In Maguire’s Son of a Witch, this version of Oz is both familiar and brand-new. While The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was L. Frank Baum’s first foray into the fantastical world and later served as the inspiration for Wicked and the subsequent musical, Baum wrote more than 10 other adventures set in Oz, and Maguire draws upon these novels to expand his own vision of Oz.

Geographically, Maguire’s Oz can be divided into four primary regions. To the east is Munchkinland, which remains independent and is at odds with the authority of the Emerald City. Munchkinland’s role is to provide the Emerald City with grain and fresh water. To the west is the Vinkus, a region of plains and mountains where indigenous tribes such as the Scrow and the Yunamata live. To the north is Gillikin, the industrial hub of Oz, from which Glinda originates from and where Shiz University is located. To the south is Quadling Country, a swampy landscape that has been devastated by the Wizard’s pursuit of rubies. In Quadling Country live the Quadlings, a peaceful people who have long been maligned by the rulers of Oz. In the middle of these territories lies the Emerald City. In Wicked, the Wizard rules Oz from this seat of power, and after he departs, power changes hands in quick succession, passing from Glinda to a scarecrow, then to Shell, who styles himself the Emperor Apostle.

The land of Oz is very diverse. The Quadlings are often described as having a ruddy complexion, while the leaders of the Vinkus tribes sometimes implant diamonds into their skin. In the very northeast of Oz is the small region of the Glikkus, which is home to the dwarves who mine the nation’s emeralds. The Munchkinlanders are often shorter than the average Ozian, but their stature is not nearly as exaggerated as depicted in the original movie. Perhaps the most unique demographic of Oz involves the talking Animals, who are not limited to any single region. In Oz, the Animals who talk are denoted with a capital letter. (For example, the Cowardly Lion is a Lion rather than a lion. In the world of Wicked, this convention is not only recognized in the spelling but also the pronunciation.) While Animals initially enjoyed the same rights as other Ozians, the Wizard persecuted them, and as subsequent leaders mimicked this strategy, Animals were forced from their jobs, exiled, and even jailed or killed.

The primary religion in Oz is unionism, the central church of which is the Chapel of Saint Glinda, located in the Emerald City. The Cloister of Saint Glinda, the mauntery (or nunnery) in which Liir is cared for, is also associated with this faith. Unionism calls for conservative views, and its adherents condemn those who follow alternative religions. In an interview with Religion News Service, Maguire has explained that in creating the idea of unionism, he drew from “some tropes from faith traditions that favor a more amorphous spirit head,” and he defines the fictitious faith as “an odd amalgam of that instinct in certain religions to try to keep the image of God open and therefore more accessible. Interestingly enough, of course, it is also less accessible if you can’t hang an image on it” (Post, Kathryn. “Q&A: Wicked author Gregory Maguire on Souls, Saints, and Religion in Oz.” Religion News Services. 19 Nov. 2024). Within this context, Shell’s sibling Nessarose (the Wicked Witch of the East, became a zealot of the faith long before her death, and Shell himself eventually does an about-face from his early skepticism and bases his self-styled title of Emperor upon his claims to have perceived the voice of the “Unnamed God” exhorting him to seize political power. In opposition to her two siblings, Elphaba professed no belief in a higher power during her adulthood.