The Wizard of the Emerald City The Wizard of the Emerald City The Wizard of the Emerald City () is a 1939 children's novel by Russian writer Alexander Melentyevich Volkov. The book is a re-narration of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". Baum's name is sometimes credited in the book (in the appendix by Volkov, which is found in some editions, where Volkov describes the origins of his book). The names of most characters are changed, some elements of Baum's novel are removed, and some new elements are added. The book was illustrated by Leonid Vladimirski in 1959 and became quite popular in the
His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz loosely based on Baum's book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", but in the screenplay Baum introduced many new characters and a large new story that later became the basis for the 1915 book "The Scarecrow of Oz". Similar to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", the Scarecrow's origin is revealed, although his life is now attributed to "the Spirit of the Corn", who appears as a conventional Hollywood depiction of a Native American. The Tin Woodman is found rusted stiff and oiled, but he is already Emperor of the Winkies. Dorothy is a slave to Mombi (Wells) who looks like W.W.