   the wonderful wizard of oz is a children's novel written by l. frank baum and illustrated by w. w. denslow. originally published by the george m. hill company in chicago on may 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name the wizard of oz, which is the name of both the popular 1902 broadway musical and the well-known 1939 film adaptation. the story chronicles the adventures of a young girl named dorothy gale in the land of oz, after being swept away from her kansas farm home in a cyclone. the novel is one of the best-known stories in american popular culture and has been widely translated. its initial success, and the success of the 1902 broadway musical which baum adapted from his original story, led to baum's writing thirteen additional oz books. the original book has been in the public domain in the us since 1956. baum dedicated the book "to my good friend & comrade, my wife", maud gage baum. in january 1901, george m. hill company, the publisher, completed printing the first edition, which totaled 10,000 copies. thumb|1900 first edition cover, george m. hill, chicago, new york. thumb|back cover. ==publication== the book was published by george m. hill company. its first edition had a printing of 10,000 copies and was sold in advance of the publication date of september 1, 1900. on may 17, 1900, the first copy of the book came off the press; baum assembled it by hand and presented it to his sister, mary louise baum brewster. the public saw the book for the first time at a book fair at the palmer house in chicago, july 5â20. the book's copyright was registered on august 1; full distribution followed in september.katharine m. rogers, l. frank baum, pp. 73â94. by october 1900, the first edition had already sold out and the second edition of 15,000 copies was nearly depleted.{{cite news |title=notes and news |newspaper=the new york times |date=october 27, 1900 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9b03e2df143fe433a25754c
1900_novels 1900s_fantasy_novels Literature_featuring_anthropomorphic_characters Media_franchises Novels_about_orphans Novels_adapted_into_films Novels_set_in_Kansas Oz_(franchise)