 | |
| Author | Susan Cooper |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Alan E. Cober |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Dark Is Rising Sequence |
| Genre | Contemporary fantasy |
| Publisher | Atheneum Press |
Publication date | April 17, 1974 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 131 |
| Preceded by | The Dark Is Rising (1973) |
| Followed by | The Grey King (1975) |
Greenwitch is a contemporary fantasy novel by Susan Cooper, published by Atheneum Press in 1974. It is the third entry in the five book Dark Is Rising Sequence.
The Drew children – Simon, Jane, and Barney – return to Cornwall with their uncle Merriman Lyon. Merriman enlists them along with Will Stanton, his protégé, to recover a golden grail needed to defeat the forces of the Dark.
The book draws heavily on Celtic mythology and Arthurian legend, as well as Classical mythology. [1] The figure of the "Greenwitch", and the associated all-female festival attended by Jane, has been compared to female fertility rites in European mythology. [2]
The book received mixed to positive reviews from critics. [3] [4] Kirkus Reviews described it as "breathtakingly impressive", but criticized the conflict between good and evil as being overly abstract. [5] Both Rebecca Fisher of Fantasy Literature and Tara L. Rivera of Common Sense Media praised Cooper's writing, but similarly criticized the interactions between Will and the Drew Children. [6] [7] Susan Davie of the School Library Journal described Will's presence in the novel as "superfluous." [8]
Karen Patricia Smith has written "Greenwitch, the third book in the series, is quite different in mood from the earlier books. In this dreamlike novel set in Cornwall, magic often occurs during the hours of darkness and yet readers are not left with the feeling that experiences have been merely imagined. The Greenwitch, a figure created by village women, comes into possession of a great secret coveted by the powers of Light and Dark. Young Jane's innocence moves the creature to release the secret. Jane is an interesting figure because at first she appears to be a rather flat character who reacts according to convention. Yet as the story progresses, we learn that even those who are skilled and knowledgeable in fighting the powers of the Dark are powerless in this instance. Ironically it is Jane who is successful, not through dramatic means, but rather through communicating her compassion for the Greenwitch." [9]
Susan Mary Cooper is an English author of children's books. She is best known for The Dark Is Rising, a contemporary fantasy series set in England and Wales, which incorporates British mythology such as the Arthurian legends and Welsh folk heroes. For that work, in 2012 she won the lifetime Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association, recognizing her contribution to writing for teens. In the 1970s two of the five novels were named the year's best English-language book with an "authentic Welsh background" by the Welsh Books Council. In 2024, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association named her the 40th Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master in recognition of her significant contributions to the literature of science fiction and fantasy.
The Grey King is a contemporary fantasy novel by Susan Cooper, published almost simultaneously by Chatto & Windus and Atheneum in 1975. It is the fourth of five books in her Arthurian fantasy series The Dark is Rising.
Rodman Philbrick is an American writer of novels for adults and children. He has written popular children's books such as Freak the Mighty, Max the Mighty, The Last Book In The Universe, and has written other mysteries and thrillers for adults.
The Dark Is Rising Sequence is a series of five contemporary fantasy novels for older children and young adults that were written by the British author Susan Cooper and published from 1965 to 1977. The first book in the series, Over Sea, Under Stone, was originally conceived as a stand-alone novel, and the sequence gets its name from the second novel in the series, The Dark Is Rising. The Dark Is Rising Sequence is used as an over-arching title in several omnibus, boxed-set, and coordinated editions; but the title of The Dark is Rising is also used for the whole series.
The Dark Is Rising is a 1973 children's fantasy novel by Susan Cooper. The second in The Dark Is Rising Sequence, the book won a Newbery Honor. It has been described as a "folkloric tale of an English boy caught in a battle between light and dark".
Silver on the Tree is a contemporary fantasy novel by Susan Cooper, published by Chatto & Windus in 1977. It is the final entry in the five book Dark Is Rising Sequence.
Over Sea, Under Stone is a contemporary fantasy novel written for children by the English author Susan Cooper, first published in London by Jonathan Cape in 1965. Cooper wrote four sequels about ten years later, making it the first volume in a series usually called The Dark Is Rising Sequence. In contrast to the rest of the series, it is more a mystery, with traditional fantasy elements mainly the subject of hints later in the narrative. Thus it may ease readers into the fantasy genre.
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