''A Wizard in Rhyme'' is a series of fantasy novels by American writer

Christopher Stasheff Christopher Stasheff (15 January 1944 – 10 June 2018) was an American science-fiction and fantasy author whose novels include '' The Warlock in Spite of Himself'' (1969) and ''Her Majesty's Wizard'' (1986). He received a bachelor's degree and ...

. The series follows the character of Matthew Mantrell, an English literature Ph.D. student, who is transported to a magical world where poetry is used to cast spells. There his knowledge of poetry, gained through his literature studies, establishes him as a powerful wizard and positions him as "lord wizard of the realm". The series consists of eight novels, and is said to have hints of

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

and

Fletcher Pratt Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956) was an American writer of history, science fiction, and fantasy. He is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War and for fiction written with L. Sprague de Camp. ...

.Steinberg, Sybil S. (1997). "My Son, the Wizard: Book V of A Wizard in Rhyme". ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

''. 244:46. p60. ''A Wizard in Rhyme'' takes place in an

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Europe, featuring several geographical differences (most notably a land-bridge connecting Britain to the mainland) and two major supernatural differences: the existence of magic, which can be influenced by the speaking of rhymed verse; and the established and real presence of the Christian

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

and

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

, leading to a prevalence of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

thought and morality.

Geography

The following are domains of the realms covered in the novel, with the approximate geographical counterparts in the real world. * Merovence: (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) When introduced in Book 1, it was ruled by recent usurper Astaulf, who shared power with his sorcerer-henchman Malingo. Merovence was, at the time, the last bastion of morality and Christianity within Europe, as its rightful ruler, the uncrowned Princess Alisande, was still devoted to good. Its patron saint, Saint Moncaire, took action to save it from destruction: he sent a magic spell, encrypted in the language of Merovence, out into the other universes; the first person to interpret it would be drawn into Merovence and help in the crusade against evil. That man was Matthew Mantrell. Its name is probably derived from the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

line or from

Merovech Merovech (french: Mérovée, Merowig; la, Meroveus; 411 – 458) was the King of the Salian Franks, which later became the dominant Frankish tribe, and the founder of the Merovingian dynasty. Several legends and myths surround his person. He is ...

, and its capital is called Bordestang. * Ibile: (

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

) When introduced in Book 2, it was ruled by sorcerer-king Gordogrosso, and then by Prince Rinaldo after The Gross One's defeat. The name ''Ibile'' seems to have been derived from

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

, and its capital is called Orlequedrille. * Allustria: (

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) When introduced in Book 3, it was ruled by the witch-queen Suettay, and an army of scribes in an extensive bureaucratic network. The name ''Allustria'' is either derived from Allemagne (French for

) combined with

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...

. * Latruria: (

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

) When introduced in Book 4, it was ruled an evil sorcerer-king who was succeeded by his grandson, Boncorro. The name ''Latruria'' seems to have been derived from

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...

combined with

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...

. Its capital is Venarra. * Bretanglia: (

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

) When introduced in Book 6, it was ruled by an ambitious king who was succeeded by Prince John then King Brion. The name ''Bretanglia'' seems to have been derived from

and Anglia, the medieval Latin name for England. Its capital is Dunlimon (a near-

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cross ...

). * Erin: (

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) also known as the 'Isle of Doctors and Saints' in many of the previous books. Not much is known about Erin, other than

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

s live there. The name

Erin Erin is a Hiberno-English word for Ireland originating from the Irish word ''"Éirinn"''. "Éirinn" is the dative case of the Irish word for Ireland, "Éire", genitive "Éireann", the dative being used in prepositional phrases such as ''"go h� ...

is another name for Ireland. Note: There are some inconsistencies with the actual name of Britain and Ireland in the series. In book 4, Matthew mentions that the countries

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and Ireland are respectfully named Angland, Scotia and Erie, yet in Book 6 Britain is called "Bretanglia," and Ireland, "Erin." However, this may be Stasheff making reference to

and

when referring to Angland and Scotia respectively, while Bretanglia refers to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

as a whole.

Novels

*''Her Majesty's Wizard'' (1986) *''The Oathbound Wizard ''(1993) *''The Witch Doctor'' (1994) *''The Secular Wizard'' (1995) *''My Son, the Wizard'' (1997) *''The Haunted Wizard'' (1999) *''The Crusading Wizard'' (2000) *''The Feline Wizard'' (2000)

Main characters

* Matthew "Matt" Mantrell: A PhD student who, through reading some odd runes, stumbled into a magical world similar to his original Earth homeland. The geography of the new world is similar to Matt's home world, and even shares some common history. By accident, he discovered he could perform magic in the new world by reciting rhymes. Royal Consort to Alisande and Royal Wizard. * Alisande: The rightful ruler of Merovence. * Sir Guy de Toutarien: Alias Sir Guy Losobal. A brave and upright knight and epitome of romantic knight in feudal age. He hides the fact that he is a descendant of Hardishane, a hero in the past who fought evil and established an Empire for goodness and order. Married to the Lady Yverne. * Stegoman: A fire-breathing dragon, befriended and cured by Matthew. * Saul Delacroix Bremner: Alias The Witch Doctor. One of Matthew's fellow students. Brought to Matthew's world by the Spider King to aid in the overthrow of Allustria. * Ramon Mantrell Matthew's father, a shopkeeper and scholar and thus a powerful wizard in his own right, along with his wife.

References

External links

Christopher Stasheff's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wizard In Rhyme, A Fantasy novel series