Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor #HistoricalFiction AudioBook #Review #BookTwitter

Author: Hazel Gaynor

Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

Released on Audible June 2025

Category: Historical Fiction

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I love the way Hazel Gaynor has reimagined the characters of Auntie Em and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, and how references, including the lion and tin man, are incorporated naturally into the narrative.

The story is told in two timelines…

1924 when Emily and her sister Annie live together and both work in Chicago, where they eventually meet the men who were to become their husbands.

1932 chronicles Emily and Henry’s life in Kansas with all the ups, downs and traumas involved.

Before Dorothy begins as Emily returns to Chicago, where she used to live with her sister before they both married, after some devastating news. Emily is unprepared to learn she is now the guardian of her young niece, Dorothy who now must move to Kansas and live with Auntie Em and Uncle Henry on their farm. 

Emily had left her life in Chicago to move to Kansas where her husband was building their home on the prairie. He had dreams of a new life, working the land in the wide open spaces. Emily loved life in Kansas from the start. She’d never imagined Dorothy would become part of their lives in such a sad way, but the little girl settled in well, especially when Emily gave in after much pleading on Dorothy’s part, and let her have a little dog. 

Initially everything was just as Emily and Henry had imagined and, although they worked hard, they reaped the benefits. But it wasn’t to last. Too many people were working the land which caused the destruction of the natural habitats, which in turn caused extreme weather conditions and drought. Consequently the crop yield suffered catastrophically, affecting every farmer on the prairie. 

Before Dorothy is written beautifully with vivid descriptions of life, the good and the not so good, on the prairie, which really drew me in and brought the story to life, enhanced in no small way by Saskia Maarleveld’s narration.

Extract from Wonderful – A Life on the Prairie by Emily Gale

The first time I saw the prairie was like waking from a dream, suddenly and vibrantly aware of my surroundings in a way I’d never been before. Every colour was brighter, every sound clearer, every flowering thing more beautiful and mesmerising and fragrant. I gazed upon the shimmering mirage of emeralds and golds, and couldn’t believe such a place existed. or that I would now call that place home. It was Heaven, if you believe in such a thing. A fairytale, if you don’t. 

Long before Dorothy visits Oz, her aunt, Emily Gale, sets off on her own grand adventure, leaving gritty Chicago behind for Kansas and a life that will utterly change her, in this transporting new novel from New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor.

Chicago, 1924: Emily Gale and her new husband, Henry, yearn to leave the bustle of Chicago behind for the promise of their own American dream. But leaving the city means leaving Emily’s beloved sister, Annie, who was once closer to her than anyone in the world.

Kansas, 1932: Emily and Henry have made a life in the warmth of the community of Liberal, Kansas, and among the harsh beauty of the prairie. Their lives hold a precarious and hopeful purpose, until tragedy strikes and their orphaned niece, Dorothy, lands on their doorstep.

The wide-eyed child isn’t the only thing to disrupt Emily’s world. Drought and devastating dust storms threaten to destroy everything, and their much-loved home becomes a place of uncertainty and danger. When the past catches up with the present and old secrets are exposed, Emily fears she will lose the most cherished thing of Dorothy.

Bursting with courage and heart, Before Dorothy tells the story of the woman who raised a beloved heroine, and ponders the what is the true meaning of home?