garden, but he still has dreams of again becoming the monarch of Magic Land. One day, Carfax the giant eagle plummets to the ground not far from him, after being wounded in combat with another eagle. Urfin nurses the noble bird back to health. Then, with the aid of Carfax and a cigarette lighter accidentally dropped by Charlie Black, he presents himself to the backward Marran race (the Leapers) as a Fiery God able to produce fire at will, which they themselves cannot do. After winning them over, he commands them to make war on their neighbors. The Marrans conquer, first, Violet Land, and then the Emerald Island (as the Emerald City is now called, after a canal has been dug around it). But Ellie's younger sister Annie and her friend Tim come to the aid of the Magic Landers. They ride there on mechanical mules that feed on solar energy. Using an all-seeing magic box, a magic circlet, and a volleyball, they ultimately defeat the self-styled god, who flees in disgrace.


THE YELLOW FOG
(1970)

Five thousand years ago, when Hurricap, the creator of Magic Land, was still living, a wicked giantess-witch Arachna made an appearance there. She inflicted all manner of trouble on the people of Magic Land (except for the Gnomes who were her subjects): windstorms, floods, and earthquakes, which she knew how to conjure up. Hurricap determined to rid the land of this evildoer, and he plunged her into a long-lasting sleep. And now, five ages have gone by; Hurricap is no longer around, and Arachna awakens, wicked and malicious as ever. After learning from her Gnomes' chronicles about all that has passed during her long sleep, Arachna decides to seize power in Magic Land. But its people prove unwilling to give up their freedom, and so Arachna inflicts a lethal yellow fog on them. Once again, the people from beyond the mountains come to their aid: Annie, Tim, Charlie the sailor, and the little dog Artoshka. They fashion an enormous iron giant, Tilly-Willy, and the giant, with the assistance of Carfax the giant eagle, eventually defeats the witch. The yellow fog disappears, and once again the people of Magic Land see the blue sky and the bright sun.

So rather than bringing forms of the other earth children (Betsy, Trot, Button Bright) to Oz, the Russian versions created kin of Ellie/Dorothy? Did she have her little sister Annie in the first story? Are they living with an aunt and uncle, or does it specifically mention?

I've spotted some other loose similarities with Baum's, but these stories also sound original and enjoyable. This Emerald City has just as many colourful characters - heroes and villains - as the American version. I cannot wait to hear more news on the books, or the Russian cartoon you were speaking of.

As always, thank you for sharing with us thus far.

So!!! :rock: :rock: :rock:
I finally found this cartoon!!! :rock:
It's based on the first three books (by Volkov, of course) and have a several songs.
So I extract Gingema's spell to mp3 :mrgreen:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H1LJD6OX

Well, do somebody need this cartoon? :roll:

I would love nothing more than to view it, Elena, but we're overly cautious when it comes to downloading anything on the computer. More often than not, the computer attracts an unwelcomed visitor; from this, it breaks down for x number of days. I have been instructed never to download/upload unless for school purposes on a school-related website.

I am not a fan of the decision, because I would enjoy seeing this. But I must do what is safe for my computer.

These books sound very interesting....i'm gonna look for it at the bookstore!