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| Quadling Country | |
|---|---|
| The Oz series location | |
Map of Oz, with Quadling Country in the South
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| First appearance | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz |
| Created by | L. Frank Baum |
| Genre | Children's fantasy |
| In-universe information | |
| Type | Fairy country |
| Ruler | Glinda the Good Witch of the South |
| Ethnic group(s) | Quadlings, Hammer-Heads, Hoppers, Horners |
| Locations | Forest of the Fighting Trees, Dainty China Country, Glinda's Palace, Jinxland |
The Quadling Country is the southern division of L. Frank Baum's fictional Land of Oz, first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). The surroundings and the clothes worn by the locals are red. Like the Munchkin Country, the outer regions of the Quadling Country are rich, being inhabited by kind and friendly people, while the areas closer to the Emerald City (most of the regions between the mountains of the Hammerheads, the enclave of Dainty China Country and the Forest of the Fighting Trees) are forbidden and dangerous.
Michael Patrick Hearn suggests the name Quadling means "a small inhabitant of the fourth country."[1]
InGregory Maguire's revisionist Oz novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and Son of a Witch, Quadling Country is described as a largely undeveloped, swampy region, with the ruddy-faced Quadlings being portrayed as artistic and sexually free. It is also stated that in Oz they represent the lowest of the low in humans. This province is located directly south, the Yellow Brick Road breaks into the mountains of the Quadling Kells to end in the capital, Qhoyre, a city made of red stones and high balconies, with its red-skinned inhabitants living in hot rooms invaded by wild insects and drinking the native drink: red mint tea; The quadlings themselves describe their homeland as "poor but incredibly beautiful", a river, Waterslip, runs along a short dry red brick road, connecting Qhoyre with Ovvels, a village hanging on the trees, just above the humid marshes and swamps, hiding underwater rubies and an exotic wildlife. Here is where Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West), Nessarose (the Wicked Witch of the East) and Shell are raised, though they are natives of Munchkinland. Despite its unprofitable swampy soil, Quadling Country is reported to be situated above vast deposits of rubies, and for this reason the Wizard sends his forces to clear the area for mining. This campaign results in the decimation of both the population and the ecosystem of the area.
InOz: The Great and Powerful, the Quadlings are inhabitants of Glinda's kingdom. They are kind-hearted, simple country folk who are mostly farmers with no fighting experience. Nonetheless, they joined Glinda's army against the Wicked Witch of the East. They display little preference for the color red. Part of the Dainty China Country also appears, having been ravaged by the Wicked Witch of the East's winged baboons with China Girl as the sole survivor.
