Wicked is a darker and more adult-themed revisionist exploration of the characters and setting of the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, its sequels, and the 1939 film adaptation.

Maguire shows the traditionally villainous character in a sympathetic light, using her journey to explore the problem of evil and the nature versus nurture debate, as well as themes of terrorism, propaganda, and existential purpose.

In what he later described as "the one great revelation of my life," Maguire realized that there were in fact villains in children's books; however, they were usually written as one-dimensional stock characters in order to provoke a quick emotional reaction from young readers.

Wondering whom to write about, he envisioned the Wicked Witch of the West, as played by Margaret Hamilton in the MGM film, delivering her iconic line, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!

[1][5] He decided to tell the Wicked Witch's life story using the same large scale and broad moral messages found in the novels of Charles Dickens.

The story details Elphaba's difficult childhood before flashing forward to show her at Shiz University with her social climbing roommate Galinda, who is destined to become Glinda.

Headmistress and Ozian power broker Madame Morrible suggests that Elphaba and Glinda work for her from behind the scenes to help stabilize the political situation in Oz.

After bludgeoning the old woman's corpse, Elphaba learns from the Clock of the Time Dragon that the Wizard is her biological father, making her the child of two different worlds and thus destined never to fit in anywhere.

She returns to Kiamo Ko and Liir informs her he has learned from soldiers stationed nearby that the Wizard has sent Dorothy and her companions on a mission to kill Elphaba.

Furious that Dorothy is asking for the forgiveness she herself has been denied, Elphaba waves her burning broom in the air and inadvertently sets her skirt on fire.

He recalled reading a newspaper headline in 1991 comparing Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler and feeling firsthand the emotional power of propaganda.

"[10] In the book, one major plank of the Wizard's agenda involves the subjugation of sentient Animals[8] and Madame Morrible promotes this idea using a type of moralistic poem called a "quell."

[12] Elphaba discovers her own purpose as a student at Shiz University, where the murder of her favorite professor, Dr. Dillamond, inspires her to join the cause of Animal rights.

The Independent compared it to Wide Sargasso Sea and Wild Wood as part of "a fascinating sub-genre of novels that revisit well-known stories as much in the spirit of criticism as homage.

"[14] While previous authors had accepted the existing moral framework of the Oz stories, Wicked showed affection for the originals while simultaneously questioning everything they stood for.

Maguire presents a sympathetic view of a villainous character by detailing her life story and helping the reader understand how "an innocent if rather green and biting child" can become "a still moralistic terrorist.

Publishers Weekly called it a "fantastical meditation on good and evil, God and free will" which combined "puckish humor and bracing pessimism.

Wicked, she felt, "turns a wonderfully spontaneous world of fantasy into a lugubrious allegorical realm, in which everything and everyone is labeled with a topical name tag.

"[13] In 2024 the book was banned in Texas by the Katy Independent School District on the basis that the novel is "adopting, supporting, or promoting gender fluidity" despite also pronouncing a bullying policy that protects infringements on the rights of the student.

[20] On January 9, 2011, Entertainment Weekly reported that ABC would be teaming up with Salma Hayek and her production company to create a TV miniseries of Wicked based solely on Maguire's novel.

[31] In March 2025, William Morrow Paperbacks will publish the first volume of a graphic novel adaptation of Wicked, with illustrations by Scott Hampton.