Quadling Country


The Quadling Country is the Southern division of L. Frank Baum's fictional Land of Oz, first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It is distinguished by the color red, worn by most of the local inhabitants called the Quadlings as well as the color of their surroundings. Like the Munchkin Country, the outer regions of the Quadling Country are rich, pleasant and lovely, being inhabited by kind and friendly people, while the areas closer to the Emerald City are forbidding and dangerous.

Locations and inhabitants

Like all the countries of Oz, the Quadling Country contains various unusual sights, creatures, and places. Among them are:

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In Gregory Maguire's revisionist Oz novels ' 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, Nessarose 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.
In
', 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 flying baboons, with China Girl as the sole survivor.