140-488: This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett 's Discworld series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), see the articles for those races. Some character biographies are also listed in articles relating to the organisations they belong to. For further Discworld character biographies, see
280-724: A humanist . He was a Distinguished Supporter of Humanists UK (formerly known as the British Humanist Association) and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society . Pratchett wrote that he read the Old Testament as a child and "was horrified", but liked the New Testament and thought that Jesus "had a lot of good things to say ... But I could never see the two testaments as one coherent narrative". He then read On
420-708: A knighthood for "services to literature" in the 2009 UK New Year Honours list. He was previously appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire , also for "services to literature", in 1998. He formally received the accolade at Buckingham Palace on 18 February 2009. Pratchett commented in the Ansible science fiction/fan newsletter, "I suspect the 'services to literature' consisted of refraining from trying to write any", but added, "Still, I cannot help feeling mightily chuffed about it." On 31 December 2008, it
560-428: A telegraph ) are programmed to repeat the name of its creator's deceased son; the sentiment in the novel is that no one is ever forgotten as long as their name is still spoken. A June 2015 web server survey reported that approximately 84,000 websites had been configured with the header. Pratchett's humanist funeral service was held on 25 March 2015. In 2015, Pratchett's estate announced an endowment in perpetuity to
700-588: A "dear little pixie" would help her career and she thinks that Agnes might be that pixie. Roland de Chumsfanleigh — pronounced 'de Chuffley', which, as Pratchett says, is not his fault — is the son of the Baron of the Chalkland. First introduced in 30th Discworld novel , The Wee Free Men , the first novel in the Tiffany Aching series. Initially a rather dull-witted individual, he gained something of
840-518: A 'whitewash wedding'. He is possibly inspired in part by John Major who was born the son of a music hall performer, but left to join a bank, eventually becoming Prime Minister of the UK 1990–1997. Andrew Rawnsley said that he "ran away from the circus to join a troupe of accountants". Polly Perks's platoon commander in 31st Discworld novel , Monstrous Regiment , Blouse is a rather effeminate aristocrat who previously worked as an administrator in
980-743: A BBC television documentary, Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die , about assisted suicide. It won the Best Documentary award at the Scottish BAFTAs in November 2011. In September 2012, Pratchett told an interviewer: "I have to tell you that I thought I'd be a lot worse than this by now, and so did my specialist." In the same interview he said that the cognitive part of his mind was "untouched" and his symptoms were physical (normal for PCA). However, in July 2014 he cancelled his appearance at
1120-449: A bank of six monitors to ease writing. When he travelled, he always took a portable computer, originally a 1992 Olivetti Quaderno , with him to write. In a 1995 interview with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates , Pratchett expressed concern about the potential spread of misinformation online. He felt that there was a "kind of parity of esteem of information" on the internet, and gave the example of Holocaust denial being presented on
1260-499: A barbarian hero but is very bad at it. Mrs Cosmopilite is a dressmaker, who first appears in 10th Discworld novel , Moving Pictures as Vice President of Costuming and Theda Withel 's landlady. Earlier in the book she is mentioned as being capable of believing the Disc is under threat from inhuman monsters, that she is a subject of derision for believing that the world is round, and that three dwarfs look in on her undressing. She
1400-535: A book about his experiences if he thought anyone would actually believe them". The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic , was published in hardback by Colin Smythe Ltd in 1983. Pratchett gave up working for the CEGB to make his living through writing in 1987, after finishing the fourth Discworld novel, Mort . His sales increased quickly and many of his books occupied top places on bestseller lists; he
1540-745: A conscience upon being rescued from the Queen of the Elves by Tiffany. When he is 12 years old, Roland is kidnapped by the Queen, and does not age during his captivity since time hardly passes while in Fairyland. When a 9-year-old Tiffany finds him there in The Wee Free Men , a year has passed on the Disc since his disappearance, and so he would have been 13 in the "real" world. Roland personally apologised to Tiffany when his father made out that he had in fact rescued her , as would be expected in such
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#17327723092781680-574: A false panelled hidden door, a passage behind a tapestry and a trap door in his floor. He has also been hoarding food, and rescuing much of the castle's silverware and paintings. In Wintersmith , Roland was reluctantly recruited by the Nac Mac Feegle to perform the role of the mythic Hero in the Dance of the Seasons, to put right the damage Tiffany had caused by interfering in the dance and
1820-619: A few more books yet", and added that while he understood the impulse to ask "is there anything I can do?", in this case he would only entertain such offers from "very high-end experts in brain chemistry". Discussing his diagnosis at the Bath Literature Festival in early 2008, Pratchett revealed that by then he found it too difficult to write dedications when signing books. In his later years Pratchett wrote by dictating to his assistant, Rob Wilkins, or by using speech recognition software. In March 2008, Pratchett announced he
1960-467: A fingerless glove is given his name. A major by the end of the book, he contrasts with Jackrum directly. In one scene, he misdirects enemy forces with a signaling device Jackrum would simply have smashed, a sign of Discworld warfare changing as intelligence and technology began to replace bravery and fighting skill. Brutha — pronounced brother — is an Ommnian novice at the Citadel in the city of Kom in
2100-509: A golem who develops a strange crush on Lipwig; Stanley Howler , an obsessive young man who was raised by peas and becomes the Discworld's first stamp collector ; and the very old Junior Postman Groat, who never got promoted to Senior Postman because there was never a Postmaster alive long enough to promote him. Several other books can be grouped together as "Other cultures of Discworld" books. They may contain characters or locations from other arcs, typically not as protagonist or antagonist but as
2240-769: A good-natured if somewhat pampered aristocrat. While Tiffany is at first bitter about this, she eventually comes to terms with the situation and ultimately marries the couple herself. Ghenghiz Cohen , known as Cohen the Barbarian, is a hero in the classical sense, i.e., a professional thief, brawler and ravisher of women. Cohen is introduced in the second Discworld novel , The Light Fantastic , with significant returns in Interesting Times and then with his last appearance in The Last Hero . His name and character are an obvious echo of Robert E. Howard 's Conan
2380-606: A hundred years, while also rewriting all the lost books from the Great Library of Ephebe burnt to ashes in the failed invasion, which he had saved by remembering each and every scroll . This course of events, in good part, is guided by little 'nudges' by the History Monk Lu-Tze . The Canting Crew is an informal name for a group of Ankh-Morpork beggars who are too anarchic for the Beggars' Guild, which has
2520-480: A man who does what Cohen does and nevertheless survives to such an age must be very good at it indeed. Cohen does not know his exact age. In The Light Fantastic , he says he is 87 and in later books guesses that he is between 90 and 95. A skinny old man with a long white beard that reaches below his loincloth and with a patch over one eye, Cohen's distinguishing feature is his smile, showing off his dentures made of troll teeth which are pure diamond. Cohen has outlived
2660-514: A mechanic, and Eileen Pratchett (1922–2010), a secretary, of Hay-on-Wye . His maternal grandparents came from Ireland. Pratchett attended Holtspur School, where he was bullied for his speech impediments . He was bothered by the head teacher, who, he said, thought "he could tell how successful you were going to be in later life by how well you could read or write at the age of six". Pratchett's family moved to Bridgwater , Somerset, briefly in 1957. He passed his eleven plus exam in 1958, earning
2800-471: A much better understanding of the Way of Mrs Cosmopilite than the monks who followed; he wrote down many of her sayings as guides by which to live his life. Most have double meanings, serving as both stereotypical utterances of a grouchy older working-class woman, and equally stereotypical pieces of oriental wisdom. The most notable is perhaps "I wasn't born yesterday" which, as Lu Tze points out, resembles one of
2940-735: A number of game adaptations of his books. He favoured games that are "intelligent and have some depth", citing Half-Life 2 (2004) and fan missions for Thief as examples. The red army in Interesting Times prompted comparisons to the 1991 puzzle game Lemmings . When asked about this connection, Pratchett said: "Merely because the red army can fight, dig, march and climb and is controlled by little icons? Can't imagine how anyone thought that ... Not only did I wipe Lemmings from my hard disk, I overwrote it so I couldn't get it back." He described The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) as his favourite video game, saying that he used many of its non-combat-oriented fan-made mods , and contributed to
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#17327723092783080-459: A number of novels and stories form novel sequences with distinct story arcs : Rincewind was the first protagonist of Discworld . He is a wizard with no skill, no wizardly qualifications, and no interest in heroics. He is extremely cowardly but is constantly thrust into dangerous adventures. He saves Discworld on several occasions, and has an instrumental role in the emergence of life on Roundworld ( Science of Discworld ). Other characters in
3220-558: A one-eyed tortoise in the soft soil of his melon patch who is actually the God Om afflicted with temporary amnesia, which recedes in the presence of Brutha. Brutha is the only true believer of Om — as all other 'believers' only go along with the state religion either out of habit or fear of torture, but do not really believe — thus leaving the Great God with almost no godly powers what-so-ever, as shown by his intention of returning in
3360-1060: A part of the Nebula Award ceremony. In 2016 the SFWA named Pratchett the recipient of Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award , given for "significant impact on the science fiction or fantasy landscape". He received the NESFA Skylark Award in 2009 and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010. In 2011 he won Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association , a lifetime honour for "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". The librarians cited nine Discworld novels published from 1983 to 2004 and observed that "Pratchett's tales of Discworld have won over generations of teen readers with intelligence, heart, and undeniable wit. Comic adventures that fondly mock
3500-488: A place at High Wycombe Technical High School , where he was a key member of the debating society and wrote stories for the school magazine. Pratchett described himself as a "non-descript" student and, in his Who's Who entry, credited his education to the Beaconsfield Public Library. Pratchett's early interests included astronomy . He collected Brooke Bond tea cards about space, owned
3640-752: A regional newspaper under the pseudonym Patrick Kearns. After various positions in journalism, in 1979 Pratchett became press officer for the South West Region of the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) in an area that covered three nuclear power stations . He later joked that he had demonstrated "impeccable timing" by making this career change so soon after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania , US, and said he would "write
3780-543: A room together in The Last Hero , but they do not interact. After Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease , he said that he would be happy for his daughter Rhianna to continue the series. Pratchett co-founded Narrativia in 2012 along with Rob Wilkins to serve as a production company for adaptations of his works, with Rhianna as a member of its writing team. Rhianna Pratchett said that she would be involved in spin-offs, adaptations and tie-ins, but there would be no more novels. The first such spin-off by Rhianna
3920-504: A serious and ultimately fatal illness to choose to die peacefully with medical help, rather than suffer". Pratchett was selected to give the 2010 BBC Richard Dimbleby Lecture , Shaking Hands With Death , broadcast on 1 February 2010. Pratchett introduced his lecture on the topic of assisted death (he preferred this to the term "assisted suicide"), but the main text was read by his friend Tony Robinson because his condition made it difficult for him to read. In June 2011, Pratchett presented
4060-515: A sign saying "For sum muny I wont follo yu hom". The Duck Man, the intellectual of the group, appears to be relatively sane. He seems unaware of the duck on his head and has little memory of life before he joined the Canting Crew and calls it "when I was someone else". Possibly once rich and well educated at some time, he wears the tattered remnants of an expensive suit. As a boy, he "messed around in boats". Somebody apparently wants him dead, as
4200-462: A silver necklace in the image of the giant white horse that is carved into the Chalk; Tiffany uses the necklace as a symbol to draw on the power of her homeland in times of crisis. By the fourth book in the series, I Shall Wear Midnight , Roland and Tiffany have realised that simply being different from those around them does not mean they are similar, and Roland decides to marry Letitia Keepsake ,
4340-456: A small publishing company, Colin Smythe Ltd. Pratchett mentioned that he had written a manuscript, The Carpet People . Colin Smythe Ltd published the book in 1971, with illustrations by Pratchett. It received strong, although few, reviews and was followed by the science fiction novels The Dark Side of the Sun (1976) and Strata (1981). In the 1970s and 1980s, Pratchett published stories in
List of Discworld characters - Misplaced Pages Continue
4480-529: A sound. Death guides souls from this world to the next. Over millennia he has developed a fascination with humanity to a point and feels protective of it. He adopted a human daughter and took on a human apprentice Eventually the daughter and apprentice had a daughter, Susan Sto Helit , a primary character in Soul Music , Hogfather , and Thief of Time . Characters that often appear with Death include his butler Albert , his granddaughter Susan Sto Helit,
4620-500: A story. Tiffany was nonplussed, and claimed she needed no apology or recompense so long as he ruled justly when he became Baron. Roland's father eventually fell very ill, and his two scheming aunts used their new position as his guardians to rob his family blind. Roland fought back as far as he could, in the process learning a great deal about surviving sieges and the art of insurgency. When his aunts block up his bedroom door to stop him from leaving, he muses that he has only been left with
4760-537: A style described as "more that of urban cowboy than city gent". Concern for the future of civilisation prompted him to install five kilowatts of photovoltaic cells (for solar energy ) at his house in 2007. Pratchett had an observatory built in his back garden and was a keen astronomer from childhood. He made a 2005 appearance on the BBC programme The Sky at Night . Pratchett started to use computers for writing as soon as they were available to him. His first computer
4900-632: A substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (now Alzheimer's Research UK , ARUK), filmed three television programmes chronicling his experiences with the condition for the BBC , and became a patron of ARUK. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, at the age of 66. Pratchett was born on 28 April 1948 in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire , England, the only child of David (1921–2006),
5040-472: A supporting character or even a throwaway reference. These include Pyramids (Djelibeybi), Small Gods (Omnia), and Monstrous Regiment (Zlobenia and Borogravia). Short descriptions of many of the notable characters: Short stories by Pratchett based in the Discworld, including published miscellanea such as the fictional game origins of Thud , were reprinted in Pratchett's collection A Blink of
5180-538: A taciturn, bitter old crone from the small mountain country of Lancre , largely despises people but acts as their healer and protector because no one else can do this as well as she can. Her closest friend is Nanny Ogg , a jolly, personable witch with the "common touch" who enjoys a smoke and a pint of beer, and often sings bawdy folk songs like the notorious "Hedgehog Song". The two take on apprentice witches: first Magrat Garlick , then Agnes Nitt , then Tiffany Aching , who become accomplished witches. Other characters in
5320-539: A telescope and wanted to be an astronomer, but lacked the necessary mathematical skills. He developed an interest in science fiction and attended science fiction conventions from about 1963–1964, but stopped a few years later when he got his first job as a trainee journalist at the local paper. His early reading included the works of H. G. Wells , Arthur Conan Doyle , and "every book you really ought to read", which he later regarded as "getting an education". Pratchett published his first short story, "Business Rivals", in
5460-483: A tendency to constrain them with rules. Members of the group can often be found beneath Ankh-Morpork's Misbegot Bridge and are normally accompanied by the talking dog Gaspode. Death joins the crew in the 16th Discworld novel , Soul Music where he takes the name, Mr Scrub . Death is successful at taking coin and enhancing the group's earning power where he also becomes known as the Grateful Death. In
5600-589: A traditional, magically-run fantasy world coming into contact with modern technology. They revolve around the growth of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch from a hopeless gang of three to a fully-equipped and efficient police force. The stories are largely police procedurals , featuring crimes with heavy political or societal overtones. The main character Sam Vimes is a haggard, cynical, working-class street copper. When introduced in Guards! Guards! , he
5740-489: A travelling witch who discovers Tiffany; Nac Mac Feegle chieftain Rob Anybody; and the other young witches Annagramma Hawkin and Petulia Gristle. Both Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg also appear in her stories. Moist von Lipwig is a professional criminal and con man to whom Havelock Vetinari gives a "second chance" after staging his execution, recognising the advantages his jack-of-all-trades abilities will give to
List of Discworld characters - Misplaced Pages Continue
5880-518: A two-part documentary series about his illness, Terry Pratchett: Living With Alzheimer's . The first part was broadcast on BBC Two on 4 February 2009, drawing 2.6 million viewers and a 10.4% audience share. The second, broadcast on 11 February 2009, drew 1.72 million viewers and a 6.8% audience share. The documentary won a BAFTA award in the Factual Series category. On 26 November 2008, Pratchett met Gordon Brown , then Prime Minister of
6020-474: A writer, was born there in 1976. In 1993 the family moved to Broad Chalke , a village west of Salisbury , Wiltshire. Pratchett was the patron of the Friends of High Wycombe Library. In 2013 he gave a talk at Beaconsfield Library, which he had visited as a child, and donated the income from the event to it. He also visited his former school to speak to the students. Pratchett often wore large black hats, in
6160-545: A year. His 2011 Discworld novel Snuff became the third-fastest-selling hardback adult-readership novel since records began in the UK, selling 55,000 copies in the first three days. As of 2023, Pratchett's works have sold more than 100 million copies in 43 languages. Pratchett married Lyn Purves at the Congregational Church, Gerrards Cross , on 5 October 1968. They moved to Rowberrow , Somerset, in 1970. Their daughter Rhianna Pratchett , also
6300-451: A young girl maturing into a responsible woman. She is aided in her task by the Nac Mac Feegle , a gang of blue-tattooed, 6-inch tall, hard-drinking, loud-mouthed pictsie creatures also called "The Wee Free Men" who serve as her guardians. She is the protagonist of five novels, The Wee Free Men , A Hat Full of Sky , Wintersmith , I Shall Wear Midnight , and The Shepherd's Crown . Major characters in this series include Miss Tick,
6440-809: Is a comic fantasy book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett , set on the Discworld , a flat planet balanced on the backs of four elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle. The series began in 1983 with The Colour of Magic and continued until the final novel The Shepherd's Crown , which was published in 2015, following Pratchett's death. The books frequently parody or take inspiration from classic works, usually fantasy or science fiction, as well as mythology , folklore and fairy tales , and often use them for satirical parallels with cultural, political and scientific issues. Forty-one Discworld novels were published. Apart from
6580-418: Is a beneficiary of the fact that star quality is far rarer than talent. The 'Phantom' in the story accidentally tutors Agnes instead of Christine when Christine runs away from the ghostly voice emanating from her mirror. Agnes realizes what is happening and, in order to continue her training for a second night, slips some herbs into Christine's hot milk to make her sleepy. Christine's father once told her that
6720-501: Is a book by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs , and illustrated by Paul Kidby . It is the fourth in the Mapp series. It was first published in paperback by Corgi in 1999. It was the second in the series to be illustrated by Kidby. As with the other "mapps", the basic design and booklet were compiled by Pratchett and Briggs. The Mapp shows the parasite universe of Death's Domain. The accompanying booklet provides various details of
6860-526: Is a mass of many personalities, none of them named Andrews. Most have considerably higher social status than him; these include Jossi, Lady Hermione, Little Sidney, Mr Viddle, Curly, the Judge, and Tinker. An eighth personality simply known as Burke , was only seen once by the canting crew (though not in any narrative) and they had no desire to ever see him again. The other seven personalities are very careful to keep him buried. The Duck Man speculates that Andrews
7000-512: Is briefly mentioned in Witches Abroad as being venerated by some younger Ramtops monks who, on the basis that wisdom seems wiser if it comes from further away, trek down to Ankh-Morpork to hear her wisdom. This is usually "bugger off" or something similar, but since the monks do not speak Morporkian, it does not matter much. In Thief of Time it turns out that this was started by Lu-Tze , who spent some time lodging with her, and has
7140-422: Is correct about the inhuman monsters and the dwarfs (although she is never told about the first one and the second is "only by coincidence"). She is noted as having (appropriate to her name) what would be seen as a contemporary view of the world. Theda claims Mrs. Cosmopilite would not mind Victor Tugelbend coming with her up to her room—assuming they would be going up for sex, but they had a different reason. She
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#17327723092787280-516: Is described as sounding 'almost solid'. Like Ron, he has a verse in Where's My Cow? , as adapted by Vimes to fit city life. In it, Henry goes "Cough, gack, ptui". While Ron asks people for money to stop following them, Coffin Henry makes money by not going anywhere. People send him small sums to not turn up at their parties asking people to look at his interesting collection of skin diseases. He also wears
7420-513: Is easier to bend the universe around the story." In the acceptance speech for his Carnegie Medal, he said: "Fantasy isn't just about wizards and silly wands. It's about seeing the world from new directions", pointing to the Harry Potter novels and The Lord of the Rings . In the same speech, he acknowledged benefits of these works for the genre. Discworld#Bibliography Discworld
7560-485: Is integral to certain storylines. Inspector A E Pessimal was recruited by Vimes as his adjutant after Havelock Vetinari , the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, sent him as an auditor. The City Watch feature in eight Discworld stories, and cameoed in a number of others, including Making Money , the children's book Where's My Cow? , and the short story " Theatre of Cruelty ". Pratchett stated on numerous occasions that
7700-473: Is one of the few genuinely male characters, and respectfully admires the women when he learns their true sex, citing examples of female warriors in the history of the Klatchian continent; he informed their captors that "[he] would not trade them for any six men [they] offered [him]". Blouse's ambition to have an item of clothing or a food named after him as famous military men did was eventually fulfilled when
7840-656: Is the alcoholic captain of the three-person Night Watch, which also includes the lazy, cowardly, and none-too-bright sergeant Fred Colon and Corporal Nobby Nobbs , a petty thief in his own right. Then Carrot Ironfoundersson , a 6-foot-6-inch-tall (1.98 m) dwarf-by-adoption, joins the Watch. Other main characters include Cheery Littlebottom , the Watch's forensics expert and one of the first openly female dwarves, tried to rename herself "Cheri" without success. Constable Visit-the-infidel-with-explanatory-pamphlets appears in some novels, and Sam's wife, Lady Sybil Vimes (née Ramkin)
7980-519: The Daily Mail in which he denied that he had found God, and clarified that he believed the voice had come from a memory of his father and a sense of personal elation. In August 2007, Pratchett was misdiagnosed as having had a minor stroke a few years before, which doctors believed had damaged the right side of his brain. In December 2007, he announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease , which had been responsible for
8120-461: The 13th Discworld novel , Small Gods . Omnia is an absolute autocratic theocracy that believes in the Great and only One God, Om . Brutha is a faithful and dutiful lad — his devotion instilled from infancy by being raised by his very strict and pious grandmother — who is word-perfect on Omnian religious texts on account of his eidetic memory , but wholly unable to read or write. He finds
8260-471: The 25th Discworld novel , the crew are all recruited by William de Worde as editor of the Ankh-Morpork Times to become street vendors of the newspaper, where they capitalised on the unintelligibility to sell copies. Excessively seedy, momentously dirty, overpoweringly smelly and entirely incomprehensible, Foul Ole Ron is the best-known member of the crew. He is often accompanied by Gaspode,
8400-529: The Bookseller's Pocket Yearbook (2005), in 2003 Pratchett's UK sales amounted to 3.4% of the fiction market by hardback sales and 3.8% by value, putting him in second place behind J. K. Rowling (6% and 5.6%, respectively), while in the paperback sales list Pratchett came 5th with 1.2% and 1.3% by value (behind James Patterson (1.9% and 1.7%), Alexander McCall Smith , John Grisham and J. R. R. Tolkien ). He has UK sales of more than 2.5 million copies
8540-505: The Carnegie Medal . In the BBC 's Big Read , four Discworld novels were in the top 100, and a total of fourteen in the top 200. More than 80 million Discworld books have been sold in 37 languages. Very few of the Discworld novels have chapter divisions. Instead, they feature interweaving storylines. Pratchett was quoted as saying that he "just never got into the habit of chapters", later adding that "I have to shove them in
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#17327723092788680-642: The Death of Rats , in charge of gathering the souls of rodents, Quoth , and the Auditors of Reality, the closest thing Death has to a nemesis. Five Discworld novels feature either Death or Susan with Death appearing. He also appears in the short stories Witches in Pratchett's universe act as herbalists , nurses, adjudicators and wise women who can use magic but generally prefer not to, finding simple but cunningly applied psychology (called "headology") far more effective. The principal witch, Granny Weatherwax ,
8820-622: The University of South Australia . The Sir Terry Pratchett Memorial Scholarship supports a Masters scholarship at the university's Hawke Research Institute. In 2023, several stories published in a regional newspaper in the 1970s and 1980s under the pen name Patrick Kearns were discovered to have been authored by Pratchett. They were published as A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories in October 2023. Pratchett received
8960-501: The University of Warwick in 1999, the University of Portsmouth in 2001, the University of Bath in 2003, the University of Bristol in 2004, Buckinghamshire New University in 2008, the University of Dublin in 2008, Bradford University in 2009, University of Winchester in 2009, The Open University in 2013 for his contribution to Public Service and his last, from the University of South Australia , in May 2014. Pratchett
9100-555: The apocalyptic comedy novel Good Omens (1990), which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman . Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People , was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic , was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown , was published in August 2015, five months after his death. With more than 100 million books sold worldwide in 43 languages, Pratchett
9240-469: The right to die public debate and his Humanist values. Pratchett's Discworld novels have led to dedicated conventions, the first in Manchester in 1996, then worldwide, often with the author as guest of honour. Publication of a new novel was sometimes accompanied by an international book signing tour; queues were known to stretch outside the bookshop as the author continued to sign books well after
9380-410: The table below . Characters are listed alphabetically by name. A Klatchian warrior who accompanies Klatchian envoy Prince Khufurah on a diplomatic journey to Ankh-Morpork in the 21st Discworld novel , Jingo , Ahmed belongs to a vicious but honourable warrior clan called the D'regs . He speaks with a heavy accent and chews cloves. After an attempt on the prince's life, he is suspected of killing
9520-716: The "Top 200". Pratchett's highest-ranking novel was Mort , number 65, but he and Charles Dickens were the only authors with five in the Top 100 (four of his were from the Discworld series). He also led all authors with fifteen novels in the Top 200. An asteroid ( 127005 Pratchett ) is named after Pratchett. In 2013, Pratchett was named Humanist of the Year by the British Humanist Association for his campaign to fund research into Alzheimers, his contribution to
9660-432: The "stroke". He had a rare form of posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), a disease in which areas at the back of the brain begin to shrink and shrivel. Describing the diagnosis as an "embuggerance" in a radio interview, Pratchett appealed to people to "keep things cheerful" and proclaimed that "we are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism". He stated he felt he had time for "at least
9800-506: The 2001 Carnegie Medal from the British librarians , which recognised The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents as the year's best children's book published in the UK. Night Watch won the 2003 Prometheus Award for best libertarian novel. Four of the five Discworld novels that centre on the trainee witch Tiffany Aching won the annual Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2016. In 2005, Going Postal
9940-580: The Assassins' Guild, his clove-chewing habit and broken Morporkian were meant to act as a disguise. He confounds Vimes by his fond memories of Ankh-Morpork, even Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler . He and Vimes eventually develop a wary respect for each other as basically honest cops in unenviable positions. Mr Mavolio Bent is the Head Cashier and all but in charge of the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork. He
10080-500: The Barbarian and Genghis Khan , and of the common Jewish surname Cohen . The man who introduced the world to the concept of "wholesale" destruction, Cohen is the Discworld 's greatest warrior hero, renowned for rescuing maidens, destroying the mad high priests of dark cults, looting ancient ruins, and so on. He first appears in the series as an old man already, but still tough enough to handle anything. His opponents often underestimate him because of his age, then realize too late that
10220-462: The Barbarian and a temple dancer, introduced in the fifth Discworld novel , , Sourcery . Described as both beautiful and a skilled fighter due to attributes inherited from both parents, she nonetheless aspired to be a hairdresser despite her talents as a barbarian hero. By the end of Sourcery , she had fallen in love with Nijel the Destroyer , a humorously juxtaposed character who wants to be
10360-590: The Discworld Conventions have adopted Orangutan Foundation as their nominated charity, which has been acknowledged by the foundation. One of Pratchett's most popular fictional characters, the Librarian , is a wizard who was transformed into an orangutan in a magical accident and decides to remain in that condition as it is so convenient for his work. Pratchett, who was brought up in a Church of England family, described himself as an atheist and
10500-445: The Discworld series and the novels Unseen Academicals and The Last Continent . In the early books, the faculty of UU changed frequently; promotion usually involved assassination. However, after the ascension of the bombastic Mustrum Ridcully to the position of Archchancellor , the hierarchy settled down and characters had the chance to develop. Earlier books featured the wizards in possible invasions of Discworld by creatures from
10640-436: The Discworld to illuminate popular science topics. Each book alternates chapters of a Discworld story and notes on real science related to it. The books are: David Langford has compiled two Discworld quiz books: Most years see the release of a Discworld Diary and Discworld Calendar, both usually following a particular theme. The diaries feature background information about their themes. Some topics are later used in
10780-531: The Discworld), four popular science books, and a number of supplementary books and reference guides. The series has been adapted for graphic novels, theatre, computer and board games, and television. Discworld books regularly topped Sunday Times best-sellers list, making Pratchett the UK's best-selling author in the 1990s. Discworld novels have also won awards such as the Prometheus Award and
10920-627: The Domain, both as portrayed in the Discworld books and newly revealed. In Death's Domain , the concept of steam locomotives on Discworld is introduced, which became the main theme of Pratchett's Discworld novel Raising Steam fourteen years later. In the live-action adaptations of Hogfather and The Colour of Magic , Dorney Court is the real-life location used for the exterior of Mon Repos , Death's house. Pratchett also collaborated with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen on four books, using
11060-470: The Duck Man. He carries an old boot on a stick, so muggers desperate enough to try to rob the beggars often find themselves being kicked on the top of the head by a man 3 feet tall. Carcer is the murderous villain of 29th Discworld novel , Night Watch , described by Vimes as "a stone-cold killer. With brains", Carcer's full name, given in a preview of Night Watch as Carcer Dun, is never revealed in
11200-675: The Dungeon Dimensions, Lovecraftian monsters that hungered for magic. The wizards of UU employ the traditional "whizz-bang" type of magic seen in Dungeons & Dragons games, but also investigate the rules and structure of magic in terms highly reminiscent of particle physics . Prominent members include In later novels, Rincewind joins their group, while the Dean leaves to become the Archchancellor of Brazeneck College in
11340-769: The Emperor' fully means it. This led to the deaths of several guards and courtiers in the Agatean Empire. In Interesting Times Cohen became Emperor of the Agatean Empire , having conquered it with his allies, the Silver Horde. They initially intended this as a sort of retirement plan, but became bored and abandoned the Empire in The Last Hero , in which Cohen decides to express his displeasure with
11480-678: The High Wycombe Technical School's magazine in 1962. It is the tale of a man named Crucible who finds the Devil in his flat in a cloud of sulphurous smoke. "The Hades Business" was published in the school magazine when he was 13, and published commercially when he was 15. Pratchett earned five O-levels and started A-level courses in Art, English and History. His initial career choice was journalism and he left school at 17, in 1965, to start an apprenticeship with Arthur Church,
11620-526: The Origin of Species , which "all made perfect sense ... Evolution was far more thrilling to me than the biblical account." He said that he had never disliked religion and thought it had a purpose in human evolution . In an interview Pratchett cites a quotation from the protagonist in his novel Nation , "It is better to build a seismograph than to worship the volcano", a statement Pratchett said he agreed with. Pratchett told The Times in 2008: "I believe in
11760-659: The Pen: The Lost Stories (2023) constitute the first known works by Pratchett that include early versions of places and characters that would later become parts of Discworld. Pratchett authored most of them under a pseudonym that remained unlinked to him for decades, until posthumously discovered in 2022. Although Terry Pratchett said, "There are no maps. You can't map a sense of humour," there are four "Mapps": The Streets of Ankh-Morpork (1993), The Discworld Mapp (1995), A Tourist Guide to Lancre (1998), and Death's Domain (1999). The first two were drawn by Stephen Player, based on plans by Pratchett and Stephen Briggs ,
11900-577: The Quartermaster-General's Blanket, Bedding, and Horse Fodder Department, with no previous experience of field command. He was transferred as a result of Borogravia's ever-decreasing supply of combat-ready men. His remarkable talent for mathematics and technology , allowed him to give William de Worde several options for improving the clacks system, despite never before having encountered the 'Abomination Unto Nuggan'. Despite his rather feminine manner and distinct lack of martial prowess he
12040-504: The Rincewind story arc include Cohen the Barbarian , an aging hero of the old fantasy tradition, out of touch with the modern world and still fighting despite his advanced age; Twoflower , a naive tourist from the Agatean Empire (inspired by cultures of East Asia, particularly Japan and China); and The Luggage , a magical, semi-sentient and aggressive multi-legged travelling accessory. Rincewind appears in eight Discworld novels as well as
12180-596: The Screen (2012), and elsewhere. Seven of the short stories or short writings were also collected in a compilation of the majority of Pratchett's known short work named Once More* With Footnotes (2004). Additionally, another short story " Turntables of the Night " (1989) is set in England but features Death as a character; it is available online and in both anthologies. Five short stories republished in A Stroke of
12320-493: The UK, and asked for an increase in dementia research funding. Pratchett tested a prototype device to address his condition. The ability of the device to alter the course of the illness has been met with skepticism from Alzheimer's researchers. In an article published in 2009 Pratchett stated that he wished to die by assisted suicide (a term he disliked) before his disease progressed to a critical point. He later said that he felt "it should be possible for someone stricken with
12460-471: The Watch's prime suspect, provoking Vimes and other Watch members to pursue him back to Klatch. He got his nickname by killing a man (guilty of poisoning a well) one hour before the traditional D'reg three days of hospitality, during which even great enemies should be shown respect. He is later revealed to be the wali of Klatch, equivalent to Vimes's position as Commander of the City Watch. Educated at
12600-547: The Witches series include: The witches appear in many Discworld books, and are protagonists in seven. They also appeared in the short story " The Sea and Little Fishes ". Their stories frequently draw on ancient European folklore and fairy tales, and parody famous works of literature, particularly by Shakespeare . The stories featuring the Ankh-Morpork City Watch are urban fantasy , and frequently depict
12740-574: The bank. Mr Bent eventually accepts his clown heritage after having a mental breakdown because (among other things) he made his first mathematical mistake. It appears that he remains at the bank though, in an attempt to honour his clown heritage, he returns to work wearing a red nose. Mr Bent resided in Mrs Cake's Boarding House. This has likely changed since marrying a 'Miss Drapes' at the Fool's Guild Chapel of Fun by Reverend Brother "Whacko" Whopply, in
12880-428: The basis for both trivial and key events ( Jingo , Eric , and Pyramids ), as are trends in science, technology, pop culture and modern art ( Moving Pictures , Men at Arms , Thud ). There are also humanist themes in many Discworld novels, and a focus on critical thinking skills in the Witches and Tiffany Aching series. The Discworld novels and stories are, in principle, stand-alone works. However,
13020-445: The biennial International Discworld Convention , citing his condition and "other age-related ailments". Pratchett died at his home from complications of Alzheimer's disease on the morning of 12 March 2015. He was 66 years old. The Telegraph reported an unidentified source as saying that, despite his previous discussion of assisted suicide, his death had been natural. After Pratchett's death, his assistant, Rob Wilkins, wrote from
13160-400: The completed book. His first name is a Latin word meaning "prison". Carcer has a talent for unnerving people, an annoying laugh (written as 'haha' in the book) and a perpetual conviction of his own innocence despite his many crimes, which include at least two murders. He claims his original crime was stealing a loaf of bread although, Vimes says, Carcer would have murdered the baker and stolen
13300-451: The development of at least one popular fan-made mod. Pratchett had a fascination with natural history that he referred to many times, and he owned a greenhouse full of carnivorous plants . He described them in the biographical notes on the dust jackets of some of his books, and elsewhere, as "not as interesting as people think". By Carpe Jugulum the account had become that "he used to grow carnivorous plants, but now they've taken over
13440-692: The development of the city. After putting him in charge of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office in Going Postal , with good results, Vetinari orders him to clear up the city's corrupt financial sector in Making Money . In a third book, Raising Steam , Vetinari directs Lipwig to oversee the development of a railway network for Dick Simnel's newly invented steam locomotive. Other characters in this series include Adora Belle Dearheart , Lipwig's acerbic, chain-smoking love interest; Gladys,
13580-748: The editor of the Bucks Free Press . In this position he wrote, among other things, more than 80 stories for the Children's Circle section under the name Uncle Jim. Two of the stories contain characters found in his novel The Carpet People (1971). While on day release from his apprenticeship, Pratchett finished his A-Level in English and took the National Council for the Training of Journalists proficiency course. In 1968 Pratchett interviewed Peter Bander van Duren , co-director of
13720-608: The end of every sentence. She is an extraordinarily untalented singer, but the Opera House management favours her because of her beauty and because the financing her father provided for the purchase of the Ankh-Morpork Opera House. She lip-synchs onstage to the voice of Agnes Nitt , otherwise known as Perdita X. Nitt. Christine is friendly and kind, but not particularly bright and can be unintentionally slighting. She rarely pays attention to anyone but herself and
13860-406: The fantasy genre, the Discworld novels expose the hypocrisies of contemporary society in an intricate, ever-expanding universe. With satisfyingly multilayered plots, Pratchett's humor honors the intelligence of the reader. Teens eagerly lose themselves in a universe with no maps." In 2003, BBC conducted The Big Read to identify the "Nation's Best-loved Novel" and finally published a ranked list of
14000-402: The first novel in the series, The Colour of Magic , the original British editions of the first 26 novels, up to Thief of Time (2001), had cover art by Josh Kirby . After Kirby's death in 2001, the covers were designed by Paul Kidby . The American editions, published by HarperCollins , used their own cover art. Companion publications include eleven short stories (some only loosely related to
14140-626: The form of a great ground-crushing bull or something similar, rather than a small and decrepit reptile. He comes to the attention of the Deacon Vorbis , the chief exquistor in charge of the Quisition , who sees the possibilities that Brutha offers him and his self-serving agenda of taking over the whole of Omnia and its surrounding countries of Klatch on the Circle Sea . After the failed Omnian invasion of Ephebe that results in
14280-468: The four Science of Discworld supplementary books. Death , a seven-foot skeleton in a black robe who rides a pale horse named Binky, appears in every novel except The Wee Free Men and Snuff , although sometimes with only a few lines. His dialogue is always depicted in SMALL CAPS without quotation marks. Several characters have said that his voice seemed to reach their minds without making
14420-541: The greenhouse and he avoids going in". In 1995, a fossil of a sea-turtle from the Eocene epoch of New Zealand was named Psephophorus terrypratchetti in his honour by the palaeontologist Richard Köhler. In 2016, Pratchett fans unsuccessfully petitioned the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) to name chemical element 117, temporarily called ununseptium , as octarine with
14560-541: The heroic age and finds himself in a world where great battles and astonishing rescues rarely happen except in stories. Ironic, given that Discworld runs on narrative . One of the rare Discworld short stories, " Troll Bridge ", tells of Cohen setting out to slay a troll, but ending up reminiscing with it about the good old days when everyone respected tradition. As a barbarian hero, he has great difficulty interpreting empty bravado. A man of his word, he assumes that anyone who says something such as'I would rather die than betray
14700-533: The intended finishing time. His fans were not restricted by age or gender, and he received a large amount of fan mail from them. Pratchett enjoyed meeting fans and hearing what they think about his books, saying that since he was well paid for his novels, his fans were "everything" to him. In March 2017, Beaconsfield Town Council commissioned a commemorative plaque dedicated to Pratchett for Beaconsfield Library. Pratchett said that to write, you must read extensively, both inside and outside your chosen genre and to
14840-539: The key revelations of Wen the Eternally Surprised, who, in reference to the continually destroyed and renewed nature of the universe, and the constancy of revelation, said "I was not born-yesterday!". Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett OBE (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author , humorist , and satirist , best known for the Discworld series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for
14980-598: The main storylines take place around the same period (end of the Century of the Fruitbat, beginning of the Century of the Anchovy). The main exception is the stand-alone book Small Gods , which appears to take place at some point earlier than most of the other stories, though even this contains cameo appearances by Death and the Librarian. Some main characters may make cameo appearances in other books where they are not
15120-655: The mobilisation of the armed forces of all the other countries along the Klatchian coast against Omnia to crush the country once and for all; Brutha resolved the conflict and became the Cenobiarch, (the theocractic leader) of Omnia, along with being the Eighth Prophet and Prophet of Prophets of Omnianism. Reforming the Church extensively along tolerant, humanist lines as a constitutional religion, he governed for
15260-548: The modern world by "returning fire to the gods, with interest". After a rather unsuccessful attempt, he and his friends escape on horses belonging to the Valkyries and ride into the sky, to explore space. Cohen has quite a lot of children; in The Last Hero he casually mentions that he has dozens. Only one is mentioned by name in the novels, Conina in Sourcery . She wishes to be a hairdresser, but genetics keep getting in
15400-464: The nearby city of Pseudopolis. The Wizards feature prominently in nine Discworld books and star in The Science of Discworld series and the short story " A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices ". Tiffany Aching is a young apprentice witch in a series of Discworld books aimed at young adults. Her stories often parallel mythic heroes' quests, but also deal with Tiffany's difficulties as
15540-525: The official Terry Pratchett Twitter account: A T LAST, S IR T ERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER. Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night. The End. Public figures who paid tribute included the British prime minister David Cameron , the comedian Ricky Gervais , and the authors Ursula K. Le Guin , Terry Brooks , Margaret Atwood , George R. R. Martin , and Neil Gaiman . Pratchett
15680-437: The point of "overflow". He advised that writing is hard work, and that writers must "make grammar, punctuation and spelling a part of your life". However, Pratchett enjoyed writing, regarding its monetary rewards as "an unavoidable consequence" rather than the reason for writing. Although during his early career he wrote for the science fiction and horror genres, Pratchett later focused almost entirely on fantasy, and said: "It
15820-417: The presence of the City Watch makes Ankh-Morpork stories "problematic", as stories set in the city that do not directly involve Vimes and the Watch often require a Watch presence to maintain the story—at which point, it becomes a Watch story by default. The Wizards of Unseen University (UU) appear prominently throughout many Discworld novels; the books that centre around them exclusively are The Science of
15960-403: The price on his head at The Assassins' Guild is $ 132,000. but there's a chance he put that contract on himself. The Duck Man appears in several of Pratchett's books, including Hogfather , Soul Music , The Truth and Feet of Clay . A member noted for being completely legless. Literally; a cart ran over his legs several years ago and he now gets around on a wheelbarrow, usually pushed by
16100-528: The primary focus; for example, City Watch members Carrot Ironfoundersson and Angua appear briefly in Going Postal , Making Money , and Unseen Academicals (placing those books after Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms ). A number of characters, such as members of staff of Unseen University and Lord Vetinari, appear prominently in many different storylines without having specific storylines of their own. The two most frequently recurring central protagonists, Rincewind and Sam Vimes , are very briefly in
16240-527: The proper roles of the Wintersmith and the Summer Lady. Against all expectations, he acquitted himself admirably. There are signs that his feelings for Tiffany extend somewhat beyond gratitude. He also gave Tiffany a box of watercolors , one of which was turquoise , allegedly very expensive on the Discworld . When Tiffany went to Lancre to study witchcraft in A Hat Full of Sky , Roland gave her
16380-513: The proposed symbol Oc (pronounced "ook"). The final name chosen for element 117 was tennessine with the symbol Ts. Pratchett was a trustee for the Orangutan Foundation but was pessimistic about the future of orangutans . His activities included visiting Borneo with a Channel 4 film crew to make an episode of Jungle Quest in 1995, seeing orangutans in their natural habitat. Following Pratchett's lead, fan events such as
16520-466: The putative YA books because my editor screams until I do". However, the first Discworld novel The Colour of Magic was divided into "books", as is Pyramids . Additionally, Going Postal and Making Money both have chapters, a prologue, an epilogue, and brief teasers of what is to come in each chapter, in the style of A. A. Milne , Jules Verne , and Jerome K. Jerome . The Discworld novels contain common themes and motifs that run through
16660-541: The ranks of the Unmentionables, Homicidal Lord Winder's secret police, until he is brought back to the present by Vimes after pursuing him with a death squad under the orders of the new Patrician, Lord Snapcase. Carcer is captured by Vimes at the end of Night Watch and likely sentenced to death. Christine is a pretty, thin, blonde chorus singer at the Ankh-Morpork Opera House, in the 18th Discworld novel , Maskerade who wears white and uses exclamation marks at
16800-540: The same God that Einstein did ... And it is just possible that once you have got past all the gods that we have created with big beards and many human traits, just beyond all that on the other side of physics, there just may be the ordered structure from which everything flows." In an interview on Front Row he described an experience of hearing his dead father's voice and feeling a sense of peace. Commentators took these statements to mean that Pratchett had become religious, but Pratchett responded in an article published in
16940-404: The same terms as peer-reviewed research, with no easy way to gauge reliability. Gates disagreed, saying that online authorities would index and check facts and sources in a much more sophisticated way than in print. The interview was rediscovered in 2019, and seen by Pratchett's biographer as prescient of fake news . Pratchett was an avid video game player, and collaborated in the creation of
17080-736: The series. Many of the novels parody fantasy cliches and various subgenres of fantasy, like fairy tales (notably Witches Abroad ) or vampire tales ( Carpe Jugulum ). Analogies of real-world issues, such as religion ( Small Gods ), fundamentalism and inner city tension ( Thud ), business and politics ( Making Money ), racial prejudice and exploitation ( Snuff ) recur, as do aspects of culture and entertainment such as opera ( Maskerade ), rock music ( Soul Music ), cinema ( Moving Pictures ), and football ( Unseen Academicals ). Parodies of non-Discworld fiction also occur frequently, including Shakespeare , Beatrix Potter , and several movies. Major historical events, especially battles, are sometimes
17220-672: The series; the character of Miss Alice Band first appeared in the Assassins' Guild Yearbook , for example. The Discworld Almanak – The Year of The Prawn has a similar format and general contents to the diaries. Other Discworld publications include: The books take place roughly in real time and the characters' ages change to reflect the passing of years. The meetings of various characters from different narrative threads (e.g., Ridcully and Granny Weatherwax in Lords and Ladies , Rincewind and Carrot in The Last Hero ) indicate that all
17360-467: The third is a collaboration between Briggs and Paul Kidby , and the last is by Kidby. All also contain booklets written by Pratchett and Briggs. Terry later collaborated with the Discworld Emporium to produce two much larger works, each with the associated map with the book in a folder, The Compleat Ankh-Morpork City Guide (2012) and The Compleat Discworld Atlas (2015). Death's Domain
17500-418: The way, causing her to instinctively kill people who threaten her. She was last seen in an amorous relationship with Nijel the Destroyer . She says she knew Cohen and that he took an interest in her education—such as how to set a variety of traps in a length of corridor. In The Light Fantastic , Cohen helps the other two protagonists, Rincewind and Twoflower, to save a seventeen-year-old girl named Bethan, who
17640-538: The whole bakery. Commander Vimes chases him along the rooftops of Unseen University in a magical thunderstorm, and both Carcer and Vimes are transported thirty years into the past, about a week before the Glorious Revolution of the Twenty-Fifth of May. After murdering Pseudopolitan watchman John Keel (forcing Vimes to assume that identity and role as mentor to his younger self), Carcer climbs through
17780-399: The world's only thinking-brain dog (as opposed to a ' seeing-eye dog '). Ron's smell has become strong enough to not only melt earwax but to acquire a separate existence. It is referred to in the text as almost another character entirely, who occasionally arrives ahead of Ron, opts to stick around for a while after his departure. His ' catchphrase ', "Buggrit, millennium hand an' shrimp...",
17920-533: Was a ZX81 ; the first computer he used properly for writing was an Amstrad CPC 464 , later replaced by an IBM PC compatible . Pratchett was one of the first authors to routinely use the Internet to communicate with fans, and was a contributor to the Usenet newsgroup alt.fan.pratchett from 1992. However, he did not consider the Internet a hobby, just another "thing to use". He had many computers in his house, with
18060-459: Was announced that Pratchett would be knighted (as a Knight Bachelor ) in the Queen's 2009 New Year Honours. Afterwards he said, "You can't ask a fantasy writer not to want a knighthood. You know, for two pins I'd get myself a horse and a sword." In 2010, Pratchett created his own sword from deposits of iron he had found in a field near his home as he believed a knight should have a sword. Ten honorary doctorates were conferred on Pratchett: from
18200-410: Was broadcast on Easter Sunday and Monday of 2008. In the miniseries, Bethan and Cohen show up at the docks, already married, to bid Twoflower goodbye as he heads back home. Twoflower gives them a box of Agatean money as a wedding present, which he believes to be inconsequential but which, Rincewind comments out of earshot of Twoflower, was enough to buy a small kingdom. Conina is the daughter of Cohen
18340-467: Was donating $ 1 million (about £494,000) to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (later called Alzheimer's Research UK), and that he was shocked "to find out that funding for Alzheimer's research is just 3% of that to find cancer cures". He said: "I am, along with many others, scrabbling to stay ahead long enough to be there when the cure comes along." In April 2008, Pratchett worked with the BBC to make
18480-524: Was introduced to the discworld series in the 36th Discworld novel , Making Money . He has been in employment at the bank since he was thirteen, when he came to the city with a group of travelling accountants. He was born as a clown (Charlie Benito), but his first time performing was severely affected by the audience laughing at him. He fled the show, and he happened upon a group of travelling accountants, and discovered his talent for numbers. From then on, he renounced his clowning heritage, and went to work at
18620-650: Was made an adjunct Professor in the School of English at Trinity College Dublin in 2010, with a role in postgraduate education in creative writing and popular literature. Pratchett won the British Book Awards ' "Fantasy and Science Fiction Author of the Year" category in 1994, the British Science Fiction Award in 1989 for his novel Pyramids , and a Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2008 for Making Money . He won
18760-524: Was memorialised in graffiti in East London. The video game companies Frontier Developments and Valve added elements to their games named after him. Users of the social news site Reddit organised a tribute by which an HTTP header , " X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett ", was added to web sites' responses, a reference to the Discworld novel Going Postal , in which "the clacks" (a semaphore system, used as Discworld 's equivalent to
18900-573: Was once a mild-mannered psychic, mentally overwhelmed by the other souls. He is generally regarded as one of the most consistently sane of the group, Since at least five of his personalities can hold a sensible conversation with other people. His personalities 'voted' on whether to act as street vendors for The Ankh Morpork Times (in The Truth ) and Andrews held up five fingers to indicate the outcome of his personalities' decision. Sometimes spelt 'Coughin' Henry'. He habitual cough gave him his name and
19040-569: Was shortlisted for the Hugo Award for Best Novel ; however, Pratchett recused himself, stating that stress over the award would mar his enjoyment of Worldcon . In the same year, A Hat Full of Sky won a Mythopoeic Award . In 2008, Making Money was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel . I Shall Wear Midnight won the 2010 Andre Norton Award , presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) as
19180-539: Was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours . In 2001, he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents , the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010. In December 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease . He later made
19320-568: Was the UK's bestselling author of the 1990s. According to The Times , Pratchett was the top-selling and highest earning UK author in 1996. Some of his books have been published by Doubleday , another Transworld imprint. In the United States, where his books are published by HarperCollins , Pratchett had poorer sales, marketing and distribution until 2005, when Thud! reached the New York Times bestseller list. According to
19460-532: Was the result of Pratchett feeding a random text generating program with a Chinese takeaway menu and the lyrics to They Might Be Giants 's song Particle Man . His catchphrase (minus 'buggrit') is also used by Mrs Tachyon, a character in the Johnny Maxwell series, also by Pratchett. Foul Ole Ron is in one verse of Sam Vimes's 'City Version' of " Where's My Cow? ". Young Sam enjoyed it, but Lady Sybil Vimes disapproved of this version. Altogether Andrews
19600-554: Was to be offered as a sacrifice. Cohen and Bethan fall in love, mainly owing to Bethan's patience and skill at curing Cohen's back problems, and decide to get married, despite Rincewind's apprehensions about their age difference. At the end of the book they are not present, and it is assumed that they have left for their marriage. Actor David Bradley played Cohen in the 2008 The Colour of Magic miniseries. The miniseries, produced by The Mob Film Company and Sky One combined both The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic , and
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