''The Moon of Gomrath'' is a fantasy story by the author
Alan Garner
Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native count ...
, published in 1963. It is the sequel to ''
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author Alan Garner. Garner began work on the novel, his literary debut, in 1957, after he moved into the late medieval house, Toad Hall, in Blackden ...
''.
Plot synopsis
Once again, it details the involvement of two children, Colin and Susan, with the world of myth and magic. This time the focus is on the potential of the older, wilder forms of magic and myth cycle to create both creative and destructive forces on the world.
To ease the surrender of the Weirdstone in ''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'', Susan was given a magical bracelet by Angharad Goldenhand. It is the donning of this bracelet which has launched Susan unwittingly on a destiny connected with the cycles of the moon and hence the older wilder powers of the world. ''The Moon of Gomrath'' begins when the elves (
lios-alfar) borrow the bracelet, with her consent, to see if its power can be directed by them to battle an unknown evil power in their own lands in Sinadon. However while unprotected by the bracelet, Susan is possessed by the
Brollachan
A fuath ( gd, fuath; ; lit. ‘hatred'; ''fuathan''; vough, vaugh) is a class of malevolent spirits in Scottish Highland folklore, especially water spirits.
In Sutherland was the so-called ''Moulin na Vaugha/Fouadh'', ‘Mill of the Fuath', h ...
, an ancient evil released after an old pit is broken open during building work. The wizard Cadellin, guardian of the sleeping knights in ''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'', cannot restore Susan after the Brollachan has been driven out of her body; instead perceiving that her spirit has been driven to another spiritual dimension, unreachable with ordinary means. It is Colin's true-hearted heroic love and need for his sister which provides the answer; as he responds to the older powers of the world. He therefore comes to seek the Mothan at moonrise. The Mothan is a mythical plant which grows on the Old Straight Track. This is a motif inspired by the book named ''
The Old Straight Track
''The Old Straight Track: Its Mounds, Beacons, Moats, Sites and Mark Stones'' is a book by Alfred Watkins, first published in 1925, describing the existence of alleged ley lines in Great Britain.
Presentation
Watkins presents a methodical and th ...
''. It is part of the Old Magic, in contrast to Cadellin's High Magic. Susan is dramatically restored to her own body.
However, her sojourn to other levels of existence has sensitised her to the powers with which she and her brother have been coming to associate and the story takes a new dramatic turn. On walking home across the Edge on dusk, they are inspired to build a fire to keep warm, Susan almost manically so. This fire includes
rowan
The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus
''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...
and
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
which unintendedly act as a wendfire, which on this night of the year has the power to call ancient spirits from their mounds. Colin and Susan release the
Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt is a folklore motif (Motif E501 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature) that occurs in the folklore of various northern European cultures. Wild Hunts typically involve a chase led by a mythological figure escorted by ...
, which return several times during the course of the novel.
While they are trying to undo what they have done, the
Morrigan captures Colin and imprisons him in
Errwood Hall, which her magic restores into a building, which except in moonlight teleports into a lightless magic realm. This sets up the
denouement
Dramatic structure (also known as dramaturgical structure) is the structure of a dramatic work such as a book, play, or film. There are different kinds of dramatic structures worldwide which have been hypothesized by critics, writers and schola ...
, a pitched battle between the forces of the Morrigan (goblin-like
bodach
A (; plural "old man; rustic, churl, lout"; Old Irish ) is a trickster or bogeyman figure in Gaelic folklore and mythology.
The "old man" is paired with the "hag, old woman" in Irish legend.
Name
(Old Irish also ) is the Irish word for a ...
s and wildcat
palugs) and Susan's allies (the lios-alfar, the dwarf Uthecar, and man Albanac), both willing and unwilling. Although Colin is rescued, Albanac is killed. When the elves withdraw their support as a lost cause, the Morrigan finally releases the Brollachan, focusing it on Susan to destroy her growing potential as a force for good. It is the other gift from Angharad Goldenhand which saves the day and the Old Magic is set free forever.
Background
Garner provides a sidelight on his authorial approach by including an appendix of books which inspired him, along with a brief discussion of his approach to mythology.
Garner repeatedly refused to write a third, despite persistent requests, claiming that this would actually diminish the emotional power of the first two books and that his material, interests and style have moved on long ago. However ''
Boneland
''Boneland'' is a 2012 novel by Alan Garner, a sequel to ''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'' and '' The Moon of Gomrath''. The boy Colin from the earlier novels is now an adult, still living near the top of Alderley Edge but now a professor workin ...
'', the conclusion to the sequence, was finally published in August 2012.
"Alan Garner to conclude Weirdstone of Brisingamen trilogy" ''The Guardian'', 15 March 2012
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon Of Gomrath, The
1963 British novels
1963 fantasy novels
British children's novels
British fantasy novels
Children's fantasy novels
Novels by Alan Garner
Novels set in Cheshire
Sequel novels
William Collins, Sons books
1963 children's books