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''Endymion Spring'' is a children's
fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. F ...
by
English Canadian English Canadians (french: Canadiens anglais or ), or Anglo-Canadians (french: Anglo-Canadiens), refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is use ...
author Matthew Skelton. It was first published in 2006.


Origins and publishing history

At some point during the drafting of his Ph.D., the character that would later become Blake simply appeared to Skelton, trapped in a library and begging for help. Over the next three years, Skelton worked to finish his Doctoral Thesis. Upon its completion, he moved to Mainz, the setting for the first half of one of his story lines, and began writing the novel. Originally, the book was only Blake's story, and did not include the story by a friend who had reportedly asked him who Endymion Spring was. ''Endymion Spring'' was released in the United Kingdom in March 2006, and was published in the United States later in the same year, ahead of schedule. Warner Bros. currently hold rights to an ''Endymion Spring'' film.


Plot summary

''Endymion Spring'' has a double storyline. The first story follows two children in current day
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, Blake and Duck Winters. Blake is twelve years old and his sister is a few years younger. The two happen to come across a strange book in a library in St Jerome's College on St Giles' (based on
Somerville College Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, ...
), which is entitled Endymion Spring. After finding out that it leads to a book of all the knowledge in the world, all the knowledge Adam and Eve tried to obtain from eating of that forbidden tree of knowledge but lost, they then embark on a quest to find it. However, when they do, the story then becomes a battle against the Person in Shadow, a person whose heart has turned black with evil and desire for the knowledge and power of the book. The second story line follows the journey of Endymion Spring, a young printer's devil who works in
Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs w ...
's workshop, from his hometown in
Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
, Germany to Oxford, which was then a settlement of monks. The two story lines are about 600 years apart, with Spring's story taking place at the epoch of the
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...
in 1453, and Blake's taking place in the late 20th or early 21st century.


Major themes

There are several themes throughout ''Endymion Spring''. The first and foremost resonates throughout the book in the words "Bring only the insight the inside brings." These words appear to communicate a theme regarding knowledge, and how it should be used.


Characters

*Blake Winters ― a preteen male (age 12) who is the
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of the modern story line. He finds the book which is later revealed as Endymion Spring and is ultimately the one that catapults the story into existence. Protagonist of the story. *Duck Winters ― Blake's sister. Since her true name is not known, she is referred to as Duck throughout the book. She is portrayed as a precocious character, and often shelters from her insecurities regarding herself by showing off her intelligence to professors at Oxford, most of whom are very impressed, but annoys her brother Blake a lot and whenever somebody else like her brother finds something usual or unusual, she will never let that person go until she is completely sure and clarified about it. She constantly wears a bright yellow rain coat that she thinks will make sure her parents never have a severe fight again like The Great Argument. *Juliet Winters/Sommers - Blake's mother. She is often upset with Blake and the troubles Blake causes. She was a member of Ex Libris Society. *Christopher Winters - Blake's father. Blake sends him mail and postcards throughout the story. He was a member of Ex Libris Society. *Diana Bentley - The Person in Shadow, as well as Sir Giles' wife. *Sir Giles Bentley - A book collector, and one of the founders of the Ex Libris Society. *Jolyon Fall- a man who befriends Blake. He has seen Endymion Spring before and knows much of its knowledge. He also was once a boyfriend of Duck's and Blake's mother, before she met their father. *George Psalmanazar- (referred to as Psalmanazar throughout the entire book except for a few sentences) a man who was chosen by the book Endymion Spring just like Blake. *Alice - Psalmanazar's dog. She wears a red bandana. *Paula Roberts - the librarian at the Bodleian Library, who babysits Blake and Duck while their mother works *Mephistopheles ― The librarian's
cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
, often sneaking into the library and causing trouble. The cat's name does not seem to hold any significance in the book, although a character that shares its name is found in pact with the Devil, the book which Faust came from. This cat was not made up from the author's point of view when he was writing this story. The cat is based on the college cat Pogo from
Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, I ...
, Skelton's alma mater.A conversation with Matthew Skelton
/ref> *Johann Gutenberg ― Endymion Spring's master. He is known in the book as Herr Gutenberg by both Peter and Endymion. *Johann Fust/Faust ― ''the'' same character. As a general rule, the name Faust is used in the modern storyline and the name Fust is used in the 15th century storyline. Thought to have sold his soul to the devil. *Peter Schoeffer ― Fust's apprentice and chosen son-in-law, and the one who thought of the plan for Endymion Spring to escape from Mainz. He was promised Fust's daughter, Christina, a hand in marriage if he did his bidding. *Christina - Fust's daughter, and Peter's love *Endymion Spring - The
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of the 15th century story line, of the book.


References


External links


Random House Endymion websiteWarner Bros. Endymion websiteMatthew Skelton's Official Blog Page
†The childhood photo of Skelton can be seen here
Scholastic Interview of Matthew Skelton
{{Authority control 2006 British novels Children's fantasy novels Children's historical novels British children's novels Novels set in Oxford Novels set in Germany Novels set in the 1450s 2006 children's books Delacorte Press books