Praise for

WICKED

The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

“Very close to being an instant classic. . . . Maguire has hit a home run his first time at bat.”

—Memphis Commercial Appeal

“Wicked is a punchy allegory that alludes to everything from Nazi Germany to Nixon’s America. It’s delightfully over the top at times, mixing serious metafiction with subtle humor and even (gasp) witch sex.”

—Boston Phoenix

“A fantasy novel that reads like Graham Greene at his best.”

—San Jose Mercury News

“Gregory Maguire has taken this figure of childhood fantasy and given her a sensual and powerful nature that will stir adult hearts with fear and longing all over again.”

—New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Maguire combines puckish humor and bracing pessimism in this fantastical meditation on good and evil, God and free will, which should . . . captivate devotees of fantasy.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Maguire’s adult fable examines some of literature’s major themes: moral ambiguity, the nature of evil, the bittersweet dividends of power, the high costs of love. Elphaba—the Wicked Witch of the West—is as scary as ever, but this time in a different way: She’s undeniably human. She’s us.”

—Wally Lamb, author of She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True

“Starting with the Wizard of Oz material, Gregory Maguire has added greater depths and different facets, creating something altogether different and unique. It’s a magnificent work, a genuine tour de force.”

—Lloyd Alexander, author of The Chronicles of Prydain

“Gregory Maguire’s donnés in Wicked are from Baum’s land of Oz; but everything here has been recut to sparkle fresh and new, with illuminations shining in unexpected directions. Funny and serious, pulsing with imaginative energy, encompassing political thriller and moral reflection, this is truly a fabulous novel.”

—Jill Paton Walsh, author of Knowledge of Angels

“Here is a story that is at once a page-turner and a powerful stimulus to thought.”

—John Rowe Townsend, author of The Islanders

“This book is a glorious frolic, a feast of language, a study of good and evil, and a massive history of the fabulous land of Oz.”

—Jane Langton, author of The Diamond in the Window