Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 11 years and 2 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Back in January, I saw the Broadway musical “Wicked” for the 4th time. Three years prior, when we had taken my daughter to see it (her first time, my third), I had purchased Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” novel intending to read it but never did. As evidenced by this post, I finally got around to it.

The story is divided into five parts:

• Munchkindlanders – starts with Elphaba’s early childhood where we learn about her initial upbringing and strange family situation
• Gillikin – the main portion of the musical: Elphaba’s time at Shiz University where she meets Glinda, up until they go to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard
• City of Emeralds – covers Elphaba’s covert activities, her relationship with Fiyero, and the deteriorating political climate of Oz
• In the Vinkus – years after the events in the Emerald City, Elphaba exiles herself to the mountain stronghold of Kiamo Ko and eventually earns the title of Wicked Witch of the West
• The Murder and Its Afterlife – starts with the arrival of Dorothy in Oz, the murder of Nessarose (the Witch of the East) and ends pretty much the way you think it does

I figured there would be some changes between the book and the musical but wasn’t expecting just how many differences there were, including quite a few major ones (spoiler alert: Elphaba is still green and there is no singing in the book 😉 ). The political, religious, and ethnic themes are also a lot more prevalent in the novel whereas in the musical the political climate of Oz is really a more minor plot element. All of that made reading the book more enjoyable since knowing the story in the musical didn’t detract from any plot surprises and twists in the book.

If you’re a fan of the musical, or of “The Wizard of Oz” in general, you’ll probably enjoy reading the real untold story of the Witches of Oz.