48 pages • 1 hour read
Elizabeth LettsFinding Dorothy
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 24-28Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 24 Summary: “Chicago, Illinois 1897”
In the earlier timeline, the time for Matilda’s annual visit to the Baum’s home arrives. They lived in Chicago for eight years and have a better home in a better neighborhood, though they still count every penny to get by. When Matilda arrives, she is small and frail, unlike Maud has ever seen her. Christmas is cheerful, though Matilda catches the flu. When she recovers, Matilda makes Maud promise that she’ll use her inheritance to buy a house for their family and not allow Frank to use it for his whims.
Soon after, Matilda dies. She had wanted her ashes spread in her garden at home. Frank must travel for work, so Julia stays with the children while Maud clears up the house and spreads the ashes. Maud brings back a few trinkets, including an embroidery she made her mother about following the Golden Path.
Chapter 25 Summary: “Chicago, Illinois 1898”
In the earlier timeline, Maud comes home and finds Frank writing frantically on whatever bits of paper he can find. While she was away, he got the inspiration for a story. It became his obsession and he worked avidly to write it from beginning to end. Maud takes care of the kids and house while Frank works—nothing can distract him. He finally finishes the book, a book based on their life using the image of Dorothy as the main character. Maud sneaks into his office to read it and give him feedback, or to warn him not to take it to publishers if it is bad. She stops when she remembers her promise to have faith in him.
A publisher picks up the story and asks for a $200 deposit to help offset the costs of publishing the book. This puts the family’s savings in a bad place, but they get by. Near Christmas, Frank asks for an advance on the book, which he gets. Maud hopes for a check for at least $50. Instead, they get a check for over $3000. Christmas is a bountiful and joyful holiday; Frank gives Maud an authentic emerald ring and a copy of his new book—The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Chapter 26 Summary: “Hollywood 1939”
In the later timeline, the final days of filming arrive, in which the cast and crew will film the opening scenes of the movie. Maud knows the scenes they will film and worries that she cannot answer the question she came to the lot with—will this movie do her husband’s book justice? Judy alleviates her fears by singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” perfectly. The entire cast applauds her and Maud claims it as an anthem worthy of Oz.
Chapter 27 Summary: “Hollywood 1939”
In the later timeline, a crisis occurs at the studio and several crew members call Maud for help; Mayer plans to cut “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from the movie. Everyone believes the song is the heart of the movie, but Mayer won’t listen to them. Maud forces her way into the studio, gets into Mayer’s office, and convinces him that the movie’s magic will center around that song. Judy and the pianist enter his office and Judy performs “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on its own—without cameras, without backdrops—just the song. Her singing wins Mayer over, and he calls editing to put the song back in.
Chapter 28 Summary: “Hollywood August 15, 1939”
Mrs. Maud Gage Baum receives a single ticket to the premiere of MGM’s big movie The Wizard of Oz. When the chauffeur drops her off, nobody recognizes her, but she’s focused on the movie. She takes her seat, the lights go down, the curtain opens, and she’s transported to another world.
Chapters 24-28 Analysis
Chapter 24 brings together plot threads that have been developing throughout the novel. In the past timeline, Matilda Gage experiences a shift. She realizes all that she has lost because of her dedication to the suffrage movement. She laments thinking that “the fate of the world was more important than the fate of one individual” (300), and that she sacrificed knowing who her children were because she only saw the potential they held for her dream. Due to her focus on getting an education, Matilda lost out on experiences with her family. Though Maud assures her that the work she does matters, Matilda knows what Maud still needs to learn—people must come first.
After her mother’s funeral, Maud has the opportunity to learn this and to overcome her inability to trust others. As Frank writes his book, she feels “a growing sense of concern” (312). Maud fears that this is another creative endeavor doomed to fail. She wants to humor him, but she doesn’t want his dreams to crash around him again. When he finishes the book, she battles with her need for control, wanting to secretly read it and “keep him from being embarrassed” if it turns out to be a flop (316). She trusts Frank, but she wants to balance his optimism. In the end, she chooses to trust his creative process and allows him to chase his dream again. This shows a sense of growth.
In the final chapter of the novel, a much older Maud also experiences growth. Her arc comes full circle. In the beginning, Maud had insisted that she needed to be part of the movie’s process: “Nobody knows more about the story than I do” (11), she told the studio head. In the end, she trusts Judy Garland and the people she’s met to honor the spirit of the story. She lets go of her mistrust, knowing that the people working on the movie care, as they all fought together to include the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” after Mayer cut it from the film. At the premiere of the movie, Maud sits in the theater, transported: She “folded her hands in her lap, and sat, utterly still, as the curtains parted, the veil lifting between this world and another” (339). She allows herself to give into the power of storytelling and let the movie take her away. Her trust is rewarded. The first image Maud sees in the movie reminds her of her own Dorothy, Magdalena. She knows that even if the details are not perfectly faithful to the book, that the movie captures Frank’s spirit of hopefulness and whimsy.
