In the wake of the success of Wicked, on stage and screen, author Gregory Maguire, whose books were the inspiration for the adaptations, has released a book, Elphie: A Wicked Childhood (the fifth book in the Wicked series and a prequel), which is the backstory of Elphaba Tropp, the green-skinned ‘freak’, who goes on to become the Wicked Witch of the West in the much-loved classic The Wizard of Oz (by L. Frank Baum).

The daughter of neglectful parents— her father a missionary in Quadling Country and a depressed, attention-seeking mother—Elphaba, or Elphie, is not easy to love because of her green skin and fierce temperament that makes her look “as if she is supervising the world”. When her mother dies, the responsibility of looking after her armless sister and a brother falls on her. But far from being soft and maternal, she is a crocodile-slaying fighter. Elphaba is a bright, inquisitive, caring and lonely child who gets no emotional stability in her dysfunctional family. Only her sympathetic nanny is understanding and affectionate.

Elphaba can, however, communicate with animals, “migrants on the run”, Macguire calls........

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