Over Sea, Under Stone
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''Over Sea, Under Stone'' is a
contemporary fantasy Contemporary fantasy, also known as modern fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy, set in the present day or, more accurately, the time period of the maker. It is perhaps most popular for its subgenre, urban fantasy. Strictly, supernatural fiction c ...
novel written for children by the English author
Susan Cooper Susan Mary Cooper (born 23 May 1935) is an English author of children's books. She is best known for '' The Dark Is Rising'', a contemporary fantasy series set in England and Wales, which incorporates British mythology such as the Arthurian le ...
, first published in London by Jonathan Cape in 1965. Cooper wrote four sequels about ten years later, making it the first volume in a series usually called ''
The Dark Is Rising Sequence ''The Dark Is Rising Sequence'' is a series of five contemporary fantasy novels for older children and young adults that were written by the British author Susan Cooper and published from 1965 to 1977. The first book in the series, ''Over Sea, ...
'' (1965 to 1977). In contrast to the rest of the series, it is more a
mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...
, with traditional fantasy elements mainly the subject of hints later in the narrative.Calkins, "Basic Book Information". Thus it may ease readers into the fantasy genre.


Plot

''Over Sea, Under Stone'' features the Drew children, Simon, Jane and Barney, on holiday with their parents and Merriman Lyon, an old family friend, usually referred to by the children as their great-uncle. The Drew family meet him in the fictional fishing village of Trewissick on the southern coast of
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
. In the attic of the big Grey House they are renting from Merriman's friend Captain Toms the children find an old manuscript. They recognise a drawing of the local coastline that may be a kind of map, with almost illegible text, but Barney realises that the map refers to King Arthur and his knights. The children decide to keep the discovery to themselves. The family are visited at the Grey House by a very friendly Mr. Withers and his sister Polly, who invite them to go fishing on their yacht. The boys are thrilled, but Jane feels suspicious and declines to join them. While Jane is alone in the Grey House she finds a guidebook to Trewissick, written by the local vicar, in an old trunk. She realises that the map in the guidebook is similar to the secret map, but also different somehow, so she decides to visit the vicar. The man at the vicarage is not the writer of the guidebook, but he offers to help Jane. He asks some probing questions that arouse Jane's suspicions and she decides to return home. Soon the house is burgled, with attention paid only to the bookshelves and the wall hangings, and the children guess that someone else knows of and seeks the manuscript. The children decide that it is time to confide in Great-Uncle Merry. Up on the headland they show him the map, and he tells them that it is a copy of an even older map that shows the way to a hidden treasure and that the children are now in great danger. He explains that some British artefact may have been hidden here long ago, and confirms that they will have dangerous grown-up rivals in its pursuit. So begins their quest for the Grail on behalf of the Light, which they have to achieve while being harried by Mr. Withers and his sister, who are agents of the Dark, desperate to stop them at any cost. Mother usually paints outdoors, and father goes boating, or both travel out of town. Meanwhile, the children investigate the meaning of the map, encouraged, yet warned and sometimes "guarded", by Great Uncle Merry. They learn to read the diagram and work out the clues on the map, but they must work out of doors, where each child has a nasty encounter with the Dark and their progress is easy to observe. While looking for the first clue Simon is chased by Mr. Hastings and Bill Hoover, Jr. After the second clue leads them to the headland at night Simon, Jane and Great-Uncle Merry are ambushed and almost caught by followers of the Dark. Merriman is misdirected out of town, but the children anxiously follow their ancient guide "over sea and under stone" without him. Barney is kidnapped by Mr. Withers and his sister Polly, and must be rescued. The children eventually follow the clues to a cave beneath the headland and discover the Grail. Unfortunately they lose an important metal case that was lodged inside the Grail, which contained a coded manuscript that is the key to deciphering the markings on the outside of the Grail. The children present the Grail to the British Museum and are given a cheque for it. The Grail is an object of debate among the scholars there because of the unknown markings. Barney begins to suspect something, reciting in his mind the name of the great-uncle Merry and eventually finding a link to Merlin.


Characters

*Simon Drew: Eldest of three Drew children. *Jane Drew: The middle Drew sibling. *Barnabas Drew (Barney): The youngest of the siblings. *Merriman Lyon (Great-Uncle Merry; Gumerry): An old friend of the Drew children's maternal grandfather and their mentor in everything. *Captain Toms: Friend of Merriman, owner of The Grey House which the Drews rent, has a very smart red setter Rufus that helps the Drew children avoid danger and find the Grail. *Mr. Withers and his sister Polly: Over-friendly tourists who invite the Drews on their boat; they are agents of the Dark. *Mr. Hastings: Agent of The Dark, lets Jane believe he is the town Vicar. He leads the Dark members battling Merriman and the Drew children in the search for the Grail. *Bill Hoover Jr.: Nephew to the housekeeper, he is a young, very unpleasant local, working for the Withers. *Mrs. Palk: Motherly Cornish housekeeper of the Grey House. Aunt and accomplice to Bill. *Rufus: The dog. *Father: Simon, Jane, and Barney's Father. *Mother: Simon, Jane, and Barney's Mother.


Origins

Beside the
Matter of Britain The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...
, the novel is rooted in Susan Cooper's childhood. Trewissick is based directly on the actual village of
Mevagissey Mevagissey (; kw, Lannvorek) is a village, fishing port and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
, which she frequented on her own holidays. The (former)
vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...
, where Jane Drew has the first nasty encounter with Mr. Hastings, is based on the (former) vicarage Mevagissey House. ''Over Sea, Under Stone'' came as a response to a contest designed to honour the memory of
E. Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer and poet, who published her books for children as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political activist a ...
. Joel Chaston writes that the contest was "offered by E. Nesbit's publisher,
Ernest Benn Sir Ernest John Pickstone Benn, 2nd Baronet, (25 June 1875 – 17 January 1954) was a British publisher, writer and political publicist. His father, John Benn, was a politician, who had been made a baronet in 1914. He was an uncle of the Labou ...
, for family-adventure stories like those written by Nesbit. Cooper did not enter the contest but eventually completed the manuscript. After it was turned down by twenty or more publishers, she sent it to a friend of a friend who was reading manuscripts for Jonathan Cape, who published it in 1965."


Literary significance and criticism

Successful soon after publication, the novel was well received by the literary world. Among narratives intended for children it features fairly sophisticated use of English, with an extensive vocabulary and complex sentence structures.Calkins, "Notable features". Joel Chaston writes, "Reviewers noted that the book begins as a mystery-adventure story and becomes a sort of morality tale full of mysticism and elements of Arthurian legend. Because it later became a part of a series, ''Over Sea, Under Stone'' has continued to gain new readers. In a 1976 '' Horn Book'' essay, "A Second Look: Over Sea, Under Stone", Dwight Dudley Carlson argues that Cooper's superb abilities as a storyteller, the novel's clear delineation of good and evil, and the believability of the Drew children have contributed to its lasting success with young readers."


Publication history

* 1965, UK, Jonathan Cape (ISBN NA), May 1965, hardcover (first edition) * 1966, US, Harcourt, Brace & World (ISBN NA), 1966, hard (first US ed.) * 1968, UK, Puffin (), 1968, paperback * 1989, US, Simon Pulse (), 30 April 1989, paper * 1989, US, First Scholastic, November 1989, paper


TV adaptation

In 1969, the BBC's Jackanory series featured a 5-part adaptation of ''Over Sea, Under Stone''. David Wood appeared as the storyteller, while dramatised sequences included
Graham Crowden Clement Graham Crowden (30 November 1922 – 19 October 2010) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric "offbeat" scientist, teacher and doctor characters. Ea ...
as Uncle Merry and
Colin Jeavons Colin Abel Jeavons (born 20 October 1929) is a retired British television actor. Career Jeavons' earliest television role was as Jules Neraud in an episode of the 1956 anthology series of teleplays ''Nom-de-Plume''. Broadcast live, it is unkno ...
as The Black Vicar. No episodes survive in the BBC archives.


Radio adaptation

In 1995 Armada Productions adapted ''Over Sea, Under Stone'' for
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
as part of its Children's Radio 4 strand, and followed in 1997 with an adaptation of its sequel ''The Dark Is Rising'' (both under their original titles). Each comprised four half-hour episodes with few changes from the book.
Ronald Pickup Ronald Alfred Pickup (7 June 1940 – 24 February 2021) was an English actor. He was active in television, film, and theatre, beginning with a 1964 appearance in ''Doctor Who''. Theatre critic Michael Billington described him as "a terrific sta ...
(familiar to many as the voice of
Aslan Aslan () is a major character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. Unlike any other character, he appears in all seven chronicles of the series. Aslan is depicted as a talking lion, and is described as the King of Beasts, the ...
in the BBC
Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been Adaptations of The Chron ...
TV adaptations) voiced Merriman Lyon while Struan Roger portrayed Mr. Hastings, Mr. Mitothin, and The Rider. ''Over Sea, Under Stone'' was repeated once in 1997 a few months before ''The Dark Is Rising'' and again in November 2016 by BBC Radio 4 Extra. It has never been made commercially available.


References


Citations


General and cited references

* * * Samples online (fieldguides.heinemann.com/samples). * *


External links

* * —immediately, first US edition {{Portal bar, Children's literature , Fantasy , England, History 1965 British novels Children's fantasy novels British children's novels Novels by Susan Cooper Low fantasy novels 1965 fantasy novels Novels set in Cornwall Jonathan Cape books Modern Arthurian fiction 1965 children's books Debut fantasy novels 1965 debut novels