The Master Key by L. Frank Baum
The Master Key was one of Baum’s earliest full length fantasy books for children, published in 1901 just one year after The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The protagonist, Rob, while experimenting in his workshop, accidentally summons up an electrical fairy who presents him with electrical devices so advanced as to seem magical. His gifts include a flying contraption, a stun gun, and something resembling an omniscient portable TV set. Rob travels the world, rendering assistance to European heads of state and narrowly escaping disaster at the hands of “primitive” cannibals, Turks and Tatars, pirates, and evil scientists who try to steal his inventions. It’s great fun, despite the occasional use of racial stereotypes that reflect the values of its time.
The Master Key was one of Baum’s earliest full length fantasy books for children, published in 1901 just one year after The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The protagonist, Rob, while experimenting in his workshop, accidentally summons up an electrical fairy who presents him with electrical devices so advanced as to seem magical. His gifts include a flying contraption, a stun gun, and something resembling an omniscient portable TV set. Rob travels the world, rendering assistance to European heads of state and narrowly escaping disaster at the hands of “primitive” cannibals, Turks and Tatars, pirates, and evil scientists who try to steal his inventions. It’s great fun, despite the occasional use of racial stereotypes that reflect the values of its time.
02 – The Demon of Electricity
04 – Testing the Instruments
05 – The Cannibal Island
07 – The Demon Becomes Angry
08 – Rob Acquires New Powers
09 – The Second Journey
10 – How Rob Served a Mighty King
11 – The Man of Science
12 – How Rob Saved A Republic
13 – Rob Loses His Treasures
15 – A Battle with Monsters
16 – Shipwrecked Mariners
17 – The Coast of Oregon
19 – Rob Makes a Resolution
20 – The Unhappy Fate of the Demon
