Lords and Ladies (novel)
Witches confront elves during a dangerous convergence of worlds.
Lords and Ladies is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the fourteenth book in the Discworld series. Published in 1992, it spoofs elements of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Terry Pratchett
- Cover artist
- Josh Kirby
- Language
- English
- Series
- Discworld, 14th novel – 4th witches story
- Subject
- Shakespeare
- Crop circles
- Fairy lore
- Genre
- Fantasy
- Publisher
- Victor Gollancz Ltd
- Published
- 1992
Facts from the source article.
Synopsis
After their journey to Genua, Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick are back in Lancre. Magrat is shocked to learn that King Verence has already planned their wedding and announced it while she was away. The sudden appearance of crop circles clues Nanny and Granny into the arrival of "circle time," a period when parallel universes converge, allowing the parasitic Elves to invade the Discworld. These Elves are fickle and lack morals, using glamour to trick people’s senses, and are usually blocked by the Dancers, a ring of magnetized iron standing stones. When the older witches refuse to explain what’s happening, Magrat quits the coven, renounces witchcraft, and takes an apartment in Lancre Castle, where she quickly grows restless. Mustrum Ridcully, the Archchancellor of Unseen University, brings a small group of faculty to the wedding, and the Dwarfish womanizer Casanunda joins them. Granny and Nanny find a new coven of local girls led by Diamanda Tockley, who dance naked at the Dancers. Granny defeats Diamanda in a public witchcraft contest, but Diamanda defiantly runs through the Dancers into the Elven realm, where an Elven arrow poisons and knocks her out. Granny rescues her, and Nanny uses an iron fireplace poker to subdue an Elf that follows them back. At Lancre Castle, Magrat treats Diamanda, and Verence locks up the Elf, though Magrat later accidentally sets it free. Meanwhile, Granny starts experiencing memories of alternate lives she could have led and a growing awareness that she might die soon.
Reception
In 1995, Kirkus Reviews called the novel "a so-so addition to a mostly hilarious series", but praised the "agreeably wry, self-deprecating quality" of the humour. In 2000, Publishers Weekly found it "uneven", noting that only in the last third does Pratchett strike a successful balance among action, imagination, and comedy, and that the fun begins once the elves appear. The review concluded the novel is "unlikely to widen [Pratchett's] readership".
Frequently Asked Questions
Who published Lords and Ladies (novel)?
Lords and Ladies was published by Victor Gollancz Ltd.
Who illustrated Lords and Ladies (novel)?
Lords and Ladies was illustrated by Josh Kirby.
Which book follows Lords and Ladies (novel)?
Lords and Ladies is followed by Men at Arms.
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