Dark Lord of Derkholm, The, xxi, 346
daydreaming, 132
Death of Arthur, The: see Morte D’Arthur, Le
Deep Secret, xix, xxi, xxii, 231; Rupert Venables, xxiii
description in books, 37, 109, 258
detective stories, 110
dialects in writing, 105
Dickens, Charles, 42, 85, 352
Dickinson, Peter, 106
Doctor Who, 39, 107, 112
dogs, 175, 216, 247, 285, 298, 343, 350
Dogsbody, xiii, 88, 154, 176, 216, 247, 296, 343
Doors, The, 349–50
“Dream of the Rood,” 59
Drowned Ammet, 37, 148–49, 165, 219, 297, 353; Al 219
Dungeons and Dragons, 75
Dunsany, Lord, 233
dyslexia, 120, 181, 335, 353
“East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” 95, 147
editors, 34, 37, 39, 40, 41, 214, 244, 245, 338–39
Eight Days of Luke, 54, 88, 105, 126, 144, 188, 203, 245, 248, 283, 296, 328; Astrid, 105; Cousin Ronald, 55; David, 54–55, 88, 105; Luke, 55; Mr. Chew, 55; Thor, 105
Eliot, T. S., 93–98, 207, 214
elves, xix, 12, 16, 18–19, 31, 208
emotions, 40, 57, 108, 156, 217, 351
Enchanted Glass, 342
Encyclopaedia of Fantasy, 99, 111
Epimetheus, 91
Eurydice, 94
evacuees, 224, 228, 268
Everard’s Ride, 6, 99
Faerie Queene, The, 85–86
Fairy Queen, the, 93, 347, 350
fairy stories, 10, 12, 77, 101, 129, 166, 202, 247, 330
fantasy, 39, 110, 120, 174, 177, 190, 211, 237–39, 322, 326; comic, 113; fans, 177–78; fashions and rules in, 100, 108, 239; for children, 108, 111, 178, 238, 245, 344; high, 113; imitations, 327; value of, xxviii, 4–5, 77, 129–30, 194–95
Farmer, Penelope, 106, 120
Fate, 92, 143
feelings, writing about them, 139
Female Eunuch, The, 191
feminism, 88–89, 146–47, 188, 189
Fire and Hemlock, xiii, xx, xxii, xxiv, xxvi, 34, 36, 79, 89, 95, 126, 147, 154, 157, 158, 180, 207, 214, 218, 224, 249, 329, 334, 337, 344, 347, 352; Fiona, 92, 96; Granny, xxii, 92; Ivy, 92; Laurel, 90, 92, 95; Mr. Leroy, 7
George, St., 91
Gerda (in “The Snow Queen”), 91
Germans: see Nazis
Gestapo: see Nazis
ghosts, 42, 147, 185, 276, 277, 296
God, 81, 86, 93, 103, 143, 254
gods, 55, 81, 83, 86, 92, 143, 144, 203, 340
Good Book Guide, The, 56
Gothic Romance, 209
Goudge, Elizabeth, 189
Grail, the, 11
Greer, Germaine, 191
Griffiths, Elaine: see Diana Wynne Jones, Anglo-Saxon tutor
Grimm, the Brothers, 80, 329
Groan, Titus, 233–36
growing up, 73, 103, 107
Guardian Award, 44–46, 297
Gwydion, Welsh hero, 144
Hades, 90, 208
Halloween, 62, 64
Hansel and Gretel, 111
happy endings, 108, 174, 184
Harlequin, 91
head teachers, 62, 69, 177, 179, 181, 195, 282
Hector of Troy, 82
Henryson, Robert, 208
Hercules, 82, 174
Hero (Greek legend), 80, 84, 95
heroes, 79–98, 142–56, 184, 214; faults, 95, 143, 146; female, 56, 80, 86, 88, 145–47, 153; journey of, 94; miraculous origin, 151; quests, 96
Hexwood, xix, 171, 210, 230, 337–38, 352
Heyer, Georgette, 352
historical novels, 199–201
Hitler, Adolf, 132, 264
Hobbit, The, 14
Hodgson, Miriam, 299
Homer, 83, 90
Homeward Bounders, The, xxi, xxii, 35, 114, 338, 347, 352, 353; Jamie, 114, 347; Joris, xxii; Prometheus, 114
Horn Book Magazine, 68
horror stories, 108, 110, 154
House at Pooh Corner, The, 102
House of Many Ways, 350
Howl’s Moving Castle, xx, 133, 144, 209, 218, 326, 347, 349; Calcifer ,314; film, 314, 330, 347; Howl, xx, 144, 218; Sophie, xx, 349; Witch of the Waste, 349
Hughes, Arthur, 293
Iceland, 200
ideas, 137, 206, 222, 227
Iliad, The, 80
imagination, 73, 74, 94, 96, 114, 120, 129, 157, 163, 169–70, 181, 195, 220, 280, 347; supposed dangers of, 76, 168–69; world of, 89, 96
influence of writers, 160, 174
insights, xxiv, 114, 234
J. R. R. Tolkien: This Far Land, 6
Janet (from “Tam Lin”), 89, 91, 96
Japan, 126, 330
Jason (Greek hero), 82, 143
Jesus College, Oxford, 295
Johns, W. E., 51
Johnson, Dr., 178
jokes, 53, 109, 345
Jones, Diana Wynne, 263, 271, 291, 294, 298: advice on writing, 255–59; ambitions as a writer, 4, 297; Anglo-Saxon tutor, 294; appearance, xi; at university in Oxford, 47, 58, 85, 120, 127, 186, 203, 344; Aunt Muriel, 262, 264, 297; childhood, xxiv, 80, 120–23, 134, 164, 182, 189, 223, 260–92, 299–310, 315–19, 348; cousin Gwyn, 262; dyslexia, 120, 181, 335–36; early writings, 100, 120–21, 127, 135, 187–88, 245, 286–87; father, 121, 122, , 125, 182, 186–87, 202–03, 218, 223, 260, 261, 274–77, 285, 286–87, 289–90, 301, 309, 319; father-in-law, 312; goddaughter, 155–56, 239; godmother, 130; grandchildren, 175, 230, 353; homes and houses, 157, 175, 189, 295, 311–14, 321; husband, 38, 119, 171, 199, 266, 291, 292–97, 294, 312–13; ideas for stories, 115–16; illnesses, 65, 222, 277, 287, 289, 293; influence on other writers, xv, 159; influences on and inspirations, 60, 118, 123, 202–03, 296, 315, 332–33, 337–38, 344–46; learning to write, 294; method of writing, 37, 108–09, 127–28, 135–41, 172, 206–07, 237–38, 335, 347; mother, xxv, 101, 120–21, 159, 166, 169, 182–83, 185, 223, 224, 226, 260, 265, 269–70, 274–77, 278, 279–81, 284, 285, 286, 293, 297, 298, 309, 316, 348–49; mother-in-law, 175–76, 178, 312; neglect by parents, xxiv, 80, 134, 182–83, 224, 277–80, 284, 286–87, 348; on being edited, 338–39; order of writing books, 153–54; personality, xi–xiii, 344, 350; planning to be a writer, 120, 181, 274; plotting stories, 116–17, 136–37; principles of writing, 108–09; schooldays, 47, 62, 105, 264, 272–73, 274, 282–84, 341; sisters, xxiv, 104, 121, 122, 135, 182–83, 186, 187, 224, 260, 263, 265, 272, 274, 278–79, 287–90, 288, 292, 293–94, 299–310, 312, 348; sons, xxvii, 38, 47, 104, 120, 145, 163, 166, 188, 189–90, 218, 251, 293–97, 296, 312, 323, 343; travel jinx, xii, xxv, 79, 99–100, 297–98, 326, 344; wedding, 293
Jones, Aneurin: see Diana Wynne Jones, father
Jones, Isobel (Armstrong): see Diana Wynne Jones, sisters
Jones, Marjorie: see Diana Wynne Jones, mother
Jones, Ursula: see Diana Wynne Jones, sisters
joy of writing, 117–18, 137
Joyce, James, 85
Jung, Carl, 145
Kay (in “The Snow Queen”), 91
Kendrick School, Reading, 251
Kim, 190, 201
King’s College, London, 293
Kipling, Rudyard, 11, 131, 190, 200
Knights of the Round Table, 80
Lake District, 116, 134, 223, 265–70, 271
Lane Head house, 265–66
Langland, William, 205–06, 334
Lawrence, Anne, 106
Leander, 80, 95
Lee, Tanith, 106
Let’s Pretend games 1–5, 104
Lewis, C. S., xiii, xix, xxvi, 47–50, 73, 74, 95, 103, 120, 162, 290, 332, 344
Lion and the Unicorn, The, 79
literary agents, xxviii, 74, 105, 191, 296, 336
“Little Mermaid, The,” 183
Little White Horse, The, 189
Lively, Penelope, 106, 120, 292
Lives of Christopher Chant, The, 151–53, 154, 218; Christopher, 151–53
, 154; Christopher’s parents, 152, 154; Dr. Pawson, 152; Dright, 153; Goddess, 152–53; governess, 152; Tacroy, 218; Uncle Ralph, 152
logic of a story, 118, 128, 172
Loki, 55
London, 134, 224, 260, 265
Lord of the Rings, The, 7–32, 42, 87, 101, 127, 190, 295, 345, movements in, 7–10, 13–14, 17–21, 25; themes in, 11–12, 18–19
Lynch, P. J., 233
Machine Gunners, The, 248
magic, xx, 53, 106, 130, 152, 159, 162, 208, 209, 216, 227, 231, 247, 249, 335, 344–45; in fantasy, 49, 129; in stories, 101–02, 106, 116, 129, 246, 343–44
Magic City, The, 345
Magicians of Caprona, The, 210, 338
Magpies Magazine, 142
Malory, Sir Thomas, 11, 121, 201, 205
manuscripts, unfinished, 137, 341–42
maps in fantasy books, 42, 113, 238–39, 242
Mary Poppins Comes Back,130
Masefield, John, 73, 163, 171–72
McKinley, Robin, 237
Medea, 84, 143
medieval literature, 10, 48, 203–10
Medusa: The Journal of the Pre-Joycean Fellowship, The, 33
Meredith, George, 216, 333
Merlin, 82
Merlin Conspiracy, The, xix, xx, xxi, 230–32, 335; Grundo, 335; Nick Mallory, 231; Roddy Hyde, xix, 231–32; Romanov, 230, 231
metaphors, 54–55, 129–30, 180, 327
Middle Ages, the, xxix, 196, 201, 203, 210, 232
Milton, John, 15, 81, 350
Miyazaki, Hayao, 330, 347
Monster Garden, The, 41
Moondust Books, 311
Morte d’Arthur, Le, 11, 80, 121, 274
Mrs. Dalloway, xxii
myths, 125–27, 147, 173, 183, 214, 328–29; Celtic, 74; Charlemagne cycle, 83; Greek, 80, 121, 328; Niebelung cycle, 83; Norse, 55, 56, 88, 144, 203, 209, 328
Narnia, 162–63
Narnia, The Chronicles of, 47–50, 73, 103, 162–63, 247
narratives, 7, 60–61, 77–78, 92–93, 204–07, 221
National Gallery, London, 202, 208
Nazis, 116, 135, 266, 267, 269, 273
Nesbit, E., xviii, 49, 102, 345–46
New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA), 99
Nexus magazine, 33
Nix, Garth, 330
Odysseus, 82–84, 89–90, 97
Odyssey, The, 81, 85, 89, 91, 96–98
Ogre Downstairs, The, xx, 53, 61, 146, 157, 162, 218, 247, 296, 323, 339; Casper, 54, 218; Douglas, 218; Gwinny, 146; Johnny, 54; Malcolm, 54; Ogre, 54, 162
Old English, 24, 58
“Orpheus and Eurydice,” 92, 209
Oxford, 9, 157, 322, 335
Oxford University, 47, 85, 290, 292, 293, 344, 349
Oxford University Press, 105
Oxfordshire landscape, 9
Pandora, 91
Paradise Lost, 81, 245
“Pardoner’s Tale, The,” 7, 127
Peake, Mervyn, xxx, 233–36
Pearce, Philippa, 41
Penelope (in The Odyssey), 84, 89, 90
Percival, Sir, 11
Perseus, 91
Pierrot, 91
Piers Plowman, 200, 206–07, 334
Pilgrim’s Progress, The, 80
“Piper at the Gates of Dawn, The,” xxv, 72, 102, 129, 159, 163, 165, 166
planning a book, 116
plots, 6–7, 29, 34, 37, 42, 52, 172, 247, 255, 257, 327–28, 336–37
poetry, 327
politics in books, 39
Polyphemus the Cyclops, 91
Pontardulais, Wales, 134
Poppins, Mary, 130
“popular” fiction, 175, 178
Potter, Beatrix, 135, 269
Potter, Harry, 238, 250, 344
Power of Three 39, 88, 154, 247, 296; Gair, 88
Pratchett, Terry, 180
Pre-Raphaelites, 208
Pride (Spenser’s allegory), 91–92
Pride and Prejudice, 208
Prometheus, 91
publishers, 74, 106, 110, 160, 161–62, 207, 214
Puck of Pook’s Hill, 121, 200, 286
Puffin Books, 247
Pullman, Philip, 237, 245
puns, 53, 89
“Puss in Boots,” 126, 174
quests, 6, 7, 10, 25, 127, 198, 205, 208, 344
racism, 248
radio interviews, 211
Ransome, Arthur, 36, 72, 121, 135, 161, 187, 223, 265, 268, 292, 319
readers’ expectations, 150, 238; experiences from reading, 56–57, 195
“Reeve’s Tale, The,” 205
religion, 47, 84, 86, 120, 262, 272, 275
Renaissance, the, 48, 60, 252
responsibilities of writers, 56–57, 72–78, 108, 158, 160, 174
reviewers, 22, 101, 110, 147, 180, 238
rewriting, 140–41, 339
Robin Hood, 148
Romeo and Juliet, 210
Rowling, J. K., 344
rules in fantasy, 74, 99–114, 161
Ruskin, John, 135, 265–66, 290
“Sage of Theare, The,” xx
sailing, 267
Scheherazade, 80, 90
school visits, 68–71, 87, 177, 251–54, 324–26
science fiction, 39, 74, 106–07, 110–11, 115, 208
Science Fiction Foundation, 115
Scott, Sir Walter, 239
Screwtape Letters, The, 47
Sebastian, St. (painting), 203
Second World War, 116, 134, 223, 260, 302
Secret Garden, The, 125, 193
sense of wonder, 72
Seven Stories, xxviii
seven-league boots, 129
Shakespeare, William, 85, 210, 215, 350
Shaw, Bernard, 344
Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 346
Siegfried, 84, 184
“Sir Orfeo,” 208, 209
“Sir Thopas,” 85, 204
“Sleeping Beauty,” 147
“Snow Queen, The,” 91
“Snow White,” 91, 94, 147
Spellcoats, The, 147, 354
Spenser, Edmund, 86, 91, 350
St. Anne’s College, Oxford, 290
Star Trek, 107
storytelling, 43, 114, 118, 172, 204–05
Sudden Wild Magic, A, xx, xxi, xxvi
Sutcliffe, Rosemary, 72
Swallows and Amazons, 135
Sword in the Stone, The, 36, 173, 202
Tale of Time City, A, xxiii, 218, 298; Keeper of the Silver Casket, 218; Sempitern Walker, xxiii, 218
“Tam Lin,” 88, 89, 90, 91, 93, 96, 126, 147, 207, 214, 215, 329, 344
teachers, xiv, 39, 70, 76, 79, 87, 117, 136, 156, 160, 167, 176–81, 183, 195, 244, 274, 282
Telemachus, 91
tennis, 142–44; stars 142–43, 145–46, 150; Wimbledon tournament, 142, 144
Thaxted, Essex, 275–76, 289, 348
Theseus, 82, 143
“Thomas the Rhymer,” 89, 93, 147, 214
Three-Formed Goddess, 92
thriller stories, 110
Time of the Ghost, The, 147, 182, 186, 218, 224, 288; Fenella, 186; Himself, 218
time travel, 42, 107
Times Literary Supplement, The, 51, 58
To Tame a Sister, 36
Tolkien, J. R. R., xiii, xix, xxvi, 6–32, 86, 101, 190, 238, 242, 330, 332, 344; influence of landscape on, 9–10; lectures, xxvi, 6, 120, 127, 290; narrative skill, xxviii, 9, 15, 25, 28, 31–32
Tom Jones, 85
tomboys, 4, 87
Tom’s Midnight Garden, 41
Tough Guide to Fantasyland, The, xx, 196-99, 204, 238–44, 327
tragedy, 54
Travers, P. L., 131
Treasure Seekers, The, 345
Treasures of Britain, 74, 132, 169
“Tristram and Isolt,” 202
“Troilus and Creseyde,” 205
Truckers, 180
typhoid germs, 116
UDI
(Unilateral Declaration of Independence), 313, 322
Ulysses, 85, 329
Unexpected Magic, 299
University of Nottingham, 196
Valhalla, 55
Valkyrie, 203
vampires, 138, 327
Vector journal, 175
Venus (goddess), 93
Venus and Adonis, 85
violence in books, 4, 39
“Vltava,” 338
Wales, 134, 223, 260
Walsh, Jill Paton, 104, 120, 246, 292
Watership Down, 106
Webb, Kaye, 247
Wells, H. G., 151
Westall, Robert, 106, 248
“what ifs,” 76–77, 117, 132, 168–69
What Katy Did, 187
Whitbread Prize, 74, 167
White, T. H., 36, 173, 202
Who Got Rid of Angus Flint?, 218; Angus Flint, 218–19
“Wicked Wedding, The,” 147, 157–58
Wilkins’ Tooth, 52–53, 126, 219, 296, 323
Wind in the Willows, The, xxv, 72, 102–03, 121, 129, 159, 165
Winnie-the-Pooh, 102, 121
Witch Week, 62, 129, 180, 248–49
witches, xx, 40–41, 129, 154, 185, 209, 248, 319, 348–49
Witch’s Business: see Wilkins’ Tooth
Woolf, Virginia, xxii
World Fantasy Award, 237, 242
World War II: see Second World War
writers, 4, 7, 37, 41, 44, 58, 72–78, 85, 100, 110, 120, 134–41, 181, 204, 208, 213, 217, 255–59, 346; attitudes toward female and male writers, 180–81
writer’s block, xxiv, 219
writing: conventions, fashions, and rules in, 73, 99–114, 237–38, 242, 245–46, 249; fantasy, 120, 196, 204, 208–09, 322; for adults, 35–43; for children, 34, 37–43, 51, 54, 72–78, 119–20, 200–01, 205, 247–50, 345
Yale, 295
Year of the Griffin, xxi, xxiii, 237, 238; Callette, 199, 207; Corkoran, xxii; Kit, 199, 207
About the Author
In a career spanning four decades, award-winning author Diana Wynne Jones (1934–2011) wrote more than forty books of fantasy for young readers. Characterized by magic, multiple universes, witches and wizards—and a charismatic nine-lived enchanter—her books were filled with unlimited imagination, dazzling plots, and an effervescent sense of humor that earned her legendary status in the world of fantasy. In addition to being translated into more than twenty languages, her books have earned a wide array of honors—including two Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honors and the Guardian Award—and appeared on countless best-of-the-year lists. Her best-selling Howl’s Moving Castle was made into an animated film by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki and was nominated for an Academy Award. Diana Wynne Jones was also honored with many prestigious awards for the body of her work. She was given the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award in 1999 for having made a significant impact on fantasy, and she won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Fantasy Convention in 2007.