Great Fictional Characters: John Trenchard

Continuing with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2015

J is for John Trenchard.

Moonfleet, by John Meade Faulkner, is a classic. The tale of smuggling on the Dorset coast may remind you of others, but there is something special about Moonfleet, something that sets it apart. The film and TV versions do not do it justice, and I urge you (even more so than usual) to read the book.

John Trenchard is a fairly ordinary fifteen year old orphan, living with his aunt and attending the local school, while lusting after the beautiful Grace Maskew, who is nothing like her revolting magistrate father. Smuggling is a part of the economy, despite Maskew's best efforts, and John is used to turning a blind eye to shifty-looking men muttering in corners (or maybe he is just really naïve). What is more fascinating to him (other than Grace) is the tale of Colonel John "Blackbeard" Mohune, a terrible scoundrel, who was rumoured to have stolen a diamond from King Charles I and hidden it away somewhere. It is said he haunts the churchyard at night, and John himself has seen strange lights there after dark...


The old Moonfleet church

At church one Sunday, after a major flood, John hears knocking from below ground. Convinced it must be coffins of long-dead Mohune's floating around in the crypt below, John interest is further piqued when he spots Mr Ratsey the sexton and  Elzevir Block, owner of the Mohune Arms pub, acting suspiciously in the churchyard. A week or so later, a sinkhole in the ground reveals a passage seemingly leading towards the crypt. Does it lead to Blackbeard's final resting place- and his famous diamond? Is John brave enough to look?

Of course he is.


John Trenchard's conduit for the poor

Ita in vita ut in lusu alae pessima jactura arte corrigenda est (translated in the book as As in life, so in a game of hazard, skill will make something of the worst of throws) is an apt message for this book. As with all the most gripping stories, John is in control of his actions and, invariably, he chooses the most dangerous and exciting path. His skill in making the best of throws is a little hit and miss, but the outcome is always thrilling. He's a likeable character, with just the right mix of nice chap and daring rebel, doing bad things but only when necessary. He's very realistically written, with a teenager's mix of wanting to follow the rules taught by his elders and wanting to break them because they don't make sense. I found this a real page turner when I was a kid and, as an adult, it is still one of my favourites.

Part of what make the story come alive for me is knowing that Moonfleet is a real place! I've been there twice: once with my family, when I was about ten, and again on my own a couple of years ago. You can read about my last visit here.

Has this inspired you to read or reread Moonfleet? Let me know in the comments xxx



Great Fictional Characters: Isobel O'Sullivan

Continuing with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2015

Today's character is one half of the famous O' Sullivan twins- Isobel O' Sullivan from Enid Blyton's St Clare's series- although it's practically impossible to discuss one without mentioning the other.

Isobel O' Sullivan, along with her twin sister, Pat, follows a character arc like no other. From spoilt brat to jolly decent gel in only one book! Throw in a wise headmistress, hysterical French teacher, sharp-tongued, warm-hearted school chums and a cat in a cupboard- and you've got a great story that is moral without being preachy.

Great Fictional Characters: Hermione Granger

Continuing with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2015

On to H, and my second favourite teenage witch: Hermione Granger.

Hermione is annoyingly brilliant right from the start: one of those girls we all knew at school who made us feel stupid, but never on purpose. By the end of the books, Hermione's true brilliance is revealed: that everything she has, she shares. She completes the perfect triangle of Harry's courage and Ron's humour with her common-sense viewpoint.

Great Fictional Characters: Granny Weatherwax

Continuing with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2015

G is for Granny Weatherwax- who else?

"Witches are not by nature gregarious, at least with other witches, and they certainly don't have leaders. Granny Weatherwax was the most highly-regarded of the leaders they didn't have."

Granny is just awesome. Imagine the meanest school nurse and the kindest aunty and the teacher who just "got" you and you'd only be halfway there to how cool she is.

Considered by many (including herself) to be the most powerful witch on the Disc, Granny Weatherwax rarely resorts to actual magic, preferring "Headology" to sort out most problems. That's not to say she can't wield magic when necessary, though. In order to save Lancre from the murderous (and frankly bonkers) Duke Felmet, she moved the entire kingdom forward in time by fifteen years, so as to give the rightful heir time to grow up and claim the throne. But turning someone into a frog is so much more effort than making them think they are a frog, which is also a whole lot more effective (and amusing). Granny's dry sense of humour makes Jack Dee look like Ken Dodd.

Here comes the sun...

...doodle doodle...

Today, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and it was just too glorious a day to spend cooped up in the house working/writing- so the boys and I went on a little adventure.



Out in the sticks and loving it.



Ahhh- the open road!



I think Harvey is enjoying this adventure!



So tempted to explore...



Naturally, Harvey wanted to go this way.



Tired out puppy.

After all our exertions, I think we deserve a snuggle on the sofa now.

See you tomorrow xxx

Great Fictional Characters: Frederick Clegg

Continuing with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2015

F is for Frederick Clegg, otherwise known as The Collector.

Frederick is a loner, a socially-inept, class-obsessed weirdo who becomes obsessed with a girl he sees but knows he can never have. Like the butterflies he gases and pins, he wants to possess her and enjoy her beauty. Aided by a surprise football pool win, he buys a house in the country and makes his preparations. Soon, she is his, trapped in the cellar of his isolated home, part of his "collection". And it all goes downhill from there...

Great Fictional Characters: Eleanor Vance

Continuing with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2015

On first impressions, there is little to admire about Eleanor Vance, the central character in Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. She's weak, hopelessly naïve and behaves like a petulant child trapped in a thirty-two year old's body. But it's not entirely her fault, which is why I have sympathy for her. As we are told:

“She could not remember ever being truly happy in her adult life; her years with her mother had been built up devotedly around small guilts and small reproaches, constant weariness, and unending despair. Without ever wanting to become reserved and shy, she had spent so long alone, with no one to love, that it was difficult for her to talk, even casually, to another person without self-consciousness and an awkward inability to find words.”  

So far, so boring- but not for long.

Great Fictional Characters: Dorothy Gale

Continuing with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2015

Dorothy Gale, not quite the damsel in distress that she appears in the film version (which I still love), is one of my favourite fictional characters.

I love how matter of fact and inherently good she is, with none of the issues or angst that children's heroines often suffer from in order to appear relevant. Her only goal is to return home, so as not to cause distress to her beloved Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, even though they probably would get on fine without her.

“No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.”

Great Fictional Characters: Christine

Continuing with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2015

C is for Christine. Yes, I know she's a car...

For many years, I've been terrified by the idea of machinery having a mind of its own. Christmas is a nightmare full of animatronic Santas leering and waving at me, and creepy angels that I'm sure are just waiting for me to drop my guard so they can break out of the shop window display and hunt me down. Just like Terminator. And Robocop. I know I have an over-active and unusually vivid imagination but I can't even think about those dancing robots without shuddering...

Great Fictional Characters: Bilbo Baggins

 Continuing with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2015

On to B, and the most awesome of all hobbits, Bilbo Baggins.

"Good Morning!" said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.

"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"

"All of them at once," said Bilbo. "And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors, into the bargain."