THE CROWTHISTLE CHRONICLES
Book 1: The Iron Tree (2005)
Book 2: The Well of Tears (2006)
Book 3: Fallowblade (2007)
REFERENCES
WIGHTS OF THE DESERT: The uncanny phenomena witnessed by Jarred on his ride to the Hen’s Nest were inspired by anecdotes in Visions and Beliefs from the West of Ireland, by Lady Gregory, Colin Smythe, Ltd., 1920.
THE PILLION WIGHT: Inspired by and partially quoted from “The Pillion Lady,” in Goblin Tales of Lancashire, by James Bowker, London, 1883.
THE ELDRITCH WOMAN IN THE BOAT: Inspired by “Ghosts in the Fen,” in More Tales from the Fens, by W. H. Barrett, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1964.
THE TALE OF TIERNEY A’CONNACHT AND THE ENCHANTER: Inspired by the tale of Child Rowland in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, by H. W. Weber, R. Jamieson, and Sir Walter Scott, Edinburgh, 1814, page 398.
THE VIXEN AND THE OAKMEN: Inspired by the story of the same name in Forgotten Folk-Tales of the English Counties, by Ruth L. Tongue, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1970.
LANTERN EVE: The two chants are traditional and have for centuries been sung in southern England on Halloween and in Hinton St. George, Somerset, on Punky Night.
THE BARGEST OF GORDALE: Inspired by “The Bargest of Troller’s Gill,” in Yorkshire Legends and Traditions as Told by Her Ancient Chronicles, Her Poets, and Journalists, by Thomas Parkinson, London, 1888–89.
THE TIDDY MUN: Inspired by “Tiddy Mun,” in Legends of the Cars, by M. C. Balfour, Folk-Lore II, 1891. The chant, “Tiddy Mun without a name, the water’s thruff!” is quoted from this source. “Tiddy Mun without a name, here’s water for thee, take thy spell undone” is adapted from it.
THE LADY WITH THE GREEN CLOAK: Inspired by “True” Stories About Fairies: VI, collected by Hamish Henderson, School of Scottish Studies.
THE GRIG’S RED CAP: Inspired by “The Grig’s Red Cap,” in Forgotten Folk-Tales of the English Counties, by Ruth L. Tongue, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1970.
EOIN’S ATTEMPT TO TRICK JARRETH: Inspired by “The Lantern Lads,” in Forgotten Folk-Tales of the English Counties, by Ruth L. Tongue, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1970.
THE ASRAI: Inspired by “The Asrai,” from Forgotten Folk-Tales of the English Counties, by Ruth L. Tongue, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1970. The original was gleaned from recollections of an account in a local paper, 1915–22, in Shropshire or the northwest of England.
CAOIMHE’S CHILD ALMOST STOLEN BY TROWS: Inspired by “The Danger Averted,” from Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties, by William Henderson, Folk-Lore Society, London, 1879.
A CHILD Is BORN AND THERE’S NOTHING TO PUT ON IT: Inspired by “Fairy Friends,” from Folk-Lore and Legends, Scotland, W. W. Gibbings (publishers), 1889.
THE WIGHTISH FUNERAL: Inspired by “The Fairies’ Funeral,” from Goblin Tales of Lancashire, by James Bowker, London, 1883.
MISTLETOE AS BANE: The concept of being invulnerable to all things except mistletoe springs from an ancient Norse legend.
The lines “a casement, triple-arched, garlanded with carven imageries of fruits and flowers” and “tapestries rich with horseman, hawk and hound” are inspired by and partially quoted from the poem “St. Agnes’ Eve,” by John Keats.
“Ear-kissing arguments” is a phrase quoted from Shakespeare.
CECILIA DART-THORNTON graduated from Monash University with an honors degree in Sociology. She began as a teacher and lecturer, then started a business before becoming a full-time writer. Her interests include animal welfare, environmental conservation, and digital media. She lives in Australia.
Visit Cecilia’s Web site: www.dartthornton.com.
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.
THE IRON TREE: BOOK ONE OF THE CROWTHISTLE CHRONICLES
Copyright © 2005 by Cecilia Dart-Thornton
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
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Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
eISBN 9781429911160
First eBook Edition : March 2011
Map and Crowthistle logo by Elizabeth Alger
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dart-Thornton, Cecilia.
The iron tree : Cecilia Dart-Thornton.—1st ed.
p. cm.
“A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
ISBN 0-765-31205-0 (acid-free paper)
EAN 978-0765-31205-1
1. Boys—Fiction. 2. Missing persons—Fiction. 3. Fathers and sons—Fiction. 4. Quests (Expeditions)—Fiction. I. Title.
PR9619.3.D253176 2005
823’92—dc22
2004057977
First Edition: February 2005
The Iron Tree: Book One of The Crowthistle Chronicles Page 49