The Sea Fairies
Encyclopedia
The Sea Fairies is a children's
fantasy
novel written by L. Frank Baum
, illustrated by John R. Neill
, and published in 1911
by the Reilly & Britton
Company, the publisher of Baum's series of Oz books
. Baum dedicated the book to the otherwise-unknown "Judith of Randolph, Massachusetts" — most likely one of the child readers who corresponded with the author.
's The Water-Babies (1863), and successors too, like E. Nesbit
's Wet Magic (1913). Baum's novel has no relation to the 1830 poem of the same name by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
. In 1905, however, a musical setting of Tennyson's poem for female chorus and orchestra, composed by Amy Beach
, was in performance; the title may have stuck in the back of Baum's mind.
, or sometimes Tiny Trot, is a little girl who lives on the coast of southern California. Her father is the captain of a sailing schooner, and her constant companion is Cap'n Bill
Weedles, a retired sailor with a wooden leg. (Cap'n Bill had been Trot's father's skipper, and Charlie Griffiths had been his mate, before the accident that took the older man's leg.) Trot and Cap'n Bill spend many of their days roaming the beaches near home, or rowing and sailing along the coast. One day, Trot wishes that she could see a mermaid
; her wish is overheard, and granted the next day. The mermaids explain to Trot, and the distressed Cap'n Bill, that they are benevolent fairies; when they offer Trot a chance to pay a visit to their land in mermaid form, Trot is enthusiastic, and Bill is too loyal to let her go off without him.
So begins their sojourn among the sea fairies. They see amazing sights in the land of Queen Aquarine and King Anko (including an octopus
who is mortified to learn that he's the symbol of the Standard Oil Company). They also encounter a villain called Zog the Magician, a monstrous hybrid of man, animal, and fish. Zog and his sea devils capture them and hold them prisoner. The two protagonists discover that many sailors thought to have been drowned have actually been captured and enslaved by Zog. Trot and Cap'n Bill survive Zog's challenges, and the villain is eventually defeated by the forces of good. Trot and Cap'n Bill are returned to human form, safe and dry after their undersea adventure.
As many readers and critics have observed, Baum's Oz in particular and his fantasy novels in general are dominated by puissant and virtuous female figures; the archetype of the father-figure plays little role in Baum's fantasy world. The Sea Fairies is a lonely exception to this overall trend: "The sea serpent King Anko...is the closest approximation to a powerful, benevolent father figure in Baum's fantasies."
in 1910
, after six installments over the first decade of the twentieth century. The Sea Fairies was intended to be the first in a new series of fantasy novels, which Baum and Reilly & Britton continued the next year with Sky Island
. Unfortunately for author and publisher, the two volumes of the new projected series did not meet with the same success as the Oz books previously had. The first edition of The Sea Fairies sold 12,400 copies in its initial year on the market, where The Emerald City of Oz had sold 20,000. Even when Baum's books experienced a major resurgence in interest and sales in 1918, The Sea Fairies sold only 611 copies that year while the Oz books and even Baum's non-Oz works were selling thousands of copies.
Once Baum returned to writing Oz books with The Patchwork Girl of Oz
in 1913, the Trot series was retired — but the main characters lived on. Trot and Cap'n Bill are the main protagonists in The Scarecrow of Oz
(1915) — the plot of which was reworked from the projected third book in their aborted series — and they play a significant role in The Magic of Oz
(1919). Trot appears in The Lost Princess of Oz
(1917) and Glinda of Oz
(1920) as well. She also plays significant roles in some of Ruth Plumly Thompson
's Oz books, and, after that, in official and non-official sequels by various authors.
, but because of Ozs poor reception, the project was apparently dropped.
The Oz Kids
video Journey Beneath the Sea was a loose adaptation of The Sea Fairies.
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel written by L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, illustrated by John R. Neill
John R. Neill
John Rea Neill was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three of his own. His pen-and-ink drawings have become identified almost exclusively with the Oz series...
, and published in 1911
1911 in literature
The year 1911 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*George Moore publishes the first of his three-volume Hail and Farewell .*Gallimard publishing house founded in Paris by Gaston Gallimard...
by the Reilly & Britton
Reilly & Britton
The Reilly and Britton Company, or Reilly & Britton was an American publishing company of the early and middle 20th century, famous as the publisher of the works of L. Frank Baum.-Founding:...
Company, the publisher of Baum's series of Oz books
The Oz books
The Oz books form a book series that begins with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , and that relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books, all of which are in the public domain in the United States...
. Baum dedicated the book to the otherwise-unknown "Judith of Randolph, Massachusetts" — most likely one of the child readers who corresponded with the author.
Genre
As an underwater fantasy, Baum's The Sea Fairies can be classed with earlier books with similar themes, like Charles KingsleyCharles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
's The Water-Babies (1863), and successors too, like E. Nesbit
E. Nesbit
Edith Nesbit was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television...
's Wet Magic (1913). Baum's novel has no relation to the 1830 poem of the same name by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....
. In 1905, however, a musical setting of Tennyson's poem for female chorus and orchestra, composed by Amy Beach
Amy Beach
Amy Marcy Cheney Beach was an American composer and pianist. She was the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music. Most of her compositions and performances were under the name Mrs. H.H.A. Beach.-Early years:Beach was born Amy Marcy Cheney in Henniker, New Hampshire into...
, was in performance; the title may have stuck in the back of Baum's mind.
Plot
Mayre Griffiths, nicknamed TrotTrot (Oz)
Trot is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz.Trot is introduced in the novel, The Sea Fairies and first appears in an Oz book in The Scarecrow of Oz . Trot is a little girl with big solemn eyes and an earnest, simple manner. Her real name is Mayre Griffiths...
, or sometimes Tiny Trot, is a little girl who lives on the coast of southern California. Her father is the captain of a sailing schooner, and her constant companion is Cap'n Bill
Cap'n Bill
Cap'n Bill Weedles is a fictional character found in L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz. Cap'n Bill and his friend Trot were introduced in Baum's fantasy novels The Sea Fairies and Sky Island . They first appear in Oz in The Scarecrow of Oz , the ninth book in the Oz series.Cap'n Bill Weedles is an...
Weedles, a retired sailor with a wooden leg. (Cap'n Bill had been Trot's father's skipper, and Charlie Griffiths had been his mate, before the accident that took the older man's leg.) Trot and Cap'n Bill spend many of their days roaming the beaches near home, or rowing and sailing along the coast. One day, Trot wishes that she could see a mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
; her wish is overheard, and granted the next day. The mermaids explain to Trot, and the distressed Cap'n Bill, that they are benevolent fairies; when they offer Trot a chance to pay a visit to their land in mermaid form, Trot is enthusiastic, and Bill is too loyal to let her go off without him.
So begins their sojourn among the sea fairies. They see amazing sights in the land of Queen Aquarine and King Anko (including an octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
who is mortified to learn that he's the symbol of the Standard Oil Company). They also encounter a villain called Zog the Magician, a monstrous hybrid of man, animal, and fish. Zog and his sea devils capture them and hold them prisoner. The two protagonists discover that many sailors thought to have been drowned have actually been captured and enslaved by Zog. Trot and Cap'n Bill survive Zog's challenges, and the villain is eventually defeated by the forces of good. Trot and Cap'n Bill are returned to human form, safe and dry after their undersea adventure.
As many readers and critics have observed, Baum's Oz in particular and his fantasy novels in general are dominated by puissant and virtuous female figures; the archetype of the father-figure plays little role in Baum's fantasy world. The Sea Fairies is a lonely exception to this overall trend: "The sea serpent King Anko...is the closest approximation to a powerful, benevolent father figure in Baum's fantasies."
Reception
Baum had decided to end the Oz series with The Emerald City of OzThe Emerald City of Oz
The Emerald City of Oz is the sixth of L. Frank Baum's fourteen Land of Oz books. It was also adapted into a Canadian animated film in 1987. Originally published on July 20, 1910, it is the story of Dorothy Gale and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em coming to live in Oz permanently...
in 1910
1910 in literature
The year 1910 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*April - Halley's comet reappears , and Mark Twain dies on April 21, 1910, the day following the comet's perihelion. In his biography, Twain had written, "I came in with Halley's comet in 1835. It's coming again...
, after six installments over the first decade of the twentieth century. The Sea Fairies was intended to be the first in a new series of fantasy novels, which Baum and Reilly & Britton continued the next year with Sky Island
Sky Island (novel)
Sky Island: Being the Further Adventures of Trot and Cap'n Bill after Their Visit to the Sea Fairies is a children's fantasy novel written by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by John R...
. Unfortunately for author and publisher, the two volumes of the new projected series did not meet with the same success as the Oz books previously had. The first edition of The Sea Fairies sold 12,400 copies in its initial year on the market, where The Emerald City of Oz had sold 20,000. Even when Baum's books experienced a major resurgence in interest and sales in 1918, The Sea Fairies sold only 611 copies that year while the Oz books and even Baum's non-Oz works were selling thousands of copies.
Once Baum returned to writing Oz books with The Patchwork Girl of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum, is a children's novel, the seventh set in the Land of Oz. Characters include the Woozy, Ojo "the Unlucky", Unc Nunkie, Dr. Pipt, Scraps , and others. The book was first published on July 1, 1913, with illustrations by John R. Neill...
in 1913, the Trot series was retired — but the main characters lived on. Trot and Cap'n Bill are the main protagonists in The Scarecrow of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz is the ninth book set in the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum. Published on July 16, 1915, it was Baum's personal favorite of the Oz books and tells of Cap'n Bill and Trot journeying to Oz and, with the help of the Scarecrow, overthrowing the cruel King Krewl of Jinxland...
(1915) — the plot of which was reworked from the projected third book in their aborted series — and they play a significant role in The Magic of Oz
The Magic of Oz
The Magic of Oz: A Faithful Record of the Remarkable Adventures of Dorothy and Trot and the Wizard of Oz, Together with the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger and Cap'n Bill, in Their Successful Search for a Magical and Beautiful Birthday Present for Princess Ozma of Oz is the thirteenth Land of Oz...
(1919). Trot appears in The Lost Princess of Oz
The Lost Princess of Oz
The Lost Princess of Oz is the eleventh canonical Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 5, 1917, it begins with the disappearance of Princess Ozma, the ruler of Oz and covers Dorothy and the Wizard's efforts to find her...
(1917) and Glinda of Oz
Glinda of Oz
Glinda of Oz: In Which Are Related the Exciting Experiences of Princess Ozma of Oz, and Dorothy, in Their Hazardous Journey to the Home of the Flatheads, and to the Magic Isle of the Skeezers, and How They Were Rescued from Dire Peril by the Sorcery of Glinda the Good is the fourteenth Land of Oz...
(1920) as well. She also plays significant roles in some of Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson was an American writer of children's stories.-Life and work:An avid reader of Baum's books and a lifelong children's writer, Thompson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began her writing career in 1914 when she took a job with the Philadelphia Public Ledger; she wrote...
's Oz books, and, after that, in official and non-official sequels by various authors.
Other media
In 1985, an independent producer commissioned a script based on The Sea Fairies as a follow-up to Return to OzReturn to Oz
Return to Oz is a 1985 film which is an unofficial sequel to Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz. The film is based on the second and third Oz books, The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz...
, but because of Ozs poor reception, the project was apparently dropped.
The Oz Kids
The Oz Kids
The Oz Kids is a 26 episode television series produced by Hyperion Pictures and Nelvana based on The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum's classic children's novel, and its various sequels. and was first broadcast on September 14, 1996 on ABC...
video Journey Beneath the Sea was a loose adaptation of The Sea Fairies.