''The Deptford Mice'' is a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

of children's dark fantasy novels by British author

Robin Jarvis Robin Jarvis (born 8 May 1963) is a British Young-Adult fiction (YA) and children's novelist, who writes dark fantasy, suspense and supernatural thrillers. His books for young adults have featured the inhabitants of a coastal town battling a mon ...

. The first book, ''The Dark Portal'', was published in 1989 by Macdonald & Company in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, followed that same year by ''The Crystal Prison'' and then ''The Final Reckoning'' in 1990. The trilogy tells the story of a young mouse girl named Audrey Brown and her friends as they fight Jupiter, the evil living god of the sewer rats in the London borough of

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

. The first book in the series, ''The Dark Portal'', was a runner-up for the Smarties book prize in 1989. In 2000, ''The Deptford Mice'' trilogy made its debut in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

with the publication of ''The Dark Portal'' by SeaStar Books. ''The Crystal Prison'' and ''The Final Reckoning'' were published there in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

Development

Jarvis came up with the idea for ''The Deptford Mice'' while working as a model-maker for television programmes and commercials. He had been designing a big, furry alien but decided to take a break and draw something small. That something was a mouse who would become the character Oswald Chitter. Jarvis continued to doodle mice, and when a friend of his saw the sketches, he suggested they be sent to a publisher. The publisher responded positively and asked if there was a story to accompany the drawings. At the time there wasn't one, but Jarvis then wrote the story of ''The Deptford Mice''. He had originally envisioned it as a picture book, but it became a 70,000 word manuscript. When Jarvis's editor told him that the manuscript could make a trilogy due to its long length, he went away and cut it, and then came up with more ideas for the second and third books. The entire storyline of the trilogy was worked out by Jarvis before he sat down to write it. This meant that he knew the ultimate fates of all the characters from the beginning and was able to easily insert

foreshadowing Foreshadowing is a narrative device in which a storyteller gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story, and it helps develop or subvert the audience's expectations about upco ...

. Some of the real history and lore of

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

and Blackheath was incorporated by Jarvis into the novels because he believes "that if you can incorporate elements of documented history into fantasy, this will hopefully enhance the experience for the reader and make it more convincing."

Trilogy

''
The Dark Portal ''The Dark Portal'' is a dark fantasy novel for children by British author Robin Jarvis. The first book in ''The Deptford Mice'' trilogy and Jarvis's debut novel, it follows the story of Audrey Brown, a mouse girl who is looking for her missing fa ...
''

A community of mice lives an idyllic existence in an old empty house in the

borough

. The only problem they have is a fear of the vicious rats in the sewers below who worship a mysterious living god called Jupiter. One mouse named Albert Brown is drawn into the sewers by dark enchantments on the grill in the house's basement. His daughter Audrey, refusing to believe he is dead, sets out to find him and in the process discover the truth about the villainous Jupiter.

'' The Crystal Prison''

Audrey is commanded by the Starwife, all-powerful queen of the squirrels, to accompany the rat Madame Akkikuyu to the countryside against her will. Formerly in the service of the now-defeated Jupiter, Akkikuyu has gone mad and is completely harmless. Her only wish is to find peace and happiness. But as soon as she and Audrey arrive in the country, fieldmice start turning up dead. Audrey unwittingly becomes the main suspect, but little does anyone know, the dark events are stemming from an evil spirit who is manipulating Akkikuyu.

''
The Final Reckoning ''The Final Reckoning'' is a dark fantasy novel for children by British author Robin Jarvis. It is the third book in ''The Deptford Mice'' trilogy, first published in the United Kingdom in 1990 by Macdonald & Company, London. In 2002, it was p ...
''

In the final book of the trilogy, Jupiter returns in spectral form, vowing revenge on the mice who destroyed his mortal body. More powerful than ever, he smothers the world in an eternal winter and gathers together a seemingly invincible army of ice spear-wielding ghost rats. The mice of Deptford are at a loss as to how to vanquish him this second time because he is already dead. Worse still, their ally the Starwife has had her realm destroyed and her magical Starglass stolen by Jupiter, who plans to use it to blot out the sun and bring an end to all life on earth.

Other books

Jarvis has also written prequels to ''The Deptford Mice''. These include ''The Deptford Histories'' trilogy, which delves into the backstories of major characters like Jupiter and Thomas Triton, and ''The Deptford Mouselets'', intended to introduce younger children to ''The Deptford Mice''. The ''Mouselets'' stories are much more lighthearted in tone, with little to no violence, and the books are not nearly as long as those in the main trilogies. ''

The Deptford Mice Almanack ''The Deptford Mice Almanack'' is a companion book to ''The Deptford Mice'' and ''Deptford Histories'' trilogies by Robin Jarvis, presented in an in-universe style. It was first published in 1997 by Macdonald Young Books in the United Kingdom. S ...

'', written from an

in-universe A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...

perspective, has also been released to complement the novels. It describes the fictional traditions and lore of the animal characters, as well as events taking place ten years after ''The Deptford Mice'' trilogy. ''The Deptford Mice Almanack'' ends with an ominous

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

, and Jarvis has stated that he plans to write "one more, final ''Deptford Mice'' book. It will be set some years after the events of ''The Final Reckoning'' and is going to be the most frightening story of them all. I can't wait to get started on that one. All I can say about it is that the peril-o-meter will be in the red zone all the way, so expect lots of desperate battles and more than a few tears, because at long last, after all these years of imprisonment, the evil Lord Hobb is back. The Three Thrones of the terrifying ancient rat gods will rise again..."

Adaptations

Audiobook

In 1995, Macdonald Young Books released abridged readings of the three novels on cassette tape. ''The Dark Portal'' was narrated by

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. (1 ...

, ''The Crystal Prison'' by

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series '' The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the title roles in '' ...

, and ''The Final Reckoning'' by Jon Pertwee. These were later reissued in 2001 by

Hodder Headline Headline Publishing Group is a British publishing brand and former company. It was founded in 1986 by Tim Hely Hutchinson. In 1993, Headline bought Hodder & Stoughton and the company became Hodder Headline Ltd. In 1999, Hodder Headline was acq ...

to coincide with their new Hodder Silver print editions of the books. Shortly after ''The Deptford Mices first publication in the

Blackstone Audio Blackstone Audio is one of the largest independent audiobook publishers in the United States, offering over 30,000 audiobooks. The company is based in Ashland, Oregon with five in-house recording studios. Blackstone distributes directly to consu ...

released

unabridged An abridgement (or abridgment) is a condensing or reduction of a book or other creative work into a shorter form while maintaining the unity of the source. The abridgement can be true to the original work in terms of mood and tone (literature), t ...

audiobooks on cassette, compact disc, and digital formats in an arrangement with NorthSouth Books. Roe Kendall narrated the entire trilogy.

Cancelled film

In the mid-1990s, there were plans for Jim Henson Pictures to adapt ''The Deptford Mice'' into a film. The project was ultimately abandoned for reasons unknown.

Stage

In 2010, London-based theatre company Tiny Dog Productions created the first official stage production of ''The Dark Portal'' under licence from

. After successful preview showings at The Space Theatre, London.; the production was again performed in April 2011 at the

New Wimbledon Theatre The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on the Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Grade II listed Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J. B. Mulholland. Built on the site of a large hous ...

.The Deptford Mice, New Wimbledon Theatre, 2011
/ref>

References

External links

Official website of Robin Jarvis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deptford Mice, The British children's novels Novels set in London Novels about animals Series of children's books The Deptford Mice series Fantasy novel trilogies Deptford 20th-century British novels Fictional mice and rats