The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Translations

The Wizard of Oz has been translated into well over 40 different languages. In some cases, the story proved so popular in other countries that it was co-opted as a local classic. For instance, in some countries where the Hindu religion is practised, abridged versions of the book were published in which the Tin Woodman was replaced with a snake for religious reasons.

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The Wizard of Oz was very successfully introduced in the Soviet Union in 1939. Translator Alexander M. Volkov took liberties with his translation, editing as he saw fit, and adding a chapter in which Ellie (his name for Dorothy) is kidnapped by a man-eating Ogre and rescued by her friends. Volkov went on to write his own independent series of sequels to the book, including: Urfin Djus and His Wooden Soldiers, Seven Underground Kings, The Fire God of the Marranes, The Yellow Fog, and The Mystery of the Forgotten Castle. Russian illustrator Leonid Vladimirsky drew the Scarecrow short, round and tubby; his influence is evident in illustrations for translations across the Soviet bloc, where the Scarecrow is almost always portrayed as short, round and tubby. Leonid Vladimirsky has written at least two additional sequels to Alexander Volkov's alternative Oz, or "Magic Land" as it is called in Russian; additional sequels to this alternative Oz have been written by two more authors in Russian, and a third German author.

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - 1939 - Alexander M. Volkov - Leonid Vladimirsky

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