Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:31:14 -0700 (PDT) 
From: Boq Aru <boq_aru at sbcglobal.net> 
Subject: Re: [Regalia] Fairy Queen of Oz 

Names in Fairy Queen
 
Butterfly Band - these names all mean butterfly
Babbotschka    Russian
Borboleta         Portugese
Butterfly          English
Farfalla            Italian
Kelebek            Turkish
Mariposa          Spanish
Moth                English
Papillon            French
Petalutha         Greek
Vlinder             Dutch
 
Plant names
Squash
Marrow
Gourd   
Calabash
Heartsease
 
Then some we've already met before in old Ozish
 
Ereol (golden haired) 
very lovely in appearance, and with her fluffy golden hair and clear blue eyes was marvelously fair to 
look upon
    "Eorghruaghol" //er3ra3ol// - /errayyol/ (ereyol) - "Eorghruaghol" = "golden haired" 
  from "Eor" //er// - /er/ (er) - "Eor" = "golden" 
  from "Or" //o:r// - /o:r/ (or) - "Or" = "gold" 
  combined with "Gruagh" //gru:3// - /gru:3/ (groogh) - "Gruagh" = "hair"
 
Espa (quiet) 
a sweet little fairy who had not before spoken
    "Easpadh" //espa:yy// - /espa:/ (espa) - "Easpadh" = "quiet"
Lulea (dancing fairy) 
queen of the dancing elves
    "Luailleadh" //lu:ll'a:yy// - /lu:l'a:/ (loolya) - "Luailleadh" = "dancing fairy" 
  from "Luaille" //lu:ll'i// - /lu:l'i/ (looly) - "Luaille" = "mime, mimic, dance a seasonal dance like Morris 
dancers"
Lurline - (delightful) 
Queen of the Fairies and Founder of Oz
    "Lurlin" //lu:r*l'in'// - /lu:r*l'in/ (lurlin) - "Lurlin" = "delightful" 
  from "Lur" //lu:r// - /lu:r/ (lure) - "Lur" = "delight"
 Zurline - (fairylike) 
Queen of the Fairies of the enchanted forest of Burzee
    "Siabhrlin" //s'awr*l'in'// - /zu:r*l'in/ (zurlin) - "Siabhrlin" = "fairylike, phantomlike" 
  from "Siabhra" //s'awra// - /zu:ra/ (zura) - "Siabhra" = "fairy, phantom" 
 
Some curiousities
 
Feebimble        Norman French             wandering fairy
Titania             the fairy queen in Midsummer night's dream
Gloriana           the fairy queen in Spencer's Fairy Queen, also Queen Elizabeth I
The creator of the Flatheads - Goorikop = "stale head" in Dutch. Pun on flathead as if it were beer
 
With these 6 I see certain similarities etc, but I really have no clue
Ozzod
Zyzzifer
Dreamsweet
Seventeen
Dib
Wob
 
And finally...
 
Accommodations by flatheads include chamber pots? Thundermugs? Guzundas? I doubt it. And if 
provided, certainly not used. In "The Vegetarian Myth" it is pointed out that the soil must be fed, but I 
strongly suspect that the soil of Oz is fed with Magic and respectful debris (wrappings and old canisters 
from the Dinner Pail and Lunch Box trees for example)
 
Ozma thought canning was invented just in time for the paris exposition of 1878?
I wonder why, since it was invented just after 1800. Not can openers though.
People used to have to use axes, knives or hammers. Since the Flatheads later just kept the cans in their 
pockets, not a problem.

Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:11:00 -0400 
From: Nathan DeHoff <fablesto at gmail.com> 
Subject: Re: [Regalia] Fairy Queen of Oz 

On Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 11:31 AM, Boq Aru<boq_aru at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> The creator of the Flatheads - Goorikop = "stale head" in Dutch. Pun on
> flathead as if it were beer

I know Goorikop shows up in some of Laumer's other Oz books.  Doesn't
he die in one of them?

> With these 6 I see certain similarities etc, but I really have no clue
>
> Zyzzifer

She's introduced in the context of a joke about being last in
alphabetical order, so there might not be anything more to her name
than that, but I'd be inclined to think it's supposed to sound like
buzzing.

> Dreamsweet

Maybe a simple reversal of "sweet dream"?

As for the Flatheads, while I enjoyed some of their additional back
story, it doesn't make sense for Ozma to have met them early in her
reign but not remembered them by the time of GLINDA.  Also, the
impression I got from Baum was that the brains worked well enough
while still in the cans, while Laumer suggests that they need to take
them out to get them to work.
-- 
Ozma and Oz Forever,
Nathan
fablesto at gmail.com or nathandehoff at gmail.com

Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:46:47 -0700 (PDT) 
From: Daniel Doherty <janitor_stage_two at yahoo.com> 
Subject: [Regalia]  Fairy Queen of Oz 
 
The great thing about _Fairy Queen_ is that it actually happened. It gives a whole new meaning to "Oz as 
history". 
 
I imagine that many readers will know about the infamous 
Tunguska event. It occurred just as described in the book, a little after 
seven in the morning, June 30th, 1908. Estimates of the energy of the 
impact place it at about one thousand times the power of the bomb 
dropped on Hiroshima. Trees were flattened over an area 30 miles 
across, yet no human was seriously hurt, and no crater was found. In 
June 2007, nearly a century after the event, scientists from the 
University of Bologna identified Lake Cheko as a possible crater, but 
the matter is still being disputed. 
 
 
What readers may not know is the fate of the Matsons. First mentioned in _DotWiz_ as the friends 
Dorothy stayed with for a week in San Francisco, they have a much longer story than related in _Fairy 
Queen_. 
 
Lurline Berenice Matson, daughter of Captain William Matson, never did 
make it to Oz. After christening her father's 1908 steamship Lurline II 
when she was 18 years old, she went on to marry William P. Roth in 
1914. In 1927, Roth became president of Matson Lines, his 
father-in-law's company (Captain Matson died in 1917), which later 
became the Matson Navigation Company, to which, in part, _Fairy Queen_ 
is dedicated. Lurline Matson Roth died in 1975--just fourteen years 
before the book was published. Laumer could even have known her 
personally, although I think that if he did the book would be dedicated to 
her and not her father's company. 
 
 
Now for the more questionable parts of the story. It seems a little ironic that March Laumer, who prided 
himself on 
smoothing out inconsistencies in other authors' Oz books, should 
introduce so many of his own. In this book, Ozma, the ruler of a 
country, only gets as many as five letters a day, where Lulea, with 
virtually no ties whatsoever to the mortal world (not to mention having 
no street address!) receives "letters of felicitation that had come in 
from all over" on her birthday. 
 
 
 
As already mentioned, the Flatheads are also inconsistent with Baum's 
portrayal, having more than one can of brains per person, and having to 
actually remove the brains from the can for them to be of use. Further, 
they know of Ozma when she arrives in this book, but don't seem to know 
her when she shows up several years down the line. Nor does she know of 
them. 
 
_Fairy Queen_ takes place in 1908, between _Road_ and _EC_. This makes Dorothy nearly sixteen. I 
can't say I'm particularly fond of Laumer's chronology. Dorothy noted in _Road_ that Button Bright 
wasn't much younger than she was. I find it a little hard to believe that that simple sailor-suited boy with 
the vocabulary hardly greater than two words was a young teenager. However, in other books he reverted 
Dorothy to a more reasonable age without explanation (in the finest tradition of Baum and Thompson), 
and his questionable chronology is essential for this book to work. Otherwise Dorothy would have been 
living in Oz long before Lurline christened the ship and long before the Tunguska event. 
 
In spite of the inconsistencies, I'm always impressed by Laumer's ability to blend material from multiple 
sources into one cohereant whole. _Fairy Queen_ is an excellent example, as well as being one of the 
best places to start Laumer's sub-series.

Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:02:24 -0400 
From: Nathan DeHoff <fablesto at gmail.com> 
Subject: Re: [Regalia] Fairy Queen of Oz 
 
On Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 4:46 PM, Daniel 
Doherty<janitor_stage_two at yahoo.com> wrote: 
> What readers may not know is the fate of the Matsons. First mentioned in 
> _DotWiz_ as the friends Dorothy stayed with for a week in San Francisco, 
> they have a much longer story than related in _Fairy Queen_. 
 
Dorothy's Californian friends have been mentioned in some other books 
as well, but I believe FAIRY QUEEN is the only one that makes them 
real people.  I know Dorothy's friends name was Polly in David Hulan's 
EUREKA, and I forget her name in COLORFUL KITTEN (but I remember she 
had one). 
 
Laumer had a general tendency of working in as many plays on words as 
possible, including some in foreign languages.  I know he spent a lot 
of time in Sweden, so I would imagine his descriptions of Lule? were 
accurate.  He really doesn't paint the place in a positive light, and 
I have to wonder whether Governor Swinhufvud was a real person, or a 
thin disguise for one. 
 
> Now for the more questionable parts of the story. It seems a little ironic 
> that March Laumer, who prided himself on smoothing out inconsistencies in 
> other authors' Oz books, should introduce so many of his own. In this book, 
> Ozma, the ruler of a country, only gets as many as five letters a day, where 
> Lulea, with virtually no ties whatsoever to the mortal world (not to mention 
> having no street address!) receives "letters of felicitation that had come 
> in from all over" on her birthday. 
 
Well, there are fairies all over the world, right?  Ozma presumably 
hadn't had the chance to really establish herself by this point, while 
Lulea had been ruling for years.  Still, even at this early point in 
Ozma's reign, I have to imagine that five letters a day was a low 
estimate. 
 
> As already mentioned, the Flatheads are also inconsistent with Baum's 
> portrayal, having more than one can of brains per person, and having to 
> actually remove the brains from the can for them to be of use. 
 
And if this is supposed to take place before the Su-dic took over, 
shouldn't the Adepts be in charge?  There's no sign of them in FAIRY 
QUEEN. 
 
> _Fairy Queen_ takes place in 1908, between _Road_ and _EC_. This makes 
> Dorothy nearly sixteen. I can't say I'm particularly fond of Laumer's 
> chronology. Dorothy noted in _Road_ that Button Bright wasn't much younger 
> than she was. I find it a little hard to believe that that simple 
> sailor-suited boy with the vocabulary hardly greater than two words was a 
> young teenager. However, in other books he reverted Dorothy to a more 
> reasonable age without explanation (in the finest tradition of Baum and 
> Thompson), and his questionable chronology is essential for this book to 
> work. 
 
She's old enough to get married in some of Laumer's later books, so it 
kind of seems like her age is variable.  If only Baum hadn't been so 
vague about such things. 
--  
Ozma and Oz Forever, 
Nathan 
fablesto at gmail.com or nathandehoff at gmail.com

Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:38:32 -0700 (PDT) 
From: Daniel Doherty <janitor_stage_two at yahoo.com> 
Subject: Re: [Regalia] Fairy Queen of Oz 
 
--- On Mon, 6/22/09, Nathan DeHoff <fablesto at gmail.com> wrote: 
> I have to wonder whether Governor Swinhufvud was a real person, or a 
> thin disguise for one. 
 
I wondered about that as well, but I wasn't able to find any such person or any reference to laws about 
faries in Sweden. There certainly is a long and bloody history of witch trials, but that seems to be the 
extent of it. 
 
> She's old enough to get married in some of Laumer's later books, so it 
> kind of seems like her age is variable. If only Baum hadn't been so 
> vague about such things. 
 
In _Uncle Henry_, Zip, described as a "young boy" notes that Dorothy "was just a sweet little girl, 
perhaps a year or two younger (to look at) than himself." Over eight decades later, in _Ten Woodmen_, 
Dorothy realizes "that it was to Miss Garland's developed sixteen that she, Dorothy, had by now allowed 
herself to advance in apparent age. After all, it would be ridiculous to appear any younger when one had 
a son teaching at the university." 
 
Dorothy apparently gave birth before she reached the apparent age of sixteen. Of course she was likely 
in her forties or fifties at least by that point, but it's still odd to think about. 
 
I think that Laumer portrays Dorothy as coming to Oz as a young girl in every book except _Fairy 
Queen_. Fairy Queen also seems to be one of the only times when he lays out a definite chronology for 
Baum's books. I think he liked the idea of having the books as evenly spaced as their publications, but 
the math doesn't work out so well that way.

Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:56:19 -0700 (PDT) 
From: Boq Aru <boq_aru at sbcglobal.net> 
Subject: Re: [Regalia] Fairy Queen of Oz 
 
There are a lot of pig puns in this book. Svinhufvud = pig's trotter, and as stated is the kind of pig's 
trotter found on Swedish trolls. The big variety. This suggests that the governor is a troll in disguise. 
They're known to do that. Wear boots to hide their hooves and long coats or baggy pants to hide the 
tails. The motivation in getting rid of the fairies and such might be to make passing for human easier. It's 
rather reminiscent of the single best Gothic Romance that I've ever read - Goblin Moon by Esther 
Friesner.

Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:28:33 -0400 
From: Nathan DeHoff <fablesto at gmail.com> 
Subject: [Regalia] FAIRY QUEEN matters 
 
In my re-reading of FAIRY QUEEN, I found a few items I wanted to 
comment on.  First of all, was Lana Peethisaw a real person, or just a 
character used to introduce the idea of some people coming to Oz when 
they die?  Honestly, that's not an idea that sits too well with me. 
Oz was never a place for the dead in the main series, and while Baum 
is often credited with the last words "now we can cross the Shifting 
Sands," I've read that this is actually inaccurate.  While it's a nice 
thought that Baum and others are now living in Oz, I think it 
introduces a major complication into the general feel of the 
fairyland. 
 
The book gives a neat explanation as to how both stories of the Nine 
Tiny Piglets' origins are accurate.  Really, I'm not sure this is 
necessary, as we could easily just write off the Teenty-Weent story as 
patter on the Wizard's part, but Laumer did a pretty clever job of 
tying the two together.  Is there any significance to the name 
Humuu'u, or is it just a faux-Polynesian sort of word?  I thought it 
was a nice touch that the headmaster had studied under Dr. Dolittle. 
 
In addition to Flathead Mountain, Laumer also provided presentations 
of other locations that didn't entirely match with what we see in the 
books.  For instance, he refers to Kuma Party as a place rather than a 
person, despite the fact that he'd read GNOME KING (and even claims it 
as one of his personal favorites in FAREWELL). 
--  
Ozma and Oz Forever, 
Nathan 
fablesto at gmail.com or nathandehoff at gmail.com

Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:22:38 -0700 (PDT) 
From: boq_aru at sbcglobal.net 
Subject: Re: [Regalia] Fairy Queen of Oz 

<Nathan DeHoff
 
< Is there any significance to the name Humuu'u, or is it just a faux-Polynesian sort of word?  I < thought 
it was a nice touch that the headmaster had studied under Dr. Dolittle.
 
It means "One who teaches from books" and puns - for English speakers, not Hawaiians - with 
"Humuhumunukunukuapua'a" which means "pigheaded trigger fish" - which goes swimming by - which is 
another pig pun, of which there are manymany.

Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:17:17 -0700 
From: Marcus Mebes <baringer at gmail.com> 
Subject: [Regalia] Fairy Queen - Tunguska event 
 
Regarding the leveling of the 80 million trees as referenced in March 
Laumer's book, today there was a news article on AOL News: 
http://news.aol.com/article/tunguska-caused-by-
comet/546797?icid=main|aimzones|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Ftunguska-
caused-by-comet%2F546797 
 
Begin quote: 
More than 100 years ago, an enigmatic explosion devastated 80 million 
trees in a Russian forest. Today, researchers say the mystery known as 
the Tunguska event may be solved. 
They say new evidence suggests a comet -- not a meteor as previously 
thought -- was behind the explosion. And, as the BBC reported, they're 
pointing to clouds that form thousands of miles away at Earth's 
polices to explain the theory. 
Scientists claim these "noctilucent" clouds -- formations that are 
similar to what was seen after the Tunguska event -- reach the poles 
because water vapor appears to be quickly traveling in two dimensions, 
rather than three. The phenomenon, experts believe, happens when 
something like a magnetic field constrains the vapor, forcing it to 
move extremely fast in the remaining two dimensions. 
Researchers noted this occurring when the shuttles Discovery and 
Endeavour launched in 1997 and 2003, respectively. The launches 
deposit tons of water into the upper atmosphere. 
All of this, according to scientists, suggests a water-laden comet 
that shed its icy coating in that same part of the atmosphere is what 
flattened 830 square miles of Siberian forests in 1908, reported 
Examiner.com. 
"It's totally new and unexpected physics," Michael Kelley of Cornell 
University told the BBC. "It's almost like putting together a 
100-year-old murder mystery."

Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:29:57 -0400 
From: Nathan DeHoff <fablesto at gmail.com> 
Subject: Re: [Regalia] Fairy Queen - Tunguska event 
 
On Sun, Jun 28, 2009 at 2:17 PM, Marcus Mebes<baringer at gmail.com> wrote: 
> Regarding the leveling of the 80 million trees as referenced in March 
> Laumer's book, today there was a news article on AOL News: 
> http://news.aol.com/article/tunguska-caused-by-
comet/546797?icid=main|aimzones|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Ftunguska-
caused-by-comet%2F546797 
> 
> Begin quote: 
> More than 100 years ago, an enigmatic explosion devastated 80 million 
> trees in a Russian forest. Today, researchers say the mystery known as 
> the Tunguska event may be solved. 
> They say new evidence suggests a comet -- not a meteor as previously 
> thought -- was behind the explosion. 
 
Wasn't a comet responsible for the plot of CHARMED GARDENS? 
--  
Ozma and Oz Forever, 
Nathan 
fablesto at gmail.com or nathandehoff at gmail.com