While on a ship to Uncle Henry's cousin in Australia, Dorothy meets two women: Miss Amelia and Miss Maud. The three quickly become friends. To avoid being bored in Australia, the women ask that Dorothy stay with them in San Fransico. Uncle Henry agrees and that's how the story starts.
The Road Built In Hope
is a Land of Oz oneshot set prior to Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz. It's about Dorothy's week-long stay with Miss Amelia and Miss Maud. It uses the series' early 1900s time period for historical references, while still keeping the lighthearted nature of the books.
This fanfic provides examples of:
- Does Not Like Men: Downplayed with Miss Maud, who doesn't hate men but thinks they've caused a lot of trouble in history.
- Funetik Aksent: Dorothy has a mild one due to her Kansas heritage and her youthfulness.
- Original Flavour: The story doesn't stray that far from Oz canon aside from some references to romance and American politics that you wouldn't normally see in the series.
- Period Piece: The original books have an Ambiguous Time Period but The Road Built In Hope is set in the 1900s or 1910s.
- Puppy Love: Miss Maud and Miss Amelia seem to think that Dorothy has a crush (or could someday have a crush) on her friend Ozma.
- The Suffragette: Miss Maud and Miss Amelia are both suffragists. They think that Dorothy could grow up into one soon.
