The author did her research and wrote a believable story about Frank Baum, his wife Maud, and her family. We also have the parts of the book where Maud comes to the making of the movie based on her husband's book, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." at MGM studios and becomes concerned about the young ingenue, Judy Garland. I wanted the book for the movie-making part, but found the other parts interesting as well. ( )

Elizabeth Letts (Author, Narrator), Ann Marie Lee (Narrator)
Excellent Historial fiction
Loved the story, the facts, and imagination
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This richly imagined novel tells the story behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the book that inspired the iconic film, through the eyes of author L. Frank Baum’s intrepid wife, Maud.

“A breathtaking read that will transport you over the rainbow and into the heart of one of America’s most enduring fairy tales.”—Lisa Wingate, author of Before We Were Yours

Hollywood, 1938: As soon as she learns that M-G-M is adapting her late husband’s masterpiece for the screen, seventy-seven-year-old Maud Gage Baum sets about trying to finagle her way onto the set. Nineteen years after Frank’s passing, Maud is the only person who can help the producers stay true to the spirit of the book—because she’s the only one left who knows its secrets.

But the moment she hears Judy Garland rehearsing the first notes of “Over the Rainbow,” Maud recognizes the yearning that defined her own life story, from her youth as a suffragette’s daughter to her coming of age as one of the first women in the Ivy League, from her blossoming romance with Frank to the hardscrabble prairie years that inspired The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Judy reminds Maud of a young girl she cared for and tried to help in South Dakota, a dreamer who never got her happy ending. Now, with the young actress under pressure from the studio as well as her ambitious stage mother, Maud resolves to protect her—the way she tried so hard to protect the real Dorothy.

The author of two New York Times bestselling nonfiction books, The Eighty-Dollar Champion and The Perfect Horse, Elizabeth Letts is a master at discovering and researching a rich historical story and transforming it into a page-turner. Finding Dorothy is the result of Letts’s journey into the amazing lives of Frank and Maud Baum. Written as fiction but based closely on the truth, Elizabeth Letts’s new book tells a story of love, loss, inspiration, and perseverance, set in America’s heartland. (Amazon Review) ( )

If you are looking to renew your faith in humanity, look no further than the novel Finding Dorothy. Told from the point of view of Frank L. Baum’s (the writer of The Wizard of Oz) widow Maud, the book tells two parallel stories. One of Maud’s life, meeting Frank, and the inspiration for the book in the late 19th century. The other half of the novel takes place in 1938 where Maud is ensuring that the film version be faithful to Frank’s original vision. Judy Garland plays a significant role in the plot. This is delicious writing filled with details that honor the memory of all participants in this landmark project. I relished every moment of this fascinating read. ( )

This is a book that I normally would not have selected myself, but a friend had read it and offered it to me. Being a huge Wizard of Oz fan, I took it and read it. Although it is a story of fiction, it is based on much historical fact of the lives of L. Frank Baum and his wife, Maud, and Maud's family. I will definitely never watch the movie without thinking of the story of how it came about. ( )