Mandragora (novel): Difference between revisions
Infobox image |
|||
| (77 intermediate revisions by 56 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|1991 novel by David McRobbie}} |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2024}} |
|||
'''''Mandragora''''' (1994) by [[David McRobbie]] (ISBN 0749712651) is a contemporary novel with links to a historic shipwreck, the sinking of the Dunarling. Adam and Catriona have found a cache of four small dolls made from [[mandrake]] roots. The dolls were left in the cave by two other teenagers, Adam and Margaret, who had survived the wreck of the Dunarling. Transcribing a diary from that same voyage, Adam and Catriona learn the power of the cursed mandrake roots, power that destroyed the Dunarling in 1886 and that is resurfacing in the town of Dunarling today. |
|||
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
{{Infobox book|<!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books --> |
|||
| name = Mandragora |
|||
| title_orig = |
|||
| translator = |
|||
| image = File:Mandragora_(novel).jpg |
|||
| caption = |
|||
| author = [[David McRobbie]] |
|||
| illustrator = |
|||
| cover_artist = |
|||
| country = Australia |
|||
| language = English |
|||
| series = |
|||
| genre = [[Fantasy novel|Fantasy]] |
|||
| publisher = Mammoth |
|||
| release_date = 1991 |
|||
| media_type = Print (Paperback & Hardback) |
|||
| pages = 244pp (first edition) |
|||
| isbn = 0749712651 |
|||
| oclc = |
|||
| preceded_by = |
|||
| followed_by = |
|||
}} |
|||
'''''Mandragora''''' (1991) is a young adult fantasy novel by Australian author [[David McRobbie]].<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Mandragora'' by David McRobbie|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1110339|access-date= 8 July 2024}}</ref> |
|||
==Plot summary== |
==Plot summary== |
||
These dolls have been around since 1886. According to "Mandragora", a ship called the Dunarling was not only carrying 85 passengers wanting to shift from [[Scotland]] to [[South Australia]], but also the four dolls. Each named and cursed. 'Swith' was cursed with fire (bleeze), 'Agley' with mischance, 'Sneddum' with foulness and 'Snell' was cursed with the final destruction. Otherwise referred to as 'All fa' doon!'These were set upon the Dunarling by the former 'wife' of one of the passengers, Adam Colquhoun. Marie Catherine de Lairgo puts the mandrake dolls aboard the ship because she is jealous and wants to get revenge, which she bids the mandrake dolls to do. |
|||
deals with the sinking of a sailing ship. Dunarling. Adam Hardy and Catriona Chisholm accidentally find a cache of five small dolls made from [[mandrake (mythology)|mandrake]] roots. The dolls were left in a hole a hundred years earlier by two other teenagers, Jamie and Margaret, who had survived the wreck of the Dunarling. |
|||
Transcribing a diary from that same fatal voyage, Adam and Catriona learn of the cursed mandrake roots, whose power destroyed the Dunarling in 1886. It seems the curses are working again in the town of Dunarling today. |
|||
Adam and Catriona form a bond with each other as time unfolds and Adam starts having visions of the past and realised that Catriona looks just like Margaret Colquhoun, the fiancee of Adam Colquhoun. Adam tracks down two of these dolls that were held by Mike Carter and Richard Vernon. These dolls made Mike and Richard insane, saying that they had failed their masters in destroying the town. The dolls possess Mike and Richard into setting fire to the hardware store, poisoning the water tank and crashing a bus. Tam Dubby, the fifth mandrake doll, warns Adam what is going to happen, so he manages to stop the last two events from completely unfolding. |
|||
The book has an end piece with historical details of the real mandrake dolls together with a discussion of shipwrecks of the late 19th century. |
|||
==Critical reception== |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Fantasy novels]] KFC IS NICE |
|||
Adele Walsh, writing on the ''Kill Your Darlings'' website noted: "With today’s YA market saturated by the paranormal, the notion of possessed mandrake dolls might sound a touch underwhelming, but they aren't. There is a pervading sense of danger as people are possessed; buildings burn and the young lovers (past and present) suffer the wrath of a wronged woman and the tools of her dissent...McRobbie has crafted characters that endear and repulse. He utilises language from the 1880s to craft character and generate misunderstanding; those possessed speak with a Scottish tongue amidst the chaotic yet meticulous movements of the plot. "<ref>{{cite web|title="Mandragora by David McRobbie" |publisher= Kill Your Darlings, 17 August 2012|url=https://www.killyourdarlings.com.au/2012/08/6840/|access-date= 8 July 2024}}</ref> |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
==Awards== |
|||
* [[Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers]], 1992, shortlisted<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Mandragora'' by David McRobbie — Awards |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C219926?mainTabTemplate=workAwards|access-date= 8 July 2024}}</ref> |
|||
==References== |
|||
{{reflist}} |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Australian fantasy novels]] |
|||
[[Category:Contemporary fantasy novels]] |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
Latest revision as of 20:02, 5 August 2024
.jpg) | |
| Author | David McRobbie |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Mammoth |
Publication date | 1991 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | Print (Paperback & Hardback) |
| Pages | 244pp (first edition) |
| ISBN | 0749712651 |
Mandragora (1991) is a young adult fantasy novel by Australian author David McRobbie.[1]
Plot summary
[edit]deals with the sinking of a sailing ship. Dunarling. Adam Hardy and Catriona Chisholm accidentally find a cache of five small dolls made from mandrake roots. The dolls were left in a hole a hundred years earlier by two other teenagers, Jamie and Margaret, who had survived the wreck of the Dunarling.
Transcribing a diary from that same fatal voyage, Adam and Catriona learn of the cursed mandrake roots, whose power destroyed the Dunarling in 1886. It seems the curses are working again in the town of Dunarling today.
The book has an end piece with historical details of the real mandrake dolls together with a discussion of shipwrecks of the late 19th century.
Critical reception
[edit]Adele Walsh, writing on the Kill Your Darlings website noted: "With today’s YA market saturated by the paranormal, the notion of possessed mandrake dolls might sound a touch underwhelming, but they aren't. There is a pervading sense of danger as people are possessed; buildings burn and the young lovers (past and present) suffer the wrath of a wronged woman and the tools of her dissent...McRobbie has crafted characters that endear and repulse. He utilises language from the 1880s to craft character and generate misunderstanding; those possessed speak with a Scottish tongue amidst the chaotic yet meticulous movements of the plot. "[2]
Awards
[edit]- Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers, 1992, shortlisted[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "Mandragora by David McRobbie". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ ""Mandragora by David McRobbie"". Kill Your Darlings, 17 August 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "Mandragora by David McRobbie — Awards". Austlit. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
 | This article about a 1990s fantasy novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |