Audio only
Length8h 26m
About this audiobook
A brand-new recording narrated by Cynthia Erivo!
What happened to young Elphaba before her witchy powers took hold in Wicked? Almost 30 years after the publication of the original novel, for the first time Gregory Maguire reveals the story of prickly young Elphie, the future Wicked Witch of the West—setting the stage for the blockbuster international phenomenon that is Wicked: The Musical.
Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, will grow to have a feisty and somewhat uncompromising character in adult life. But she is always a one-off, from her infancy; Elphie is the riveting coming-of-age story of a very peculiar and relatable young girl.
Young Elphie is shaped and molded by the behaviors of her promiscuous mother, Melena, and her pious father, Frex. She suffers ordinary childhood jealousies when her sister, saintly Nessarose, and brother, junior felon Shell, arrive. She first encounters the mistreatment of the Animal populations of Oz, which live adjacent to but not intertwined with human settlements, haunted by a Monkey and receiving aid from Dwarf Bears. She thrashes through her first bruising attempts at friendship, a possible lifeline from her tricky family life. And she gleans the benefits of an education, haphazard though it must be—until she arrives at the doors of Shiz University, about to meet the radiant creature that is Galinda.
Elphie is destined to be a witch; she bears the markings from childhood—most evidently in her green skin but more obscurely and profoundly in her cunning and perhaps amoral behaviors, as she seeks to make do, to slip by, to sneak out, to endure, and to aspire.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.5 (7K)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing
GenreFantasy, Fairy Tales and Folklore
Length8 hrs 26 mins
Narrated byCynthia Erivo
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJul 29, 2025
LanguageEnglish
More from Gregory Maguire
GalindaGregory Maguire7h 13m3.9 (339)$24 · $0.00
The Brides of MaracoorGregory Maguire11h 47m3.8 (5.2K)$29 · $0.00
HiddenseeGregory Maguire10h 4m3.5 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
ElphieGregory Maguire7h 42m3.0 (6.1K)$28 · $0.00
The Oracle of MaracoorGregory Maguire8h 20m3.9 (2K)$26 · $0.00
The Witch of MaracoorGregory Maguire8h 41m3.9 (1.5K)$5 · $0.00
A Wild Winter SwanGregory Maguire8h 57m3.4 (11.4K)$29 · $0.00
After AliceGregory Maguire7h 20m3.2 (14.3K)$24 · $0.00
Out of OzGregory Maguire28h 44m3.9 (27.4K)$53 · $0.00
Missing SistersGregory Maguire4h 36m3.4 (900)$20 · $0.00
The Next Queen of HeavenGregory Maguire11h 29m3.3 (2.4K)$29 · $0.00
Son of a WitchGregory Maguire14h 16m3.7 (74.3K)$33 · $0.00
LostGregory Maguire11h 22m3.0 (16.6K)$29 · $0.00
Mirror MirrorGregory Maguire9h 5m3.3 (32.2K)$29 · $0.00
A Lion Among MenGregory Maguire12h3.5 (46.1K)$29 · $0.00
Leaping BeautyGregory Maguire3h 11m3.4 (1.8K)$18 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Toshikazu Kawaguchi Book SetToshikazu Kawaguchi18h 55m4.5 (1.4K)$40 · $0.00
The Song of AchillesMadeline Miller11h 15m4.3 (2.3M) · 1007$29 · $0.00
The Left and the LuckyWilly Vlautin6h 40m4.4 (1.1K)$24 · $0.00
Hunt of the DragonJuliette Cross9h 46m4.4 (736)$20
Deadly GameChristine Feehan13h 20m4.3 (15.8K)$30
WildfireIlona Andrews12h 45m4.5 (62.9K)$33 · $0.00
Lolth's WarriorR. A. Salvatore13h 20m4.6 (2.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du BoisHonoree Fanonne Jeffers29h 49m4.5 (58K)$8 · $0.00
Treasure Island (Adventure Classic with Illustrations)Robert Louis Stevenson8h 50m4.5 (11.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
Lola in the MirrorTrent Dalton13h 40m4.5 (43.9K)$33 · $0.00
Going PostalTerry Pratchett13h 36m4.5 (163.8K)$33 · $0.00
The Leo Tolstoy CollectionLeo Tolstoy9h 1m4.5 (4.9K)$12 · $0.00
Sword and ShadowMichelle Sagara16h 51m4.5 (2.2K)$40 · $0.00
A Tree Grows in BrooklynBetty Smith14h 55m4.4 (577.6K)$33 · $0.00
Dark GuardianChristine Feehan12h 32m4.5 (26.3K)$33 · $0.00
The Neil Gaiman ReaderNeil Gaiman27h 3m4.5 (3.2K)$53 · $0.00
The HobbitJ. R. R. Tolkien10h 51m4.4 (4.9M)$12 · $0.00
Bad HabitAlana S. Portero5h 37m4.4 (52.3K)$24 · $0.00
Dark HarmonyLaura Thalassa14h 25m4.2 (101.3K)$23
The High PriestessMaya Daniels5h4.5 (48)Free
No Woman Left BehindJulie Moffett8h 49m4.5 (3K)$25 · $0.00
The Undead PoolKim Harrison16h 13m4.4 (34.6K)$33 · $0.00
The Sweetest FiendRaven Kennedy16h 35m4.4 (2.6K)$40 · $0.00
TILL WE HAVE FACES (Cupid & Psyche – The Story Behind the Myth)C. S. Lewis9h 51m4.3 (104.5K)$1 · $0.00
Grimms' Fairy TalesJacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm9h 46m4.3 (256.5K)$2 · $0.00
The Hymns of OrpheusThomas Taylor3h 13m4.4 (777)$21 · $0.00
The Olive Fairy BookAndrew Lang9h 46m4.4 (1.3K)$2.30 · $0.00
The Once and Future King (Annotated)T. H. White28h 26m4.3 (121.8K)$2 · $0.00
Further Tales of the CityArmistead Maupin8h 10m4.3 (20.4K)$26 · $0.00
A Christmas CarolCharles Dickens3h 11m4.3 (1.1M)$1.20 · $0.00
Norse MythologyNeil Gaiman6h 30m4.2 (453.7K)$24 · $0.00
The Grimm's Fairy Tales - Complete Edition: 200+ Stories in One VolumeBrothers Grimm29h 32m4.2 (168.7K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Wonder ClockHoward Pyle, Katharine Pyle8h 16m4.3 (2.1K)$1 · $0.00
The Family InheritanceTricia Stringer12h 14m4.3 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Good Wife of BathKaren Brooks19h 48m4.2 (9K)$40 · $0.00
Grimms' Fairy TalesJacob and Wilhelm Grimm10h 13m4.2 (291K)$1.20 · $0.00
Mary JaneJessica Anya Blau9h 45m4.2 (166.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Funny Thing About Norman ForemanJulietta Henderson9h 11m4.2 (16.4K)$29 · $0.00
You may also like
A Girl Called RumiAri Honarvar11h 52m4.3 (471)$23 · $0.00
JackGeorge Sayer13h 26m4.3 (3.8K)$23 · $0.00
The SwapMegan Shull9h 26m4.3 (10.3K)$29 · $0.00
The New Moon’s ArmsNalo Hopkinson9h 59m4.0 (1.8K)$30 · $0.00
The Enchanted PlacesChristopher Milne5h 22m4.0 (1.3K)$14 · $0.00
The Velveteen RabbitMargery Williams29m4.4 (319.9K)$3
When We Become OursShannon Gibney, Nicole Chung, Mariama J. Lockington, Meredith Ireland, Mark Oshiro, Stefany Valentine, Eric Smith, Kelley Baker, MeMe Collier, Susan Harness, Lisa Nopachai, Matthew Salesses, Sun Yung Shin, Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom, Jenny Heijun Wills8h 47m4.2 (464)$29 · $0.00
The Collected Works of James Joyce (Annotated)James Joyce53h 17m4.5 (2.4K)$0.99 · $0.00
Earth to MoonMoon Unit Zappa10h 37m4.2 (2.8K)$8 · $0.00
American NegraNatasha S. Alford10h 39m4.3 (474)$29 · $0.00
The Best American Short Stories 2023Min Jin Lee, Heidi Pitlor14h 59m3.9 (1.3K)$33 · $0.00
Defiant JoyKevin Belmonte8h 25m4.0 (372)$20 · $0.00
Black Bird, Blue RoadSofiya Pasternack7h 29m4.2 (1.2K)$24 · $0.00
Don't Call Me PrincessPeggy Orenstein10h 8m4.0 (1.1K)$29 · $0.00
Red, White, and WholeRajani LaRocca2h 39m4.5 (12.1K)$18 · $0.00
The Most Reluctant ConvertDavid C. Downing5h 21m4.3 (1.4K)$14
Leonardo da VinciSIGMUND FREUD2h 31m3.7 (2.7K)$3.50 · $0.00
MisophoniaDana Vowinckel11h 17m4.2 (3.2K)$29 · $0.00
Grimoire GirlHilarie Burton Morgan6h 13m4.3 (13.2K)$24 · $0.00
The Boy CrisisWarren Farrell PhD, John Gray PhD15h 9m4.1 (4.8K)$23