200px, Cover of ''Pirates in Oz''. ''Pirates in Oz'' (

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

) is the twenty-fifth in the series of

Oz books The Oz books form a book series that begins with ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) and 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 Baum's bo ...

created by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

and his successors, and the eleventh written by

Ruth Plumly Thompson Ruth Plumly Thompson (27 July 1891 – 6 April 1976) was an American writer of children's stories, best known for writing many novels placed in Oz, the fictional land of L. Frank Baum's classic children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

. It was illustrated by

John R. Neill John Rea Neill (November 12, 1877 – September 19, 1943) 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 o ...

Plot

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

returns for a third time, washing up on the Octagon Isle after a shipwreck. He joins King Ato of the Octagon Isle, who has been abandoned by his subjects, and Captain Samuel Salt, who has been abandoned by his crew of

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. Together, they sail on the

Nonestic Ocean The Land of Oz is a magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, the Gillikin Country in the north, Quadli ...

(which surrounds the continent which includes Oz and its neighbor countries). Meanwhile, Ruggedo, the deposed Gnome King, is back. Jack Snow, ''Who's Who in Oz'', Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 1954; New York, Peter Bedrick Books, 1988; pp. 145, 159, 185. He had been cursed with loss of speech by a magical "Silence Stone" at the end of his previous appearance in ''

The Gnome King of Oz ''The Gnome King of Oz'' ( 1927) is the twenty-first in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the seventh by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Like nineteen of the twenty previous books, it was illustrated by John R. Neill. ...

'', and is scraping out a living as a peddler and beggar. He decides to answer an advertisement for the position of King of the Land of Menankypoo, whose people are also mute. These people demand "a dumb king" and Ruggedo meets this requirement. While serving as king, he recovers his ability to speak, joins forces with an ambitious magician, and also becomes leader of Captain Salt's mutinous pirates and Ato's rebellious subjects. He trains these followers into a military force, and attempts once again to conquer Oz. This is one of the few Oz books in which Ruggedo appears as a sympathetic character. The reader faces danger, overcomes obstacles, and experiences gratifying moments of triumph with him. Of the two narrative threads in the book, his is the more complex and suspenseful. (The other is Peter and Captain Salt and King Ato sailing around the Nonestic Ocean, visiting small islands.) Besides Captain Salt, this book introduces two notable characters: Clocker, a clockwork man who is not as trustworthy as Tik-Tok, and Pigasus, a flying pig whose riders are magically compelled to speak in rhyming jingles. Pigasus returns as a principal character in ''

The Wishing Horse of Oz ''The Wishing Horse of Oz'' (1935) is the twenty-ninth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the fifteenth written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was Illustrated by John R. Neill. This book marked the point at ...

'' while Captain Salt and King Ato return in '' Captain Salt in Oz''.

References

External links

On ''Pirates in Oz''
{{Oz Oz (franchise) books Novels about pirates 1931 American novels 1931 children's books 1931 fantasy novels