Written by Gregory Maguire, Son of a Witch (2005) builds on L. Frank Baum’s many stories about the land of Oz, offering a story that follows Liir (the son of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West) as he comes of age in a politically fractious Oz. As the second installation in the Wicked Years Quartet, Son of a Witch follows the highly successful Wicked, which reimagines Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and inspired the Broadway hit Wicked. 

Gregory Maguire, who earned a master’s degree in children’s literature, has built a career around writing reimagined versions of children’s stories and fairytales. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister reimagines the tale of Cinderella, while Mirror, Mirror reimagines the story of Snow White. With Son of a Witch, Maguire explores themes such as The Damaging Effects of Corruption, The Impact of Belonging on Identity Formation, and The Complexities of Using Religion as a Political Tool. 

This guide is based on the 2024 William Morrow paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of sexual violence and harassment, rape, child abuse, child death, emotional abuse, physical abuse, mental illness, bullying, and substance use.

Plot Summary

As Oatsie Manglehand travels out of the Vinkus region in the Land of Oz, heading toward the Emerald City, she finds the broken and unconscious body of a young man. Unlike the other corpses she and her group have recently found, he still has his face. (In the past, when they found the corpses of three young “maunts,” or missionaries, each of the victims’ faces had been “scraped” away.)

Oatsie takes the boy with her and heads to the Cloister of Saint Glinda, where the Superior Maunt recognizes the boy and takes him in, judging that he will either recover or die. His name is Liir, and he left this same mauntery years ago with Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, though no one can remember whether he is her son. Liir is put in the infirmary, and the Superior Maunt assigns Candle, a novice from Quadling Country, to play music over him. She then sends Sisters Doctor and Apothecaire to investigate the “scrapings” of the various murder victims.

Candle plays the domingon, a mysterious instrument that influences Liir’s mind and gives him access to his memories of the past while he lies unconscious. (The narrative alternates between events in the present and the wounded Liir’s dreams of his past until his memories eventually catch up to the present-day narrative.)

When Liir was young, he lived at Kiamo Ko, the castle of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. When Dorothy arrived and killed her, he took Elphaba’s broom and cape and followed Dorothy to the Emerald City. On their way, they met with the Scrow, one of the tribes of the Vinkus. Their leader, Princess Nastoya, asked Liir for help, since Elphaba was no longer alive to do so. She was an Elephant masquerading as a human, but she needed magic to revert back to her Elephant form. She wanted to die an Elephant and promised Liir that she could find information on his childhood friend, Nor, who had been abducted from Kiamo Ko by the Wizard’s forces.

In the Emerald City, Liir was not permitted to join Dorothy and the rest of her party to see the Wizard. She took the broom as proof of Elphaba’s death. He waited for her, but she never returned, and later that night, news spread that the Wizard was gone. The Scarecrow found Liir a few days later, bringing the broom back. He advised Liir to leave, and the two took a boat through the canals of the city. The Scarecrow revealed that Glinda would lead Oz for a short time.

The next day, Liir, having learned from the Scarecrow about the underground prison, Southstairs, went to see Glinda. He believed that Nor might be in Southstairs, and he needed help to get there. Glinda agreed to help him and brought him to the Palace, where Elphaba’s younger brother, Shell, took Liir through a secret passage.

In Southstairs, Liir followed Shell as he made stops at different cells and delivered what he called “medicine” to various women. When they finally reached the Under-mayor, however, Liir learned that Shell had actually been trading drugs for sex. He was repulsed, but Shell laughed off Liir’s reaction and left. The Under-mayor then brought Liir to the place where Nor was supposed to be, but when they arrived, a Sow told them that Nor had escaped. Devastated, Liir ran away. When Elphaba’s broom stirred, Liir climbed onto it and disappeared into the night.

For days, Liir wandered the city, looking for Nor with no luck. When he could not contact Glinda again, he spent his time at the barracks of the Home Guard. A soldier named Trism bon Cavalish told him how to enlist, and Liir joined the military. He then went on to spend years in the Home Guard, working in the kitchen and drilling constantly. At one point, he acted as an honor guard for Glinda at a ceremony after a Scarecrow took power, but she did not recognize him.

Years later, Liir’s company mobilized, and they were sent to the capital of Quadling Country, Qhoyre. While there, his commander was tasked with stirring up unrest. Liir took soldiers and burned down Bengda, a Quadling village on a bridge. 

Horrified by these actions, Liir took Elphaba’s broom and deserted, flying back to Kiamo Ko. While he was there, an injured Swan visited, and before dying, she told Liir about a Conference of Birds. She had been meant to deliver the message that the birds must unite against the rising threat of the newly installed Emperor. After the swan died, Liir decided to deliver her message himself, but as he flew, dragons attacked him and took his broom and cape, letting him fall to the ground.

In the present, while the unconscious Liir relives his past, Sisters Apothecaire and Doctor first meet with the Yunamata and then the Scrow. Both tribes deny being responsible for the scrapings. They meet with Princess Nastoya, who asks after Liir. Before they return to the mauntery, the Scrow warn them of dragons in the sky.

Meanwhile, Candle continues to play for Liir, whose condition worsens. When she tries to go for help, one of the old maunts, Yackle, locks her in, saying she has a job to do. As Liir grows colder and colder, Candle eventually strips and climbs on top of him. Later, Yackle returns, and Candle can see that Liir has begun to relax.

Later, Liir wakes up at a farm, and Candle explains that Yackle brought them here. Slowly, Liir recovers and grows fond of Candle, though Candle refuses to accept that he owes her for reviving him. She encourages him to deliver the message to the Conference of Birds when he is well enough. He travels west, eventually finding the Birds, who explain that the dragons have grounded them; they must find a way to solve this crisis. Liir is at first hesitant, but he eventually agrees to help, though he needs to retrieve his broom first.

When Liir returns to the farm, Candle tells him that she is pregnant with his child. He refuses the idea that the child could be his, and only after he calms down does Candle suggest that he continue his journey to help the birds. Liir travels to the Emerald City again, where he encounters Trism bon Cavalish, the soldier that helped him join the Home Guard.

After a night out drinking, where they saw a performer criticize the Emperor, Trism reveals that the Emperor is actually Shell. He explains that Shell found absolution and now believes that there is no one who is better suited to lead Oz than himself. To Liir’s surprise, Trism attacks him, pinning his arms and threatening to kill him. Trism, who is in charge of dragon husbandry, had to deploy the dragons to Quadling Country after Liir followed the Home Guard’s orders and burned the town of Bengda. Trism feels immense guilt for the harm they did, and he blames Liir for the anguish he now feels. Liir convinces Trism that he was merely following orders.

Trism releases Liir, and the two begin plotting a way to stop the dragons from doing more harm. They go to the dragon stables at midnight and soak the dragons’ food in cleaning solution. The dragons eat the poisoned food and die. When Trism retrieves Elphaba’s broom and cape, they find the scraped faces of the maunts and other victims in the same room. A horrified Liir convinces Trism to take them so that the government cannot use them for their own twisted ends. Before leaving, Liir writes a note claiming responsibility for the dragons’ deaths and admitting that he is the son of Elphaba.

Liir and Trism sneak out of the city the next morning and walk all day until they reach an inn. They share a room but are wary when a group of soldiers arrive. That night, Trism and Liir have sex, and Liir feels a genuine connection for the first time in his life. In the middle of the night, they sneak out, steal horses, and ride to the mauntery.

At the mauntery, the Superior Maunt is preparing to meet with a guest as Liir and Trism are questioned by Sisters Apothecaire and Doctor. When the Home Guard arrives, demanding Liir and Trism, the Superior Maunt refuses any knowledge of them, saying that the mauntery does not need to obey the Emperor. To ensure that the military does not act, she introduces her guest, Glinda. Glinda arrived after hearing about the death of the dragons, wanting to donate funds before the Emperor disestablished the mauntery.

The Superior Maunt convenes a council to discuss what Trism and Liir should do. It is decided that Liir will fly to the Conference of Birds while Trism sneaks out, disguised as Glinda’s bodyguard, and joins Candle at the farm.

When Liir finds the Conference of Birds, he tells them that the dragons are dead and convinces them to fly against the Emerald City as a sign of resistance against the Emperor. On their way, they spot the Scrow, and Liir delivers a message, asking Princess Nastoya to meet him at the farm. When the Conference of Birds arrives at the Emerald City, they fly in the shape of the Wicked Witch of the West, shouting, “Elphaba Lives!”

After the Conference of Birds disbands, Liir returns to the farm to find Candle nearly ready to give birth; the Scrow are staying in the field around them. He asks after Trism, but Candle reveals that although Trism found her, he left again. Liir is conflicted, feeling torn by his emotions for both Candle and Trism. He convinces Candle to play the domingon for Nastoya, and the scraped faces he hangs from trees. Her magical music makes the faces sing, and Liir can hear their lives. The music also frees the dying Nastoya from her human disguise. She reverts to being an Elephant and dies.

Liir accompanies the Scrow partway on their journey west to bury Nastoya. When he returns to the farm, he finds it deserted. Candle is gone, and he wonders if Trism came back for her. When he finds Candle’s baby wrapped in Elphaba’s cloak, he fears that the baby is dead. However, the baby is revived overnight. The next day, Liir washes the baby in the morning rain. He sees that the baby is a girl, and that she is green.