Cosgrove Payes began this novel soon after finishing The Hidden Valley of Oz (1951), and worked on it through 1952. The original intent of publisher Reilly & Lee was to release the book in 1954 — but the publisher cancelled the project, due to slow overall sales of recent Oz offerings. The book remained unpublished for four decades, until The International Wizard of Oz Club brought out the first edition in 1993.