Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West audiobook cover - Before there was a Witch, there was a child named Elphaba. Green-skinned, sharp-minded, and impossible to place in a world that fears what it cannot explain. Here’s how she became a legend—and why her story won’t let go of yours.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Before there was a Witch, there was a child named Elphaba. Green-skinned, sharp-minded, and impossible to place in a world that fears what it cannot explain. Here’s how she became a legend—and why her story won’t let go of yours.

Gregory Maguire

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Chapter Overview

Description

This is the untold life of the Wicked Witch of the West: a girl named Elphaba, born with green skin, raised between a preacher’s guilt and a mother’s hunger for anything that numbs the ache. Wicked reframes Oz as a living country with politics, prejudice, and everyday hunger for power. We meet Elphaba not as a punchline but as a person—brilliant, stubborn, and often alone—whose choices are complicated by the choices others make about her. In Shiz, she faces a world that wants easy answers; in Kiamo Ko, she builds a life in the shadow of old grief; in the open sky, she tries to make sense of a book of living mysteries and a world that keeps shifting under her feet. Through a vivid cast—Glinda with a conscience, Doctor Dillamond with a question, Nessarose with holy certainty, Fiyero with soft hands, and even Dorothy with courage she didn’t want to need—Gregory Maguire asks what makes a villain and what makes a legend. This 30‑minute narrative traces the arc from birth to myth, revealing how a person becomes a symbol—and what that costs.

Who Should Listen

  • Readers who love morally complex fantasy that reimagines familiar myths
  • Fans of political worldbuilding and character-driven storytelling
  • Listeners who enjoy friendships as much as battles and want villains with reasons

About the Authors

Gregory Maguire is an American novelist best known for Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Born in 1954, he has written for children and adults, often reinventing classic tales to expose the human stakes beneath the myth. Wicked became a cultural touchstone and inspired the hit Broadway musical. Maguire’s work is distinctive for its empathy, political bite, and enduring interest in how stories make—and unmake—our idea of good and evil.