History Literature / TheWickedYears

** Glinda has a RomanticTwoGirlFriendship with Elphaba that is so strong that even decades later [[TheLostLenore she's distraught at the memory of Elphaba's death]]. [[spoiler:WordOfGod later confirmed that Glinda loved Elphaba romantically]]. Glinda's in a SexlessMarriage that's for money and show more than anything. She has passing mentions that she might be attracted to Fiyero, but that never goes anywhere.

* AnthropomorphicAnimals: The Animals of Oz are a unique case. They can go between walking on all fours or on their hind legs and wear clothes, but they don't have anthropomorphic hands - in the first book Dillamond has to ask Glinda to give his ticket lying in the overhead to the conductor since he can't do it himself. Dr. Dillamond laments that other animals with cloven hooves are excluded from Shiz since they can't hold pencils; he only got his university position because his grandmothers paid for a teacher to privately tutor him and take dictation for him at his exams - the Wizard's Animal Bans stop other Animals from following Dillamond's example.

''The Wicked Years'' is one of the most well-known and commercially successful ''Oz'' derivative works. It's been praised for its dark take on the franchise. The series takes elements from both the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz 1939 MGM film]] and the original books, making it easy to grasp whether you prefer Baum's books or [[AdaptationDisplacement know nothing of them]]. The first book has been adapted into a [[Theatre/{{Wicked}} hit Broadway musical]] and a film adaptation has been in the works for [[DevelopmentHell many years]] (with the current release date currently 'on hold' due to the COVID19Pandemic.)

''The Wicked Years'' is one of the most well-known and commercially successful ''Oz'' derivative works. It's been praised for its dark take on the franchise. The series takes elements from both the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz 1939 MGM film]] and the original books, making it easy to grasp whether you prefer Baum's books or [[AdaptationDisplacement know nothing of them]]. The first book has been adapted into a [[Theatre/{{Wicked}} hit Broadway musical]] and a film adaptation has been in the works for [[DevelopmentHell many years]] (with the current release date being winter 2019).

* CrystalDragonJesus: Unionism is is an Ozian equivalent of Christianity. It's the main religion in Oz and has supplanted the traditionan pagan worship of the fairy goddess Lurline (Lurlinism). Unionists worship the Unnamed God and their religious text is ''The Oziad''. Elphaba's father Frexspar is a minister and her [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalist]] sister Nessarose becomes a sort-of faith healer. Unionist chapels have even [[YouMeanXmas appropriated Lurlinemas]] (which traditionally celebrates Lurline's birth). There are a few differences from Christianity, such as Unionists being less conservative about sex (for example, Frex is [[BiTheWay bisexual]] and was in a [[{{Polyamory}} triad]] with his wife when she was alive).

** Glinda is a normal human instead a fairy of unknown age. She's 17 at the start of ''Wicked'' and roughly 38 by the end of it.

** Dorothy has a vague age in the books and MGM film. She looks no older than eleven in most illustrations, was played by a 16-year old actress (with the role originally intended for 11-year old Shirley Temple), and some sources pin the MGM Dorothy as 12. Dorothy is 10 in ''Wicked''.

''The Wicked Years'' is a tetralogy by Gregory Maguire. It is a TwiceToldTale on Creator/LFrankBaum's classic ''Literature/LandOfOz'' books. Unlike its source material, ''The Wicked Years'' are certainly ''not'' a children's tale.

* DystopianOz: The TropeCodifier. All the whimsy and escapiam is taken out of the series. Oz is instead a more realistic, late 1800s country going through a period of change and intense political strife. Much of the series parallels American history of the late 19th century and it's heavily implied that Oz is a literal AlternateUniverse version of America.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Most of the series takes place in the late 1800s and it shows. It's scandalous for young women to go outside without a chaperone, the FantasticRacism concerning Animals [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything emulates]] the racism of the period, and Fiyero receives mixed-reactions because he's from Vinkua (with Avaric outright mocking his dark skin-tone).

** Many Ozians look down upon those from the Quadling county and refer to them by the derogatory "Winkies". They're seen as low class as low class can be and are stereotyped as disgusting people who live in nothing but muck.

* FantasticSlurs: "Winkies" is one for people of Quadling county. The more correct term is just "Quadling".

* FantasticSlur: "Winkies" is one for people of Quadling county. The more correct term is just "Quadling".

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Most of the series takes place in the late 1800s and it shows. It's scandalous for young women to go outside without a chaperone and the FantasticRacism concerning Animals [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything emulates]] the racism of the period.

** Glinda is redheaded in the books but is blonde in ''The Wicked Years''.

* AlternateUniverse: The series is set in an alternate universe of both the ''Wizard of Oz'' [[Film/TheWizardOfOz movie]] and [[Literature/LandOfOz books series]], which in themselves are alternate universes of each other. The musical for ''Wicked'' is also an alternate universe of the ''Wicked'' books.

* CallARabbitASmeerp: This is used very rarely. Examples include "tsebras" instead of zebras and "crocodrilos" (which is similar to the Spanish "cocodrilo") instead of crocodiles.

** Ozma is now a title passed down from mother to daughter instead of being an immortal fairy goddess, though some Lurline worshippers believe she passed her soul with her title.

* FantasticRacism: There's a lot, with the series especially focusing on discrimination towards {{Talking Animal}}s.
* TalkingAnimal: Unlike in the original books where ''all'' animals in Oz can talk, ''The Wicked Years'' separates talking Animals from normal animals. Animals (capitalized) can be born from animals but are sentient and can talk like humans. Many Ozians don't consider Animals to be any different than animals and they suffer from a lot of FantasticRacism.

''The Wicked Years'' is a tetralogy by Gregory Maguire. It is a TwiceToldTale on Creator/LFrankBaum's classic ''Literature/LandOfOz'' books. Unlike its source, ''The Wicked Years'' is ''not'' a children's tale.

* AnthropomorphicAnimals: The Animals of Oz are a unique case. They can go between walking on all fours or on their hind legs and wear clothes, but they don't have anthropomorphic hands - in the first book Dillamond has to ask Glinda to give his ticket lying in the overhead to the conductor since he can't do it himself. Dr. Dillamond laments that other animals with cloven hooves are excluded from Shiz since they can't hold pencils; he only got his university position because his grandmothers paid for a private teacher to tutor him and take dictation for him at his exams - the Wizard's Animal Bans stop from other following Dillamond's example.

* AnthropomorphicAnimals: The Animals of Oz are a unique case. They can go between walking on all fours or on their hind legs and wear clothes, but they don't have anthropomorphic hands - in the first book Dillamond has to ask Glinda to give the conductor his ticket since he can't do it himself. Dr. Dillamond laments that other animals with cloven hooves are excluded from Shiz since they can't hold pencils; he only got his university position because his grandmothers paid for a private teacher to tutor him and take dictation for him at his exams - the Wizard's Animal Bans stop from following Dillamond's example.

* ''Literature/SonOfAWitch''

* ''Literature/OutOfOz''

* HotterAndSexier: The ''Land of Oz'' is clean with nary even any romance. ''The Wicked Years'' has a lot of innuendo and sexual situations from the very first chapter.

** Elphaba's relationship with Glinda is more ambiguous. It's never clarified if her feelings were as strong as Glinda's were for her.

** Glinda has a RomanticTwoGirlFriendship with Elphaba that is so strong that even decades later [[TheLostLenore she's distraught at the memory of Elphaba's death]]. [[spoiler:WordOfGod later confirmed that Glinda loved Elphaba romantically]]. Glinda's in a SexlessMarriage that's for money and show more than anything.

The series starts with 1995's ''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch''.

!!This series provides examples of:

[[redirect:Literature/{{Wicked}}]]