Baum, L. Frank: The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. v2. 24 December 2014
 

THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS
by L. Frank Baum (1856 – 1919)
First published 1902

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The text of this book is in the public domain in countries with copyright of Life+90 or less, and in the USA.
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Noted children’s author Lyman Frank Baum, writer of 55 novels and 83 short stories, is best known for his creation of the Oz universe, beginning with the most famous book of them all, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

A non-traditional explanation of Christmas traditions, this delightful fantasy is a biography of Santa Claus, beginning from his origins as an orphaned infant adopted by a wood nymph, and describes how he grew up and became the toymaker and friend to all children.

The short story, A Kidnapped Santa Claus, appeared in The Delineator magazine in 1904. The story deals with Santa Claus's kidnapping by the Daemons of the Caves, in an effort to thwart his yearly delivery of toys.

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I created and posted an illustrated version of this book December 2012, and have now revised it -- I have removed the illustrations which are still under copyright in "Life+70" countries. (The illustrator, Mary Cowles Clark, died in 1950. That illustrated version will again be available for download January 2021.)

Text was obtained from Project Gutenberg Ebook #520. I restored italics, formatted punctuation (curly quotes, endashes), made minor typographical corrections. Chapter heads are cross-linked to inline table of contents. Decorative fonts are used for titles, drop-caps, and scene-break flourishes.

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I hope you, and your children, enjoy this little tribute to the season. Have a happy holiday!
:xmas: