After Oz - by Gordon McAlpine (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This gripping and emotionally riveting tale is a dark and timely retelling of The Wizard of Oz, where one little girl is forced to face head on the prejudices of the Midwest in the late nineteenth century.

Kansas, 1896. After a tornado destroys the Gale family farm, eleven-year-old Dorothy goes missing. As the days pass, the Gales are increasingly terrified the worst has happened. But when the girl turns up unharmed four days later, the townsfolk breathe a sigh of relief. That is, until Dorothy herself relates her account of the events that took place during her disappearance.

In vivid detail, Dorothy describes a fantastical land and its magical inhabitants: a scarecrow, a tin man, a cowardly lion, a wizard, a witch. Her recollections are not only regarded as delusional, but also as pagan and diabolical in nature, especially when the body of a local spinster is found matching Dorothy's description of a witch she claims to have killed. Authorities find incriminating evidence tying Dorothy to the real murder, and they sentence Dorothy to the Topeka Insane Asylum.

When twenty-eight-year-old psychologist Dr. Evelyn Grace Wilford arrives at the asylum to interview Dorothy, she begins to wonder if Dorothy truly committed the crime or if something unfathomable has really occurred.

In a small town full of insidious secrets, Evelyn sets out to save Dorothy from her terrible circumstances but can't help but fear whether something menacing may be lurking just out of sight.

Review Quotes

Praise for After OZ
"A blast of enchanting writing, straight-ahead storytelling, and a murder mystery too . . . A smart, classy reading experience."
--Booklist

"An exploration of the hypocritical treatment of outsiders and nonconformers . . . A fast and engaging story for readers familiar with The Wizard of Oz."
--Library Journal

"A simply brilliant re-working of the Frank Baum Wizard of Oz series."
--Midwest Book Review

"An interesting, intense new look at the life of Dorothy Gale, that you will not want to put down."
--Red Carpet Crash

"An inventive and remarkably entertaining retelling . . . The late Gordon McAlpine has crafted a genre-mixing masterpiece of fantasy and mystery."
--Fresh Fiction

"After Oz is a fascinating work of revisionist storytelling that reminds us why we read fiction in the first place."
--Mitch Cullin, author of Mr. Holmes and A Slight Trick of the Mind

"Gordon McAlpine tugs threads from Baum's fantasy and weaves not only a compelling murder mystery, but an acid-etched portrait of a time and place and the people dwelling there. He proves himself once again to be a master of mystery, history, and elegant prose. Prepare to turn pages."
--Steve Goble, author of the Ed Runyon detective novels

"In After Oz, Gordon McAlpine performs the magic trick of taking an iconic story and giving us a new and fascinating chapter. Anyone who's ever wondered how Dorothy Gale fared after her return to Kansas will be thrilled by this perceptive, engrossing account of a small Midwestern town, a bizarre crime, and the young girl whose adventures in a far-off land are only the beginning of what awaits her in real life after the tornado passes. A page-turning, genre-blending feat that has forever changed the way I'll read The Wizard of Oz."
--Sara Flannery Murphy, author of Girl One and The Wonder State

About the Author

Gordon McAlpine was the author of Girl with a Blue Pencil and Holmes Entangled and a contributor to Orange County Noir. An Edgar Award finalist, he taught creative writing and literature at U.C. Irvine, UCLA., and Chapman University.