Wicked (Maguire novel) Wicked (Maguire novel) Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is a novel published in 1995 written by Gregory Maguire and illustrated by Douglas Smith. It is a revisionist exploration of the characters and land of Oz from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", its sequels, and the 1939 film adaption "The Wizard of Oz". Unlike the popular 1939 movie and Baum's writings, this novel is not for children; it contains adult language and content, including violent imagery and sexual situations. The novel presents events, characters and situations from Baum's books
Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz people (and even the Good Witches) into believing he is benevolent, wise, and powerful when really he is a selfish, evil humbug. He sends Dorothy into severe danger hoping she will rid him of his enemy the Wicked Witch of the West. He is powerless and, as he admits to Dorothy, "I'm a very bad Wizard". Hugh Rockoff suggested in 1990 that the novel was an allegory about the demonetization of silver in 1873, whereby “the cyclone that carried Dorothy to the Land of Oz represents the economic and political upheaval, the yellow brick road stands for the gold standard,