Reflections: On the Magic of Writing

  Dante (degli Alighieri), 210, 293, 349

  Dark Lord of Derkholm, The, xxi, 346

  daydreaming, 132

  Death of Arthur, The: see Morte D’Arthur, Le

  Deep Secret, xix, xxi, xxii, 231; Rupert Venables, xxiii

  description in books, 37, 109, 258

  detective stories, 110

  dialects in writing, 105

  Dickens, Charles, 42, 85, 352

  Dickinson, Peter, 106

  Doctor Who, 39, 107, 112

  dogs, 175, 216, 247, 285, 298, 343, 350

  Dogsbody, xiii, 88, 154, 176, 216, 247, 296, 343

  Doors, The, 349–50

  “Dream of the Rood,” 59

  Drowned Ammet, 37, 148–49, 165, 219, 297, 353; Al 219

  Dungeons and Dragons, 75

  Dunsany, Lord, 233

  dyslexia, 120, 181, 335, 353

  “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” 95, 147

  editors, 34, 37, 39, 40, 41, 214, 244, 245, 338–39

  Eight Days of Luke, 54, 88, 105, 126, 144, 188, 203, 245, 248, 283, 296, 328; Astrid, 105; Cousin Ronald, 55; David, 54–55, 88, 105; Luke, 55; Mr. Chew, 55; Thor, 105

  Eliot, T. S., 93–98, 207, 214

  elves, xix, 12, 16, 18–19, 31, 208

  emotions, 40, 57, 108, 156, 217, 351

  Enchanted Glass, 342

  Encyclopaedia of Fantasy, 99, 111

  Epimetheus, 91

  Eurydice, 94

  evacuees, 224, 228, 268

  Everard’s Ride, 6, 99

  Faerie Queene, The, 85–86

  Fairy Queen, the, 93, 347, 350

  fairy stories, 10, 12, 77, 101, 129, 166, 202, 247, 330

  fantasy, 39, 110, 120, 174, 177, 190, 211, 237–39, 322, 326; comic, 113; fans, 177–78; fashions and rules in, 100, 108, 239; for children, 108, 111, 178, 238, 245, 344; high, 113; imitations, 327; value of, xxviii, 4–5, 77, 129–30, 194–95

  Farmer, Penelope, 106, 120

  Fate, 92, 143

  feelings, writing about them, 139

  Female Eunuch, The, 191

  feminism, 88–89, 146–47, 188, 189

  Fire and Hemlock, xiii, xx, xxii, xxiv, xxvi, 34, 36, 79, 89, 95, 126, 147, 154, 157, 158, 180, 207, 214, 218, 224, 249, 329, 334, 337, 344, 347, 352; Fiona, 92, 96; Granny, xxii, 92; Ivy, 92; Laurel, 90, 92, 95; Mr. Leroy, 7

  George, St., 91

  Gerda (in “The Snow Queen”), 91

  Germans: see Nazis

  Gestapo: see Nazis

  ghosts, 42, 147, 185, 276, 277, 296

  God, 81, 86, 93, 103, 143, 254

  gods, 55, 81, 83, 86, 92, 143, 144, 203, 340

  Good Book Guide, The, 56

  Gothic Romance, 209

  Goudge, Elizabeth, 189

  Grail, the, 11

  Greer, Germaine, 191

  Griffiths, Elaine: see Diana Wynne Jones, Anglo-Saxon tutor

  Grimm, the Brothers, 80, 329

  Groan, Titus, 233–36

  growing up, 73, 103, 107

  Guardian Award, 44–46, 297

  Gwydion, Welsh hero, 144

  Hades, 90, 208

  Halloween, 62, 64

  Hansel and Gretel, 111

  happy endings, 108, 174, 184

  Harlequin, 91

  head teachers, 62, 69, 177, 179, 181, 195, 282

  Hector of Troy, 82

  Henryson, Robert, 208

  Hercules, 82, 174

  Hero (Greek legend), 80, 84, 95

  heroes, 79–98, 142–56, 184, 214; faults, 95, 143, 146; female, 56, 80, 86, 88, 145–47, 153; journey of, 94; miraculous origin, 151; quests, 96

  Hexwood, xix, 171, 210, 230, 337–38, 352

  Heyer, Georgette, 352

  historical novels, 199–201

  Hitler, Adolf, 132, 264

  Hobbit, The, 14

  Hodgson, Miriam, 299

  Homer, 83, 90

  Homeward Bounders, The, xxi, xxii, 35, 114, 338, 347, 352, 353; Jamie, 114, 347; Joris, xxii; Prometheus, 114

  Horn Book Magazine, 68

  horror stories, 108, 110, 154

  House at Pooh Corner, The, 102

  House of Many Ways, 350

  Howl’s Moving Castle, xx, 133, 144, 209, 218, 326, 347, 349; Calcifer ,314; film, 314, 330, 347; Howl, xx, 144, 218; Sophie, xx, 349; Witch of the Waste, 349

  Hughes, Arthur, 293

  Iceland, 200

  ideas, 137, 206, 222, 227

  Iliad, The, 80

  imagination, 73, 74, 94, 96, 114, 120, 129, 157, 163, 169–70, 181, 195, 220, 280, 347; supposed dangers of, 76, 168–69; world of, 89, 96

  influence of writers, 160, 174

  insights, xxiv, 114, 234

  J. R. R. Tolkien: This Far Land, 6

  Janet (from “Tam Lin”), 89, 91, 96

  Japan, 126, 330

  Jason (Greek hero), 82, 143

  Jesus College, Oxford, 295

  Johns, W. E., 51

  Johnson, Dr., 178

  jokes, 53, 109, 345

  Jones, Diana Wynne, 263, 271, 291, 294, 298: advice on writing, 255–59; ambitions as a writer, 4, 297; Anglo-Saxon tutor, 294; appearance, xi; at university in Oxford, 47, 58, 85, 120, 127, 186, 203, 344; Aunt Muriel, 262, 264, 297; childhood, xxiv, 80, 120–23, 134, 164, 182, 189, 223, 260–92, 299–310, 315–19, 348; cousin Gwyn, 262; dyslexia, 120, 181, 335–36; early writings, 100, 120–21, 127, 135, 187–88, 245, 286–87; father, 121, 122, , 125, 182, 186–87, 202–03, 218, 223, 260, 261, 274–77, 285, 286–87, 289–90, 301, 309, 319; father-in-law, 312; goddaughter, 155–56, 239; godmother, 130; grandchildren, 175, 230, 353; homes and houses, 157, 175, 189, 295, 311–14, 321; husband, 38, 119, 171, 199, 266, 291, 292–97, 294, 312–13; ideas for stories, 115–16; illnesses, 65, 222, 277, 287, 289, 293; influence on other writers, xv, 159; influences on and inspirations, 60, 118, 123, 202–03, 296, 315, 332–33, 337–38, 344–46; learning to write, 294; method of writing, 37, 108–09, 127–28, 135–41, 172, 206–07, 237–38, 335, 347; mother, xxv, 101, 120–21, 159, 166, 169, 182–83, 185, 223, 224, 226, 260, 265, 269–70, 274–77, 278, 279–81, 284, 285, 286, 293, 297, 298, 309, 316, 348–49; mother-in-law, 175–76, 178, 312; neglect by parents, xxiv, 80, 134, 182–83, 224, 277–80, 284, 286–87, 348; on being edited, 338–39; order of writing books, 153–54; personality, xi–xiii, 344, 350; planning to be a writer, 120, 181, 274; plotting stories, 116–17, 136–37; principles of writing, 108–09; schooldays, 47, 62, 105, 264, 272–73, 274, 282–84, 341; sisters, xxiv, 104, 121, 122, 135, 182–83, 186, 187, 224, 260, 263, 265, 272, 274, 278–79, 287–90, 288, 292, 293–94, 299–310, 312, 348; sons, xxvii, 38, 47, 104, 120, 145, 163, 166, 188, 189–90, 218, 251, 293–97, 296, 312, 323, 343; travel jinx, xii, xxv, 79, 99–100, 297–98, 326, 344; wedding, 293

  Jones, Aneurin: see Diana Wynne Jones, father

  Jones, Isobel (Armstrong): see Diana Wynne Jones, sisters

  Jones, Marjorie: see Diana Wynne Jones, mother

  Jones, Ursula: see Diana Wynne Jones, sisters

  joy of writing, 117–18, 137

  Joyce, James, 85

  Jung, Carl, 145

  Kay (in “The Snow Queen”), 91

  Kendrick School, Reading, 251

  Kim, 190, 201

  King’s College, London, 293

  Kipling, Rudyard, 11, 131, 190, 200

  Knights of the Round Table, 80

  Lake District, 116, 134, 223, 265–70, 271

  Lane Head house, 265–66

  Langland, William, 205–06, 334

  Lawrence, Anne, 106

  Leander, 80, 95

  Lee, Tanith, 106

  Let’s Pretend games 1–5, 104

  Lewis, C. S., xiii, xix, xxvi, 47–50, 73, 74, 95, 103, 120, 162, 290, 332, 344

  Lion and the Unicorn, The, 79

  literary agents, xxviii, 74, 105, 191, 296, 336

  “Little Mermaid, The,” 183

  Little White Horse, The, 189

  Lively, Penelope, 106, 120, 292

  Lives of Christo
pher Chant, The, 151–53, 154, 218; Christopher, 151–53, 154; Christopher’s parents, 152, 154; Dr. Pawson, 152; Dright, 153; Goddess, 152–53; governess, 152; Tacroy, 218; Uncle Ralph, 152

  logic of a story, 118, 128, 172

  Loki, 55

  London, 134, 224, 260, 265

  Lord of the Rings, The, 7–32, 42, 87, 101, 127, 190, 295, 345, movements in, 7–10, 13–14, 17–21, 25; themes in, 11–12, 18–19

  Lynch, P. J., 233

  Machine Gunners, The, 248

  magic, xx, 53, 106, 130, 152, 159, 162, 208, 209, 216, 227, 231, 247, 249, 335, 344–45; in fantasy, 49, 129; in stories, 101–02, 106, 116, 129, 246, 343–44

  Magic City, The, 345

  Magicians of Caprona, The, 210, 338

  Magpies Magazine, 142

  Malory, Sir Thomas, 11, 121, 201, 205

  manuscripts, unfinished, 137, 341–42

  maps in fantasy books, 42, 113, 238–39, 242

  Mary Poppins Comes Back,130

  Masefield, John, 73, 163, 171–72

  McKinley, Robin, 237

  Medea, 84, 143

  medieval literature, 10, 48, 203–10

  Medusa: The Journal of the Pre-Joycean Fellowship, The, 33

  Meredith, George, 216, 333

  Merlin, 82

  Merlin Conspiracy, The, xix, xx, xxi, 230–32, 335; Grundo, 335; Nick Mallory, 231; Roddy Hyde, xix, 231–32; Romanov, 230, 231

  metaphors, 54–55, 129–30, 180, 327

  Middle Ages, the, xxix, 196, 201, 203, 210, 232

  Milton, John, 15, 81, 350

  Miyazaki, Hayao, 330, 347

  Monster Garden, The, 41

  Moondust Books, 311

  Morte d’Arthur, Le, 11, 80, 121, 274

  Mrs. Dalloway, xxii

  myths, 125–27, 147, 173, 183, 214, 328–29; Celtic, 74; Charlemagne cycle, 83; Greek, 80, 121, 328; Niebelung cycle, 83; Norse, 55, 56, 88, 144, 203, 209, 328

  Narnia, 162–63

  Narnia, The Chronicles of, 47–50, 73, 103, 162–63, 247

  narratives, 7, 60–61, 77–78, 92–93, 204–07, 221

  National Gallery, London, 202, 208

  Nazis, 116, 135, 266, 267, 269, 273

  Nesbit, E., xviii, 49, 102, 345–46

  New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA), 99

  Nexus magazine, 33

  Nix, Garth, 330

  Odysseus, 82–84, 89–90, 97

  Odyssey, The, 81, 85, 89, 91, 96–98

  Ogre Downstairs, The, xx, 53, 61, 146, 157, 162, 218, 247, 296, 323, 339; Casper, 54, 218; Douglas, 218; Gwinny, 146; Johnny, 54; Malcolm, 54; Ogre, 54, 162

  Old English, 24, 58

  “Orpheus and Eurydice,” 92, 209

  Oxford, 9, 157, 322, 335

  Oxford University, 47, 85, 290, 292, 293, 344, 349

  Oxford University Press, 105

  Oxfordshire landscape, 9

  Pandora, 91

  Paradise Lost, 81, 245

  “Pardoner’s Tale, The,” 7, 127

  Peake, Mervyn, xxx, 233–36

  Pearce, Philippa, 41

  Penelope (in The Odyssey), 84, 89, 90

  Percival, Sir, 11

  Perseus, 91

  Pierrot, 91

  Piers Plowman, 200, 206–07, 334

  Pilgrim’s Progress, The, 80

  “Piper at the Gates of Dawn, The,” xxv, 72, 102, 129, 159, 163, 165, 166

  planning a book, 116

  plots, 6–7, 29, 34, 37, 42, 52, 172, 247, 255, 257, 327–28, 336–37

  poetry, 327

  politics in books, 39

  Polyphemus the Cyclops, 91

  Pontardulais, Wales, 134

  Poppins, Mary, 130

  “popular” fiction, 175, 178

  Potter, Beatrix, 135, 269

  Potter, Harry, 238, 250, 344

  Power of Three 39, 88, 154, 247, 296; Gair, 88

  Pratchett, Terry, 180

  Pre-Raphaelites, 208

  Pride (Spenser’s allegory), 91–92

  Pride and Prejudice, 208

  Prometheus, 91

  publishers, 74, 106, 110, 160, 161–62, 207, 214

  Puck of Pook’s Hill, 121, 200, 286

  Puffin Books, 247

  Pullman, Philip, 237, 245

  puns, 53, 89

  “Puss in Boots,” 126, 174

  quests, 6, 7, 10, 25, 127, 198, 205, 208, 344

  racism, 248

  radio interviews, 211

  Ransome, Arthur, 36, 72, 121, 135, 161, 187, 223, 265, 268, 292, 319

  readers’ expectations, 150, 238; experiences from reading, 56–57, 195

  “Reeve’s Tale, The,” 205

  religion, 47, 84, 86, 120, 262, 272, 275

  Renaissance, the, 48, 60, 252

  responsibilities of writers, 56–57, 72–78, 108, 158, 160, 174

  reviewers, 22, 101, 110, 147, 180, 238

  rewriting, 140–41, 339

  Robin Hood, 148

  Romeo and Juliet, 210

  Rowling, J. K., 344

  rules in fantasy, 74, 99–114, 161

  Ruskin, John, 135, 265–66, 290

  “Sage of Theare, The,” xx

  sailing, 267

  Scheherazade, 80, 90

  school visits, 68–71, 87, 177, 251–54, 324–26

  science fiction, 39, 74, 106–07, 110–11, 115, 208

  Science Fiction Foundation, 115

  Scott, Sir Walter, 239

  Screwtape Letters, The, 47

  Sebastian, St. (painting), 203

  Second World War, 116, 134, 223, 260, 302

  Secret Garden, The, 125, 193

  sense of wonder, 72

  Seven Stories, xxviii

  seven-league boots, 129

  Shakespeare, William, 85, 210, 215, 350

  Shaw, Bernard, 344

  Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 346

  Siegfried, 84, 184

  “Sir Orfeo,” 208, 209

  “Sir Thopas,” 85, 204

  slaves in fantasy novels, 113, 243–44

  “Sleeping Beauty,” 147

  “Snow Queen, The,” 91

  “Snow White,” 91, 94, 147

  Spellcoats, The, 147, 354

  Spenser, Edmund, 86, 91, 350

  St. Anne’s College, Oxford, 290

  Star Trek, 107

  storytelling, 43, 114, 118, 172, 204–05

  Sudden Wild Magic, A, xx, xxi, xxvi

  Sutcliffe, Rosemary, 72

  Swallows and Amazons, 135

  Sword in the Stone, The, 36, 173, 202

  Tale of Time City, A, xxiii, 218, 298; Keeper of the Silver Casket, 218; Sempitern Walker, xxiii, 218

  “Tam Lin,” 88, 89, 90, 91, 93, 96, 126, 147, 207, 214, 215, 329, 344

  teachers, xiv, 39, 70, 76, 79, 87, 117, 136, 156, 160, 167, 176–81, 183, 195, 244, 274, 282

  Telemachus, 91

  tennis, 142–44; stars 142–43, 145–46, 150; Wimbledon tournament, 142, 144

  Thaxted, Essex, 275–76, 289, 348

  Theseus, 82, 143

  “Thomas the Rhymer,” 89, 93, 147, 214

  Three-Formed Goddess, 92

  thriller stories, 110

  Time of the Ghost, The, 147, 182, 186, 218, 224, 288; Fenella, 186; Himself, 218

  time travel, 42, 107

  Times Literary Supplement, The, 51, 58

  To Tame a Sister, 36

  Tolkien, J. R. R., xiii, xix, xxvi, 6–32, 86, 101, 190, 238, 242, 330, 332, 344; influence of landscape on, 9–10; lectures, xxvi, 6, 120, 127, 290; narrative skill, xxviii, 9, 15, 25, 28, 31–32

  Tom Jones, 85

  tomboys, 4, 87

  Tom’s Midnight Garden, 41

  Tough Guide to Fantasyland, The, xx, 196-99, 204, 238–44, 327

  tragedy, 54

  Travers, P. L., 131

  Treasure Seekers, The, 345

  Treasures of Britain, 74, 132, 169

  “Tristram and Isolt,” 202

  “Troilus and Creseyde,” 205

  Truckers, 180
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  typhoid germs, 116

  UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence), 313, 322

  Ulysses, 85, 329

  Unexpected Magic, 299

  University of Nottingham, 196

  Valhalla, 55

  Valkyrie, 203

  vampires, 138, 327

  Vector journal, 175

  Venus (goddess), 93

  Venus and Adonis, 85

  violence in books, 4, 39

  “Vltava,” 338

  Wales, 134, 223, 260

  Walsh, Jill Paton, 104, 120, 246, 292

  Watership Down, 106

  Webb, Kaye, 247

  Wells, H. G., 151

  Westall, Robert, 106, 248

  “what ifs,” 76–77, 117, 132, 168–69

  What Katy Did, 187

  Whitbread Prize, 74, 167

  White, T. H., 36, 173, 202

  Who Got Rid of Angus Flint?, 218; Angus Flint, 218–19

  “Wicked Wedding, The,” 147, 157–58

  Wilkins’ Tooth, 52–53, 126, 219, 296, 323

  Wind in the Willows, The, xxv, 72, 102–03, 121, 129, 159, 165

  Winnie-the-Pooh, 102, 121

  Witch Week, 62, 129, 180, 248–49

  witches, xx, 40–41, 129, 154, 185, 209, 248, 319, 348–49

  Witch’s Business: see Wilkins’ Tooth

  Woolf, Virginia, xxii

  World Fantasy Award, 237, 242

  World War II: see Second World War

  writers, 4, 7, 37, 41, 44, 58, 72–78, 85, 100, 110, 120, 134–41, 181, 204, 208, 213, 217, 255–59, 346; attitudes toward female and male writers, 180–81

  writer’s block, xxiv, 219

  writing: conventions, fashions, and rules in, 73, 99–114, 237–38, 242, 245–46, 249; fantasy, 120, 196, 204, 208–09, 322; for adults, 35–43; for children, 34, 37–43, 51, 54, 72–78, 119–20, 200–01, 205, 247–50, 345

  Yale, 295

  Year of the Griffin, xxi, xxiii, 237, 238; Callette, 199, 207; Corkoran, xxii; Kit, 199, 207

  About the Author

  In a career spanning four decades, award-winning author Diana Wynne Jones (1934–2011) wrote more than forty books of fantasy for young readers. Characterized by magic, multiple universes, witches and wizards—and a charismatic nine-lived enchanter—her books were filled with unlimited imagination, dazzling plots, and an effervescent sense of humor that earned her legendary status in the world of fantasy. In addition to being translated into more than twenty languages, her books have earned a wide array of honors—including two Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honors and the Guardian Award—and appeared on countless best-of-the-year lists. Her best-selling Howl’s Moving Castle was made into an animated film by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki and was nominated for an Academy Award. Diana Wynne Jones was also honored with many prestigious awards for the body of her work. She was given the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award in 1999 for having made a significant impact on fantasy, and she won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Fantasy Convention in 2007.