Maguire, Gregory; Smith, Douglas (llustrations)

[The Wicked Years] Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West [with] Son of a Witch [and with] A Lion Among Men [and also with] Out of Oz

New York: HarperCollins, 1995, 2005, 2008, 2010. Smith, Douglas. First Edition. Hardcover. All four volumes first editions, first printings, small quarto size, see paginations below. Fine / fine. Item #26010701

"Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" is a work of revisionist fiction by Gregory Maguire (b. 1954), retelling the story of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" from the perspective of Elpheba Thropp, who becomes The Wicked Witch of the West. The novel re-examines the characters of Baum's story, their relationships and ulterior motives, as well as political and social turmoil in the Land of Oz.

The novel is the first in "The Wicked Years" series, followed by "Son of a Witch" (published in September 2005), "A Lion Among Men" (published in October 2008), and "Out of Oz" (published in November 2010). In 2003, the novel became the basis for the Broadway musical "Wicked", which would eventually become Broadway's second-highest grossing musical; the show garnered three Tony Awards, seven Drama Desk Awards, and the album with the original cast received a Grammy Award.

Here we are offer all four novels, all the first printings of the first editions. Douglas Smith provides scratchboard illustrations for all four novels, rendering the characters with dramatic line work and stark contrasts that match the depth and darkness of the story.

___DESCRIPTION: "Wicked": Full pictorial paper with illustrations by Douglas Smith surrounded by borders of trees on the front and rear boards, red and black lettering inside a pink rectangle with a round pictorial vignette on the spine, fore-edge rough cut, endpapers with a hand-drawn map of "The Land of Oz", title page in black and white with same round vignette illustration taken from the front board, inside a grey background and decorative border, running decorative borders with black-and-white vignettes throughout, five full-page black-and-white illustrations beginning each section by Smith; binding small quarto size (9 1/2" by 6 1/4"), pagination: [i-viii] 1-406. In a cream paper dust jacket with red and black lettering on the front panel surrounding a round opening with borders made of branches on the front and rear panels, title inside a white rectangle and orange border on the spine, reviews of the book on the rear panel, and a description of the book on the front and rear flap with author bio on the rear flap; the dust jacket is unclipped with the original price of $24.00 on the front flap.

"Son of a Witch": Full pictorial paper with identical colour illustrations by Douglas Smith on the front and rear boards, green and purple lettering with round vignette illustration on the spine, endpapers with hand-drawn map of Oz, black-and-white illustrations by Smith beginning each section; binding small quarto size (9 1/2" by 6 1/4"), pagination: [i-viii] ix [x-xii] [1-2] 3-334 [335-336] 337. In a pictorial paper dust jacket with green and purple lettering and a round opening on the front panel, green and purple lettering and vignette illustration on the spine, reviews for the book and "Wicked" on the rear panel, a description of the book on the front flap, and author bio on the rear flap; the dust jacket is unclipped with the original price of $26.95 on the front flap.

"A Lion Among Men": Full pictorial paper with identical colour illustrations by Douglas Smith on the front and rear boards, red and black lettering with round vignette illustration on the spine, endpapers with hand-drawn map of Oz, black-and-white illustrations by Smith beginning each section; binding small quarto size (9 1/2" by 6 1/4"), pagination: [i-xiv] xv-xviii] [2] [1-2] 3-312. In a pictorial paper dust jacket with red and black lettering and a round opening on the front panel, red and black lettering and vignette illustration on the spine, reviews "Wicked" and "Son of a Witch" on the rear panel, a description of the book on the front flap, and author bio on the rear flap; the dust jacket is unclipped with the original price of $26.95 on the front flap.

"Out of Oz": Full pictorial paper with identical colour illustrations by Douglas Smith on the front and rear boards, red and black lettering with round vignette illustration on the spine, endpapers with coloured hand-drawn map of Oz, black-and-white illustrations by Smith beginning each section; binding small quarto size (9 1/2" by 6 1/4"), pagination: [i-vi] vii-xix] [5] 1-568. In a pictorial paper dust jacket with red and black lettering and a round opening on the front panel, red and black lettering and vignette illustration on the spine, reviews for the "Wicked Years Series" on the rear panel, a description of the book on the front flap, and author bio on the rear flap; the dust jacket is unclipped with the original price of $26.99 on the front flap.

___CONDITION: All volumes are fine; the covers clean, the corners straight and unrubbed, the bindings tight with solid hinges, the interiors clean and bright, and free of prior owner markings; clean, crisp, as new.  The dust jackets all fine overall, unclipped with the original prices, clean with bright colours, and without noticeable wear; slight sunning to the spine of "Wicked", else fine.

___POSTAGE:  International customers, please note the following: (i) additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs, please inquire for details; and (ii) any taxes, duty, or tariffs charged by your country will, of necessity, be your responsibility.

___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.

Price: $750.00