''Maskerade'' is a
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. Fa ...
by British writer
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 ...
, the eighteenth book in the ''
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 ...
'' series. The
witches
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have use ...
Granny Weatherwax
Esmerelda "Esme" Weatherwax (also Granny Weatherwax or Mistress Weatherwax) is a fictional character from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. She is a witch and member of the Lancre coven. She is the self-appointed guardian of her small cou ...
and
Nanny Ogg
Gytha Ogg (usually called Nanny Ogg) is a character from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. She is a witch and member of the Lancre coven.
Personality
The character of Nanny Ogg is based on the Mother stereotype of the Triple Goddess (N ...
visit the
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art o ...
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
House to find
Agnes Nitt
A major subset of the ''Discworld'' novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. The three main witches introduced in 1988's ''Wyrd Sisters'' — crone Esme Weatherwax, mother Nanny Ogg and maiden Magrat Garlick — are a spoof on th ...
, a girl from
Lancre
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
, and get caught up in a story similar to ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...
''.
Plot summary
The story begins with Agnes Nitt leaving Lancre to seek a career at the Opera House in
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art o ...
, recently purchased by Seldom Bucket, formerly a cheesemonger. When Granny Weatherwax realizes Nanny Ogg has written an immensely popular "cookbook" but has not been paid by the publisher (and that the nom de plume of 'A Lancre Witch' may lead people to believe that she rather than Nanny wrote it), the witches leave for Ankh-Morpork to collect the money. They also hope to recruit Agnes into their coven, to replace
Magrat Garlick
A major subset of the ''Discworld'' novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. The three main witches introduced in 1988's ''Wyrd Sisters'' — crone Esme Weatherwax, mother Nanny Ogg and maiden Magrat Garlick — are a spoof on t ...
who left the coven when she became Queen of Lancre (in ''
Lords and Ladies''). This has the side benefit of distracting Granny from becoming obsessive and self-centered, or so Nanny believes to her great relief. En route, they meet Henry Slugg, an Ankh-Morporkian opera singer who adopted a Brindisian persona of Enrico Basilica to further his career but yearns for Ankh-Morporkian cuisine after years of Brindisian pasta, squid and tomato sauce; and Granny makes a deal with Death for him not to claim the fatally-ill son of an innkeeper.
Agnes Nitt is chosen as a member of the chorus, where she meets Christine, a more popular but less talented girl whose father lent Bucket large sums of money to purchase the Opera House. The Opera Ghost, who has long haunted the opera house without much incident, begins to commit seemingly random murders staged as "accidents", and also requests that Christine be given lead roles in several upcoming productions. Due to her incredibly powerful, versatile and possibly magical voice, Agnes is asked to sing the parts from the background, unbeknownst to Christine or the audience. After swapping rooms with Christine, Agnes begins receiving late-night training from the Opera Ghost originally intended for Christine.
Having discovered the problems at the Opera House and also having coerced the publisher to pay Nanny richly for her book, the witches investigate the mystery, with Granny posing as a rich patron (using Nanny's royalties), Nanny insinuating herself into the opera house staff, and Greebo being transmogrified into human form (as during ''
Witches Abroad
''Witches Abroad'' is the twelfth ''Discworld'' novel by Terry Pratchett, originally published in 1991.Fantastic FictioWitches Abroad (Discworld, book 12) Terry PratchettRetrieved 2009-05-9
Plot
Following the death of the witch Desiderata Hollo ...
'') to pose as Granny's companion. Agnes unmasks
Walter Plinge
Walter Plinge is a pseudonym, used in British theatres since the 19th century on occasions when it is not possible or desirable to make an actor's real name known. Name and usage
Walter Plinge is a pseudonym traditionally used in British theatres ...
, the janitor, as the ghost, though as he is seemingly harmless, the others are unconvinced. Andre, another employee, is suspected, but he turns out to be a
Cable Street Particular. Granny determines that the finances of the Opera House, which are a complete mess, have been made so intentionally in order to hide the fact that money is being stolen, with the murders being used either as a distraction or to cover up the evidence.
It is finally revealed that two people had been masquerading as the ghost. The original (and harmless) ghost, Walter Plinge, was being psychologically manipulated and blackmailed by the second ghost,
Mr Salzella (Director of Music at the Opera House), who assumed the identity to commit the murders and theft, and frame Walter if he ever came close to being caught. With the witches' help, Walter is able to overcome his fears and help defeat Salzella, who is killed by believing that the fencing staged in opera is actual lethal swordplay, dying despite not actually being injured, although not before delivering a lengthy monologue about his hatred of opera. Walter then goes on to become the new Director of Music, integrating his own music into the opera, turning them into musicals. Slugg, decidedly abandoning his Enrico Basilica persona after being assaulted and concussed by Salzella, reunites with Angeline Lawsy, his childhood sweetheart, and is introduced to his long-lost son Henry Lawsy. Agnes, after realising that she does not fit in with the environment of the opera, returns to Lancre to learn how to be a witch from Granny and to serve as the third member of the Lancre Coven.
Characters
*Agnes Nitt (Perdita)
*Christine, a parody of Christine Daae
*Walter Plinge, a parody of Michael Crawford
*Mrs. Plinge
*Salzella
*Seldom Bucket
*Dr. Undershaft
*The Opera Ghost
*Henry Slugg (Enrico Basilica)
*Nanny Ogg
*Greebo
*Granny Weatherwax
*André
*The Librarian
*Death
*The Death Of Mice
Adaptations
A stage adaptation by Hana Burešová and Štěpán Otčenášek (partly using adaptation by
Stephen Briggs
Stephen Briggs (born 1951) is a British writer of subsidiary works and merchandise surrounding Terry Pratchett's comic fantasy ''Discworld''. ''The Streets of Ankh-Morpork'', the first Discworld map, was co-designed by Briggs and Pratchett and ...
) premiered in
Divadlo v Dlouhé
Divadlo v Dlouhé is a repertoire theatre with a permanent group of actors established in 1996 as a set financed by the Municipality of Prague. The group of actors comprises graduates of the ''Theatre Academy of Musical Arts'', part of the actors ...
,
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
in April 2006. Pratchett attended the closing performance five years later.
Reception
''
BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
'' listed ''Maskerade'' as the 11th-best Discworld novel, noting that "it works well as a parody of the tropes of opera, and as a murder mystery".
[ The Definitive Listing Of Terry Pratchett's Discworld Novels]
by Tom Chivers, at Buzzfeed UK; published March 2, 2015; retrieved June 3, 2017
Reviews
*''Envoyer'' (German) (Issue 3 - Jan 1997)
References
External links
*
''Maskerade'' in Czechoslovak Film Database''Maskerade'' in International Film Database
{{Authority control
The Phantom of the Opera
1995 British novels
Discworld books
1995 fantasy novels
Novels about music
British novels adapted into plays
Victor Gollancz Ltd books
British comedy novels