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''Hogfather'' is the 20th ''
Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat pla ...
'' novel by
Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...
, and a 1997 British Fantasy Award nominee. It was first released in 1996 and published by
Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Christ ...
. It came in 137th place in
The Big Read The Big Read was a survey on books carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, where over three-quarters of a million votes were received from the British public to find the nation's best-loved novel of all time. The year-long survey wa ...
, a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
survey of the most loved British books of all time, making it one of fifteen books by Pratchett in the Top 200. The book focuses on the absence of the Hogfather, a mythical creature akin to
Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrel ...
, who grants children's wishes on Hogswatchnight (December 32) and brings them presents. While
Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
attempts to fill in for the Hogfather, his granddaughter
Susan Sto Helit Susan Sto Helit (also spelled Sto-Helit), once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. She is the granddaughter of Death, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and has a number of his a ...
tries to find and rescue the Hogfather.


Plot summary

The Auditors of Reality, a group of "celestial bureaucrats" attempt to eliminate the Hogfather, a jolly god-like creature who brings children presents on December 32nd, similar to the figures of
Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
and
Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrel ...
in the US and UK. Forbidden to interfere directly by "The Rules", they pay the Assassin's Guild to kill the Hogfather instead. The task is given to Mr. Teatime who has a reputation for ruthlessness and creative solutions. Mr. Teatime enlists the help of some gangsters to find a delivery person working for the
Tooth Fairy The Tooth Fairy is a fantasy figure of early childhood in Western and Western-influenced cultures. The folklore states that when children lose one of their baby teeth, they should place it underneath their pillow or on their bedside table and ...
, using his magic to break into her kingdom and stealing all the collected teeth. With these teeth, he is able to control all the children on the Discworld, commanding them to no longer believe in the Hogfather. Knowing that the Hogfather is also responsible for the sun rising,
Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
attempts to maintain belief by dressing up as the Hogfather and fulfilling his role, aided by his servant Albert. Due to Death's simplistic understanding of the meaning of Hogswatch, he commits several acts supposedly to aid restoring belief in the Hogfather but which Albert believes are unacceptable, including granting more life to a deceased matchgirl and stealing food from a luxury restaurant to give to the Canting Crew (whilst replacing said restaurant's stock with mud and old boots). Since he is unable himself to defeat Mr. Teatime, who is in a realm created by children's belief where death (and thus Death) does not exist, he appears at his granddaughter's place of work dressed as the Hogfather. As he had planned,
Susan Sto Helit Susan Sto Helit (also spelled Sto-Helit), once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. She is the granddaughter of Death, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and has a number of his a ...
is unable to resist her curiosity and tries to find the Hogfather. She visits the Hogfather's Castle of Bones, only to find the hung-over Bilious, the "Oh God" of
Hangover A hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects usually following the consumption of alcohol, such as wine, beer, and liquor. Hangovers can last for several hours or for more than 24 hours. Typical sympto ...
s. In an attempt to cure Bilious from his hangovers, Susan visits the
Unseen University The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The ...
, where it is discovered that several small gods and beings (including Bilious, a Verruca Gnome, a Hair Loss Fairy, an Eater of Pencils, and Eater of Socks, Towel Wasps, and a Cheerful Fairy) are being created due to an abundance of excess belief in the world caused by the Hogfather's disappearance. Susan and Bilious travel to the Tooth Fairy's realm and discover Mr. Teatime's plot. Mr. Teatime attacks Susan using Death's sword, but since it does not work in this realm, Susan is able to overpower him and throw him down the tower, causing him to disappear. After Susan witnesses the Tooth Fairy (in fact, the original
Bogey Man The Bogeyman (; also spelled boogeyman, bogyman, bogieman, boogie monster, boogieman, or boogie woogie) is a type of mythic creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearance and conceptions var ...
, who became the Tooth Fairy to protect children) die from the exhaustion from defending its kingdom, she tasks the childlike Banjo Lilywhite, the last surviving gangster, to carry on the task of protecting the teeth. She then manages to rescue the Hogfather, who has reverted to his former self as a hog, from Auditors who hound him in the form of attack dogs. As Susan is returning to her place of work, Death explains what happened to Susan but she is attacked by Teatime whom she finally manages to kill using the kitchen poker.


Characters

*Jonathan Teatime, an assassin *Susan Sto-Helit, Death's granddaughter *Death *Auditors of Reality *Hogfather, a god *Albert *Bilious, the Oh God of Hangovers The Wizards of the Unseen University: *Mustrum Ridcully, Archchancellor of Unseen University *Lecturer in Recent Runes *Chair of Indefinite Studies *The Bursar *Hex *Ponder Stibbons *Adrian Turnipseed aka Mad Drongo *Dean *Senior Wrangler *the Librarian


TV adaptation

A two-part TV film version of ''Hogfather'' was screened on 17 and 18 December 2006 on
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
in the UK, with
Ian Richardson Ian William Richardson (7 April 19349 February 2007) was a Scottish actor. He portrayed the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's '' House of Cards'' (1990–1995) television trilogy. Richardson was also a leading S ...
as the voice of Death and
David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom '' Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector ...
playing Death's manservant
Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...
.
Marc Warren Marc Warren (born 20 March 1967) is an English actor, known for his British television roles. His roles have included Albert Blithe in '' Band of Brothers'', Danny Blue in '' Hustle'', Dougie Raymond in ''The Vice'', Dominic Foy in '' State ...
played Mr. Teatime,
Michelle Dockery Michelle Suzanne Dockery (born 15 December 1981) is an English television and film actress. She is best known for her leading performance as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2015), for which ...
played
Susan Sto Helit Susan Sto Helit (also spelled Sto-Helit), once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. She is the granddaughter of Death, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and has a number of his a ...
,
Rhodri Meilir Rhodri Meilir (born 18 November 1978) is a Welsh actor. In 2018, he began portraying the role of Dilwyn in the BBC Three series ''In My Skin (TV series), In My Skin''. Early life Meilir was born in Pontypool. He was educated at Ysgol Maes Garmo ...
played Bilious, and
Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'' and has presented several historical documentaries ...
(who narrated several audiobook versions of the Discworld novels) played the shop keeper Vernon Crumley. Terry Pratchett himself had a brief cameo as the toy-maker. The US debut was on 25 November 2007 on
ION Television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented enter ...
, the Australian on 23 and 24 December 2007 on Channel Seven, and the German on 25 December 2007 on
ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...
.


Reception

The novel entered the UK Top 10 charts at #1 as hardback in October 1996 and as paperback in November 1997. According to ''
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 ...
'', Pratchett used a darker tone and edgier satire for ''Hogfather'' than his previous work, and so moved beyond the realm of humorous fantasy and into position as "one of the more significant contemporary English-language satirists".


References


External links

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Annotations for ''Hogfather''





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