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Witches Abroad

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56-409: Witches Abroad is the twelfth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett , originally published in 1991. Following the death of the witch Desiderata Hollow, Magrat Garlick receives Desiderata's magic wand, for Desiderata was not only a witch but also a fairy godmother . By giving the wand to Magrat, she effectively makes Magrat the new fairy godmother to a young woman called Emberella, who lives across

112-543: A Running of the Bulls -like event, and a house falling on Nanny's head which she survives thanks to her hat with the willow reinforcement. Upon arrival in Genua, Magrat goes to meet Emberella, while the two older witches meet Erzulie Gogol, a voodoo witch and her zombie servant, Baron Saturday (who was also her late lover). It is at this time that Magrat finds out that Emberella has two fairy godmothers, Magrat and Lilith. It

168-507: A confrontation with his father, heads towards Lancre , intending to become a witch. Meanwhile, in the domain of the Elves, Peaseblossom senses that the passing of Granny Weatherwax has weakened the barriers between the realms. When a goblin shows the faerie court what the humans are capable of with iron and the status that goblins have achieved, Peaseblossom usurps the Queen, intending to reenter

224-521: A flaming torch and preys upon Mrs. Gogol's own belief in the power of the doll to make it burst into flames. Granny Weatherwax then pursues Lily. Emberella is informed that, as the daughter of the late Baron Saturday , the previous ruler of Genua, she is now Duchess of Genua. Her first command is to end the ball (she dislikes them) and attend the Mardi Gras parade, a form of binge-drinking carnival. Granny manages to defeat Lily by trapping her in

280-566: 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

336-520: A mirror, unable to 'find herself' , and the three witches return home. Granny shows Magrat how to use the wand to do magic, and that it takes more than wishing. Magrat throws the wand into a river, to be lost forever. Then the Witches go home, the long way, and see the elephant . Discworld Discworld is a comic fantasy book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett , set on

392-459: 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

448-605: 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

504-529: 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,

560-472: 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

616-538: 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

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672-589: 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

728-489: 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

784-514: 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,

840-501: 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

896-432: Is actually Lily, Granny Weatherwax's older sister. Using hypnosis , Granny convinces Magrat to attend the masked ball in place of Emberella. Greebo is transformed into human form to aid the witches. Emberella's dress fits, but the glass slippers do not. After enjoying themselves for a while at the ball, the witches are discovered and are cast into a dungeon. At that point, Emberella, Mrs. Gogol and Baron Saturday arrive at

952-560: Is busy running her steading and taking care of the people of the Chalk. Jeannie, the Kelda of the Nac Mac Feegle , is worried that she is overworked. When Granny Weatherwax , Tiffany's mentor, dies, she leaves everything to Tiffany, who becomes the first among equals of the witches . Geoffrey , the third son of Lord Swivel, is well educated, vegetarian and a pacifist. He is dissatisfied with hunting practices he considers barbaric, and after

1008-485: 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

1064-656: 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)

1120-634: Is to be human and the motivations of kindness. Tiffany gathers the witches to prepare for an invasion by the Elves. Geoffrey marshals the old men, and assembles a fighting force. Tiffany attempts to enlist the help of the Elf King. When that fails, she assigns the Feegles to build the King a shed in the hope that it will earn his allegiance. The elves break through at two stone circles: up in Lancre and down in

1176-609: 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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1232-642: 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 ,

1288-606: 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

1344-487: The Chalk. In Lancre, they are met by the assembled witches with help from Geoffrey and the men and they are defeated. In the Chalk, they are met by Miss Tick , Letitia , Tiffany, and the Nac Mac Feegle. Nightshade, with her glamour restored, fights for Tiffany, whom she now considers a friend, until she is killed by Peaseblossom. The elves seem to have the upper hand until Tiffany, wearing the shepherd's crown, calls

1400-593: The Disc in Genua . Sadly, Desiderata does not give Magrat any instruction on how to use the wand, so pretty much anything that Magrat points it at simply becomes a pumpkin. Desiderata had promised Emberella that she would not be forced to marry the Duke (or Duc, as it is spelled in the book), who's really a frog/prince. Now it is up to Magrat and her companions, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg , to ensure Emberella does not marry

1456-445: 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

1512-436: 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

1568-579: 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

1624-627: 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

1680-473: The Duc, despite the desires of another witch in Genua called Lilith, Desiderata's fairy godmother counterpart. Lilith used the power of mirrors to capture Genua. The trio of witches journey to Genua, which takes some time and involves numerous mis-adventures, such as an encounter with a village terrorised by a Vampire (where Nanny Ogg's cat Greebo catches it in bat form and eats it), an incident where they encounter

1736-675: 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

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1792-732: 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 ,

1848-625: 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

1904-596: 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

1960-573: The UK, generating £318,576 in revenue. The book received the 2016 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book and the 2016 Dragon Award for Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel. In the afterword, Pratchett's assistant Rob Wilkins stated that Pratchett wrote The Shepherd's Crown's "pivotal scenes while he was still writing Raising Steam ", and that "it was, still, not quite finished as he would have liked when he died" and that "he would almost certainly have written more of this book". Neil Gaiman has said that Pratchett had originally planned to end

2016-492: 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

2072-399: The ball, having broken the witches out of their prison with the aid of Cassanunda (a dwarf and the Disc's second greatest lover). A high concentration of magic causes the Duc to revert to his frog form, and he is trampled by Baron Saturday, causing Lily to flee. Granny starts to follow, but Mrs. Gogol, wanting to kill Lily, tries to stop Granny by using a voodoo doll. Granny thrusts her arm into

2128-428: 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,

2184-453: The book five out of five stars, saying "Some beloved elements of the world we've come to know over the last thirty-two years come to a close, while others are left to walk on into a world we won't get to see." The Guardian said "This is not a perfect example of Pratchett's genius, but it is a moving one." The Shepherd's Crown sold 52,846 copies in its first three days on sale. During the second week of its release, it sold 27,386 copies in

2240-692: 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,

2296-620: The fifth based on the character Tiffany Aching . It was published in the United Kingdom on 27 August 2015 by Penguin Random House publishers, and in the United States on 1 September 2015. In early June 2015, Pratchett's daughter Rhianna Pratchett announced that The Shepherd's Crown would be the last Discworld novel, and that no further work, including unfinished work, would be published. Tiffany Aching

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2352-402: 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

2408-572: The former Queen of the Elves, is found by the Feegle stationed on the Chalk at the gateway to fairyland. Her wings had been ripped off before she had been forcibly ejected from her world. The Feegles restrain her until Tiffany arrives and takes her in on her family farm. While there, Tiffany decides to carry as a talisman the shepherd's crown (a fossilised echinoid ) that had been in the Aching family for many generations. She tries to teach Nightshade what it

2464-468: 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

2520-445: The human world and reestablish the elves ' power. Tiffany, spread thin tending to the Chalk and Granny Weatherwax's old steading, employs Geoffrey as a "backhouse boy" and starts teaching him. He and his goat get on well with everybody, and Tiffany dubs him a "calm-weaver". Intending to help old men have some autonomy from their wives, he introduces the idea of sheds (an idea he originally got from his maternal uncle). Nightshade,

2576-655: 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

2632-464: 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

2688-538: The power of the Chalk to bring a storm and commands the ghosts of her grandmother's sheepdogs , Thunder and Lightning. She summons the King of the Elves, who kills Peaseblossom, and she banishes the elves from the Land. Tiffany decides to devote herself to the Chalk. She recommends that Geoffrey be given Granny Weatherwax's steading, and hand-builds herself her own shepherd's hut , reusing the old iron wheels from her late Granny Aching 's shepherd's hut. Den of Geek awarded

2744-476: 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

2800-528: 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

2856-466: 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

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2912-736: 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

2968-733: 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

3024-467: 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

3080-468: Was Lilith who had manipulated many of the various stories that the Witches had traveled through and who was now manipulating Genua itself, wrapping the city around her version of the Cinderella story. Lilith has had people arrested for crimes against stories, including the arrest of a toymaker for not being jolly, not whistling and not telling the children stories. At this point it is revealed that Lilith

3136-527: Was the tie-in book Tiffany Aching's Guide to Being a Witch , co-written with children's author Gabrielle Kent. Most of Pratchett's novels have been released as audio cassette and CD audiobooks . The Shepherd%27s Crown The Shepherd's Crown is a comic fantasy novel, the last book written by Terry Pratchett before his death in March 2015. It is the 41st novel in the Discworld series, and

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