Read every series in the right order
The Wicked Years Books in Chronological Order – Complete Reading Guide
Table of Contents
Quick Answer (TL;DR)
Read The Wicked Years Books in Chronological Order like this:
- Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West → Elphaba’s origin and Oz under the Wizard
- Son of a Witch → Liir’s story (Elphaba’s possible son) and the aftermath of Wicked
- A Lion Among Men → Brrr (the Cowardly Lion) grapples with his past and Oz’s civil tensions
- Out of Oz → Rain (Elphaba’s granddaughter) and the series’ sweeping, full-circle conclusion
If you prefer publication order… good news: it’s the same. Skip nothing; each entry reframes earlier events and pays off long-running mysteries.
Introduction
If L. Frank Baum’s Emerald City is the fairy-tale postcard, Gregory Maguire’s The Wicked Years is the living, breathing city behind it—messy, political, and gloriously human. This is Oz viewed from the alleys, the classrooms, the palace corridors, and the margins: a mosaic of power, prejudice, friendship, and fate centered on Elphaba Thropp—the “Wicked Witch” who may be the only character in Oz brave enough to tell the truth.
As your resident book-nerd at Books in Chronological Order, I’m giving you the clearest path to reading The Wicked Years Books in Chronological Order—plus blurbs that won’t spoil your goosebumps, a series timeline, companion works, and a reader-friendly breakdown of formats (including which audiobooks really sing). Whether you’re coming from the Broadway phenomenon or from the 2024/2025 film duology, you’ll leave with a plan, a shopping cart, and a better sense of why Maguire’s Oz still matters.
Quick Facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Primary Genre | Adult literary fantasy; mythopoeic/political fantasy |
| Tone & Themes | Identity, otherness, moral ambiguity, state power vs. conscience, animal rights (Animals vs animals), friendship & found family |
| Reading Difficulty | Moderate (lyrical prose, political world-building) |
| Total Main Novels | 4 |
| Approx. Page Range (per book) | ~320–560 pages |
| Estimated Read Time (entire quartet) | ~45–60 hours (print) • ~55–65 hours (audio, unabridged) |
| Ideal Age Range | 16+ (adult themes) |
| Content Warnings | Violence, political oppression, discrimination, death, sexual content (non-graphic), war/civil unrest |
| Media Adaptations | Tony-winning stage musical (Wicked, 2003– ) and a two-part film (2024/2025) |
| Best Entry Point | Start at Wicked (resist skipping; each book re-keys the myth) |
About The Wicked Years Book Series
The Wicked Years reframes Oz from a dazzling moral fable into a world where labels like “good” and “wicked” are political tools as much as ethical truths. Maguire begins with Wicked, tracing Elphaba’s life from a difficult birth (that iconic green skin) to her years at Shiz University and her awakening to systemic cruelty—especially the regime’s treatment of Animals (sentient, speaking beings) versus animals (non-sentient). The sequels refuse to repeat a hit formula; instead, each follow-up changes perspective and genre register:
- Son of a Witch pivots to Liir’s haunted coming-of-age and a moral inventory of rebellion’s costs.
- A Lion Among Men digs into Brrr’s unreliable memory, complicity, and cowardice with courtroom-drama energy and confessional tone.
- Out of Oz zooms to generational legacy—Rain’s story—while knitting the cycle’s political threads together into a stirring finale.
Together, the quartet asks: Who writes the story we inherit? And who gets to revise it?
The Wicked Years Books at a Glance
| # | Title | Amazon Buy Link |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 | Son of a Witch | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 | A Lion Among Men | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 | Out of Oz | Buy on Amazon |
The Wicked Years Chronological Reading Order
1) Wicked
- What it is: A coming-of-age and coming-to-conscience novel that treats Oz like a real nation-state—with factions, propaganda, and a surveillance apparatus (the Wizard’s secret police).
- Why it matters: It reframes a villain into a dissident. Elphaba’s green skin marks her as “other,” but it’s her refusal to look away from institutional cruelty that earns her the label “wicked.”
- You’ll love it if… morally gray heroines, campus-novel textures, and political fantasy are your sweet spot.
- Look out for: Shiz University dynamics, the chilling Animal/animal divide, and the Clock of the Time Dragon (a device that functions like a moral funhouse mirror for Oz).
2) Son of a Witch
- What it is: A restorative quest and identity mystery for Liir, the boy sheltered in Elphaba’s shadow—now badly injured, possibly purposeless, and asked to be brave where he has only learned to survive.
- Why it matters: It tests whether rebellion produces responsibility. Liir confronts the cost of action vs. the cost of indifference.
- You’ll love it if… post-war healing arcs, found family, and slow-burn selfhood appeal to you.
- Look out for: Candle (one of the series’ most quietly affecting presences), and a deepening sense that Oz is still listing under the weight of the Wizard’s legacy.
3) A Lion Among Men
- What it is: A character study and interrogation—Brrr (the Cowardly Lion) recounts his past to an ancient oracle, Yackle, while a civil war swells in the background.
- Why it matters: The book dives into complicity. Brrr has survived by sidestepping rather than standing up; now he must own the trail behind him.
- You’ll love it if… you enjoy courtroom-style revelations, unreliable narrators, and the way a single testimony can invert a legend.
- Look out for: Cat politics (no, really), a massacre that never leaves the page, and a masterclass in how reputation ossifies into identity.
4) Out of Oz
- What it is: A generational epic. Rain, Elphaba’s granddaughter, steps onto the stage just as Oz fractures—Glinda under house arrest, the Lion on the run, Munchkinland at war.
- Why it matters: It’s the quartet’s crescendo—braiding magical, political, and personal stakes and paying off mysteries planted as far back as Wicked.
- You’ll love it if… you want a big, sweeping finale that returns to every corner of Oz and leaves space for grace.
- Look out for: A wiser, wearier Oz; music and memory as a kind of spell; and a coda that feels earned.
Series Timeline & Character Development
- Elphaba → Wicked: From sharp-tongued student to reluctant radical. Not “wicked” so much as unwilling to participate in polite harm.
- Liir → Son of a Witch: From peripheral boy to moral agent. The question isn’t “Is he Elphaba’s son?” so much as “What will he do with the world she saw?”
- Brrr → A Lion Among Men: From punchline to problematic witness. A lifetime of small evasions tallies up—can confession be a kind of courage?
- Rain → Out of Oz: From protected to purposeful. She inherits not answers, but a refusal to look away.
Emphatically, The Wicked Years Books in Chronological Order is a story of inheritance—not of land or titles, but of responsibility.
Novels Sorted in Order of In-Universe Events
- Wicked (Elphaba’s lifespan; overlaps the Dorothy era)
- Son of a Witch (post-Elphaba aftermath; Liir’s journey)
- A Lion Among Men (Brrr’s spiraling backstory with forward-moving civil tensions)
- Out of Oz (Rain’s coming-of-age; conflicts converge)
Note: A Lion Among Men contains significant flashbacks that predate and run parallel to earlier books, but it belongs third for narrative momentum and payoff.
Novels Sorted in Order of Publication
- Wicked (1995)
- Son of a Witch (2005)
- A Lion Among Men (2008)
- Out of Oz (2011)
Conveniently, publication order matches the most satisfying in-world path.
Companion Works & Related Reading
- Another Day Trilogy (set in the wider Wicked-verse):
- The Brides of Maracoor, The Oracle of Maracoor, The Witch of Maracoor. These continue threads from Out of Oz with fresh locales and mythic textures. Read after the main quartet.
- Oz Source Texts: L. Frank Baum’s original Oz novels—especially The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—are illuminating to sample (pre- or post-Maguire) to feel how the moral compass is being critiqued and re-aligned.
- Stage Tie-Ins: The Broadway cast album (Wicked, Original Broadway Cast Recording) amplifies the Elphaba/Glinda dynamic that readers love in Wicked.
Editions & Formats (hardcover, collector, audio)
Hardcover & Paperback
- Trade paperbacks are the most common and usually match for shelf aesthetics; film tie-in editions exist for Wicked if you want synergy with the screen.
- Boxed sets surface periodically (quadruple bind-ups of the main four).
Collector Notes
- Look for anniversary editions and musical tie-in covers. Some printings include discussion guides—handy for book clubs.
- Ephemera (maps, glossaries) isn’t standard, but certain editions have richer back matter.
Audiobooks
- Narrations vary by title; seek editions with seasoned voice actors who can differentiate Animals vs. humans without caricature.
- If you’re audio-first, budget a long weekend per novel—The Wicked Years Books in Chronological Order is immersive and rewards continuous listening.
Why Read The Wicked Years Books in Chronological Order?
Because Maguire builds meaning cumulatively. Wicked sets the ethical and political grammar; Son of a Witch tests its verbs (“to resist,” “to repair”); A Lion Among Men interrogates passive voice (who does the harm vs. who “lets” the harm happen); Out of Oz re-conjugates the future tense. Reading in order preserves the series’ layered irony—especially how new testimonies revise old “truths.”
You’ll also track objects and motifs—the Grimmerie, the Clock, Animals’ rights—with maximum resonance. If you jump around, you can still enjoy the prose, but you’ll blunt the emotional math.
Author Spotlight: Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire (New England and France) earned his doctorate in English literature and taught at Boston-area colleges before becoming a full-time novelist. He’s written widely for adults and children, but The Wicked Years is his cultural keystone—an audacious re-imagining that dared to ask if the “wickedness” we fear is sometimes the courage we need.
Maguire’s gift isn’t just subversion; it’s empathy under pressure. He builds societies that feel lived-in—complete with bureaucratic acronyms, headline-level crises, and private, tender micro-moments—and then threads them to your heart with sentences that hum. If you finish Out of Oz and feel both chastened and hopeful, that’s his signature.
Media Adaptations (stage & film)
Stage
- Wicked (2003– ), with music/lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, is one of Broadway’s longest-running hits and a global touring mainstay. If the musical led you here, know that the novel is darker, more political, and more ambiguous. That friction is part of the fun.
Film (Two-Part Screen Adaptation)
- Part One released in late 2024, directed by Jon M. Chu and starring Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande (Glinda). Box Office Mojo lists the domestic opening and core production stats, with the film positioned as a fantasy/musical/romance.
- Part Two is officially titled Wicked: For Good, slated (US) for November 21, 2025; the official site is live with date and world-building goodies.
- Casting tidbit: Peter Dinklage voices Dr. Dillamond in the films.
- Universal’s official synopsis page references the sequel title and ongoing promotional framing. (If you’re tracking the duology branding, this is your canonical source.)
Book-to-screen note: The films necessarily hew closer to the musical (songs, structure). The books offer deeper politics and thornier moral calculus—so reading The Wicked Years Books in Chronological Order gives you the richest version of Oz.
Watch Wicked trailer here:
FAQs
Do I need to read Baum’s Oz books first?
No. Maguire assumes cultural osmosis (you know the broad strokes). Reading Baum later can be a cool compare/contrast on tone and ethics.
Is the reading order the same as publication order?
Yes—Wicked → Son of a Witch → A Lion Among Men → Out of Oz. This is the strongest path.
I loved the musical—will I like the novels?
If you enjoy moral complexity, yes. Expect fewer Broadway-winks and more realpolitik; the love between friends and the strain of dissent feel harder-won.
Are these YA?
No. Marketed and written for adults (older teens can read with context).
Content intensity?
Moderate to high for an adult fantasy—war, oppression, targeted violence are present but not gratuitous.
Audiobook rec?
Go unabridged. The prose cadence matters.
Where do the Maracoor books fit?
After the quartet. Think of them as a horizon beyond Oz’s borders.
Final Thoughts
When you finish The Wicked Years Books in Chronological Order, you realize Maguire didn’t just retell Oz—he re-moralized it. He asks whether we are brave enough to be called wicked by a system we believe to be wrong. Few fantasy cycles manage to be this pointed and this tender at once. Read them in order, let the surprises land, and allow Oz to complicate you—beautifully.
