The beloved multi-million-copy-bestselling novel and basis of the Tony Award-winning musical and movie, in a deluxe hardback edition with stained edges, a ribbon marker, and an elegant foil-stamped cover.When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked?Gregory Maguire has created a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again.Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West--a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.