In the year of the centenary of the first publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L.Frank Baum, Douglas Horlock considers its political and intellectual context. On 7 May 1898, Frank Baum sat down in his Chicago home with a group of children including his sons. As on other occasions, he began to narrate a story about fantasy characters of his own creation. He recounted the words and actions of talking animals, wicked witches and a powerful wizard. At one point a young girl interrupted the narrative and asked where the characters lived. As he pondered a reply, Baum glanced around the room, focusing on a filing cabinet. It had three drawers, labelled A-G, H-N and O-Z. The Land of Oz was his reply and so was born a magical land for Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and his other extraordinary characters.