Lyman Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919), better known by his pen name L. Frank Baum, was an American author chiefly known for his children's books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He wrote thirteen novel sequels, nine other fantasy novels, and a host of other works (55 novels in total, plus four "lost works", 83 short stories, over 200 poems, an unknown number of scripts, and many miscellaneous writings), and made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen. His works anticipated such century-later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high risk, action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work).

Biography

Il est né à New York en 1856. Il a des ancêtres britanniques et allemands. Il est le fils de Benjamin Ward Baum et Cynthia Ann. Son père était négociant, il travaillait dans le domaine du pétrole en Pennsylvanie. À l'âge de 12 ans, Franck étudie durant deux ans à l'Académie militaire Peekskill.

À 17 ans, son père lui offre une petite rotative. Avec son frère Henry, ils créent le journal The Rose Lawn Home Journal, puis le The Stamp Collector, et plus tard ils publient des timbres. À 20 ans, il publie un mensuel, le The Poultry Record. C'est en 1886, à l'âge de 30 ans, qu'il publie son premier roman, The Book of the Hamburgs: A Brief Treatise upon the Mating, Rearing, and Management of the Different Varieties of Hamburgs.

Best films