Now, onto The Dark Is Rising itself! Spending a book with Will and the other Stantons feels like a lovely idea right now. Lccn 66011199 Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Old_pallet IA18426 Openlibrary_edition Thompson, Raymond (2 July 1989). "Interview with Susan Cooper". Taliesin's Successors: Interviews with Authors of Modern Arthurian Literature. The Camelot Project. The Robbins Library, University of Rochester . Retrieved 13 January 2011. Soon the house is burgled, with attention paid only to the bookshelves and the wall hangings, and the children guess that someone else knows of and seeks the manuscript. The children decide that it is time to confide in Great-Uncle Merry. Up on the headland they show him the map, and he tells them that it is a copy of an even older map that shows the way to a hidden treasure and that the children are now in great danger. He explains that some British artefact may have been hidden here long ago, and confirms that they will have dangerous grown-up rivals in its pursuit. So begins their quest for the Grail on behalf of the Light, which they have to achieve while being harried by Mr. Withers and his sister, who are agents of the Dark, desperate to stop them at any cost. Corran, Mary (1996). "Susan Cooper: Overview". In David Pringle (ed.). St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers. New York: St. James Press . Retrieved 5 August 2013.

I think it’s partly that which makes the books survive for me — under the concerns of the children, there’s that darkness and fear. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (1965)". Book Review. ReadingMatters. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007 . Retrieved 12 September 2007. The Walker: A human who betrayed the Light and was cursed to carry the Sign of Bronze, one of six Things of Power that repel the Dark, through the centuries until the last Old One claimed it from him. The Walker was once Hawkin, a liege man and foster son of Merriman during the 13th century. His betrayal of the Light stemmed largely from Merriman's acceptance of Hawkin's willingness to sacrifice his life to protect the Book of Gramarye, the secrets of which the human Hawkin can neither possess nor partake of. In The Dark Is Rising, his appearance in Will Stanton's town precipitates Will's "awakening" and rise to power. He presents Will with his second sign.

Study Pack

Smith, Karen Patricia (1994). "Susan Cooper: Overview". In Laura Standley Berger (ed.). Twentieth-Century Young Adult Writers. Detroit: St. James Press. Old Speech is the spoken form of the ancient language of the Old Ones. When an Old One comes to power, this language is used instinctively by the Old One when speaking to members of the Light or the Dark. Will Stanton begins to do this without even realizing it. When an Old One speaks the Old Speech in front of a normal human, it will sound like gibberish. 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 (1965 to 1977). [1] 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. [3] Thus it may ease readers into the fantasy genre. [3] Plot [ edit ] Midsummer's Tree: In the Chiltern Hills, England, The Tree produces a silver flower, which blooms once every 700 years, and is the final challenge for the Six of the Light. The person who obtains the silver flower gains control of the High Magic, to put out of Time the Dark or the Light forever. Bran Davies, the Pendragon and heir of King Arthur, wields the Crystal Sword to cut the fully blossomed silver flower on the Midsummer's Tree, which is caught by Merriman, making the Light victorious. Another thing which gets me is how all the people act like people. Jane and Barney and Simon get scared, they get jealous of each other, they puff themselves up and act important… The adults are indulgent, complacent. And then there’s the poetry of the quiet moments, the moon on the water and the quiet dusty attic and… Yeah. Brilliant writing. Not as compelling as the later books, but even here it’s very fine.

What makes this book a little more that just a children’s adventure, is one the historical/legendary aspects that come in for the mysterious manuscript and treasure are related to Arthur and Arthurian lore, as are the forces of dark that have been unleased. Also with the children being the ones to ‘find’ the map, an element of destiny, even prophecy (even though not specifically mentioned) comes into play for it is clear that it is they who must find the treasure. Great Uncle Merry (we are given an idea as to who he could be, but I won’t spoil the fun) helps and is there to protect them when needed (even distract the ‘villains’), but never takes the lead or tries to takes over the treasure hunt. Again, the danger, that comes from the Withers as well as some other characters representing the ‘dark’ is far more sinister than in an ‘ordinary’ children’s adventure. It’s time for a The Dark is Rising sequence readathon again! If you wish to join, you can do so via this blog. It’s the perfect time of year to reread the books, at least the second one in particular, with the winter solstice coming up. I always try and read them around this time of year! Wild Magic: The magic of nature, first used in The Dark Is Rising to provide strength to the forces of the Light in the book's final battle. In Greenwitch, we learn that the Wild Magic is equal in strength to both the Dark and the Light, but that it stands apart and is unaffected by either. Joel Chaston writes, "Reviewers noted that the book begins as a mystery-adventure story and becomes a sort of morality tale full of mysticism and elements of Arthurian legend. Because it later became a part of a series, Over Sea, Under Stone has continued to gain new readers. In a 1976 Horn Book essay, "A Second Look: Over Sea, Under Stone", Dwight Dudley Carlson argues that Cooper's superb abilities as a storyteller, the novel's clear delineation of good and evil, and the believability of the Drew children have contributed to its lasting success with young readers." [5] Publication history [ edit ]

Over Sea, Under Stone

What impressed me more was Cooper’s dedication to deductive reasoning and methodical planning on the part of the children. Too many books pitched at young adults have shallow, even insipid plots that require little originality or problem solving on the part of the protagonist. The adventure usually consists of a series of physical feats, and the mental obstacles, if any, are tired and repetitive. Here, the children face a number of obstacles that they overcome through rigorous reasoning and ingenious innovation. For example, at one point they use a ball of cotton thread Jane has to hand to try to measure the depth of a hole they find. Another scene has them reasoning out how the relative placement of three standing stones on a slope affects their apparent heights, and thus the heights of the shadows they cast. By including these details and showing the children’s thinking process, Cooper exposes her younger audience to deductive reasoning. I devoured juvenile mystery series as a boy— Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Encyclopedia Brown were among the best—and I could see myself enjoying this dimension of Over Sea, Under Stone. I read the shit out of this series when I was a kid. I still have the above original copy I read as a kid. I haven't re-read them in years but they still stand out as some of, perhaps THE, best series of "fantastic" novels for children. They recognise a drawing of the local coastline that may be a kind of map, with almost illegible text, but Barney realises that the map refers to King Arthur and his knights. The children decide to keep the discovery to themselves.