Finding Dorothy: A Novel Audiobook

Quotes

• “As with all great historical fiction, the allure… is the curiosity it inspires.”

  — New York Times Book Review

• “Maud is a fascinating character, and this is a poignant, absorbing tale of the life and love story that led to the creation of a beloved classic.”

  — Booklist

• “An inspiring true story…a tale of fortitude and triumph over adversity…Fans of the Oz novels or film will be enchanted.”

  — Library Journal

• “Ann Marie Lee’s versatile narration of this novel based on the life of L. Frank Baum’s wife, Maud, is as entertaining as The Wizard of Oz, the iconic film…Whether Lee is portraying Judy Garland, Louie B. Mayer, or other real-life figures, her extraordinary ability to create precise and expressive vocal characterizations reveals her to be an artist at the top of her profession…This is an audiobook listeners will revisit again and again. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”

  — AudioFile

• A breathtaking read that will transport you over the rainbow and into the heart of one of America’s most enduring fairy tales and the hardscrabble life that inspired it. Gripping, fascinating, Finding Dorothy is a novel for anyone who ever stared in awe as Oz came to life onscreen, and wondered what other secrets lay hidden behind the curtain. A dream of a book you’ll want to savor and share!

  — Lisa Wingate, author of Before We Were Yours

• Old Hollywood is its own kind of Oz in Finding Dorothy, complete with false dazzle and complex combinations of threat and allure. But what really satisfies here is the unlikely friendship between L. Frank Baum’s unsinkable widow, Maud, and the young Judy Garland, on the vulnerable cusp of fame. It’s an alliance that seems touched with magic and serendipity and something even more transformative, true understanding between women.

  — Paula McLain, author of Love and Ruin

• Beautifully researched and written, Finding Dorothy pulls back the curtain on a fascinating relationship behind the making of The Wizard of Oz.

  — Martha Hall Kelly, author of Lilac Girls

• A woman with a heart, a brain, courage to spare, and a girl’s sense of wonder—this is the heroine of Elizabeth Letts’s sparkling, touching novel. Maud Baum is the daughter of a suffragette and the wife of a dreamer, but she is also a force to be reckoned with in her own right.

  — Melanie Benjamin, author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue

• Historical fiction fans will rejoice. With meticulous research and vivid detail, Elizabeth Letts explores both Maud’s life story leading up to the writing of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and her determination to see that the film remained true to her husband’s vision as it was made in 1930’s Hollywood. Letts takes readers on an unflinching journey between hardship and hope, with a catch-your-breath ending.

  — Pam Jenoff, author of The Orphan’s Tale

• More than just a behind-the-scenes pee at the making of The Wizard of Oz, Finding Dorothy is a heartfelt look at the origins of a beloved story told, through the eyes of the woman closest to its creator. From capturing the pioneering spirit of a family settling out West to the fight for women’s suffrage, and the vulnerability of a young Judy Garland on the threshold of stardom, Finding Dorothy is filled with pitch-perfect wonderment.

  — Renée Rosen, author of White Collar Girl