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The Dark Is Rising #3
Greenwitch
Simon, Jane, and Barney, enlisted by their mysterious great-uncle, arrive in a small coastal town to recover a priceless golden grail stolen by the forces of evil -- Dark. They are not at first aware of the strange powers of another boy brought to help, Will Stanton -- nor of the sinister significance of the Greenwitch, an image of leaves and branches that for centuries has been cast into the sea for good luck in fishing and harvest. Their search for the grail sets into motion a series of distubing, sometimes dangerous events that, at their climax, bring forth a gift that, for a time at least, will keep the Dark from rising.
147 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
336 people are currently reading
8932 people want to read
About the author
Susan Cooper
173 books2,454 followersSusan Cooper's latest book is the YA novel "Ghost Hawk" (2013)
Susan Cooper was born in 1935, and grew up in England's Buckinghamshire, an area that was green countryside then but has since become part of Greater London. As a child, she loved to read, as did her younger brother, who also became a writer. After attending Oxford, where she became the first woman to ever edit that university's newspaper, Cooper worked as a reporter and feature writer for London's Sunday Times; her first boss was James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Cooper wrote her first book for young readers in response to a publishing house competition; "Over Sea, Under Stone" would later form the basis for her critically acclaimed five-book fantasy sequence, "The Dark Is Rising." The fourth book in the series, "The Grey King," won the Newbery Medal in 1976. By that time, Susan Cooper had been living in America for 13 years, having moved to marry her first husband, an American professor, and was stepmother to three children and the mother of two.
Cooper went on to write other well-received novels, including "The Boggart" (and its sequel "The Boggart and the Monster"), "King of Shadows", and "Victory," as well as several picture books for young readers with illustrators such as Ashley Bryan and Warwick Hutton. She has also written books for adults, as well as plays and Emmy-nominated screenplays, many in collaboration with the actor Hume Cronyn, whom she married in 1996. Hume Cronyn died in 2003 and Ms. Cooper now lives in Marshfield MA. When Cooper is not working, she enjoys playing piano, gardening, and traveling.
Recent books include the collaborative project "The Exquisite Corpse Adventure" and her biography of Jack Langstaff titled "The Magic Maker." Her newest book is "Ghost Hawk."
Visit her Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/SusanCooperFanPage
www.facebook.com/GhostHawkBySusanCooper
Susan Cooper was born in 1935, and grew up in England's Buckinghamshire, an area that was green countryside then but has since become part of Greater London. As a child, she loved to read, as did her younger brother, who also became a writer. After attending Oxford, where she became the first woman to ever edit that university's newspaper, Cooper worked as a reporter and feature writer for London's Sunday Times; her first boss was James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Cooper wrote her first book for young readers in response to a publishing house competition; "Over Sea, Under Stone" would later form the basis for her critically acclaimed five-book fantasy sequence, "The Dark Is Rising." The fourth book in the series, "The Grey King," won the Newbery Medal in 1976. By that time, Susan Cooper had been living in America for 13 years, having moved to marry her first husband, an American professor, and was stepmother to three children and the mother of two.
Cooper went on to write other well-received novels, including "The Boggart" (and its sequel "The Boggart and the Monster"), "King of Shadows", and "Victory," as well as several picture books for young readers with illustrators such as Ashley Bryan and Warwick Hutton. She has also written books for adults, as well as plays and Emmy-nominated screenplays, many in collaboration with the actor Hume Cronyn, whom she married in 1996. Hume Cronyn died in 2003 and Ms. Cooper now lives in Marshfield MA. When Cooper is not working, she enjoys playing piano, gardening, and traveling.
Recent books include the collaborative project "The Exquisite Corpse Adventure" and her biography of Jack Langstaff titled "The Magic Maker." Her newest book is "Ghost Hawk."
Visit her Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/SusanCooperFanPage
www.facebook.com/GhostHawkBySusanCooper
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,182 reviews
April 15, 2012
The eerie one, as opposed to the intensely disturbing one, which for me will always be The Grey King.
I remembered this as a slight, inconsequential book. The weird-shaped one in the middle where the kids meet each other on vacation before we get really serious. I didn't remember -- or likely didn't understand -- just how serious this little book is.
Here's where it crystallized for me. Simon and Jane have a brief run-in with Will's American aunt, who is delighted with all the 'natives and their quaint customs' (Simon's phrase) of Cornwall. And Jane points out to Simon that it's not like he's a native, they're from London.
And the whole thing came together, and surprised the heck out of me. This book is not at all what I expected from the woman who wrote the end of Silver on the Tree, with the thing. You know the thing. I have been surprised all along by how obvious and inevitable that end seems now, not just because I know what's coming, but also because these books have been arguing about it all along. As a child the end came out of nowhere and utterly enraged me; it still does, but I think I mischaracterized it in anger. I thought it was about the fragility of humans in the face of the larger powers. But that's nonsense. No one who could write this book could also write a story about that.
Because Simon and Jane (and to a lesser degree Barney), they're the tourists in this book. As holidaymakers in Cornwall, but also as mortals in Will and Merriman's quest, in the work of the Old Ones. They're only ever given a tiny slice of truth, just enough for a good pantomime. They're carefully coached to turn away from anything too magical, and when they're hit in the face with magic -- well. There's an awful lot of foreshadowing here. It's not just the Light, either -- there's that absurd incident of dognapping. Dognapping! because the forces of evil, that's totally their go-to strategy right there. And it becomes clear later that the Dark was merely putting on a show, calibrating their whole global evil thing down to fit Barney's young sensibilities because it's not like he'd understand the true scope of the Dark anyway, doncha know.
Except it doesn't work. This book is all about the magic of mortals. Barney's small gift of sight, of course, which is treated perhaps as a symptom of his larger gift for art. And then the Greenwitch, who is the wildest of magic, so wild that Merriman and Will are frightened of it and have to appease greater powers to even think of approaching it. That Greenwitch. Made by mortal women over one long night of companionship and tradition and casual use of old, old power. Mortals make the Greenwitch without knowing what they're doing, most of them. The Light and the Dark do not have a monopoly on power. And the central argument of this book is carried by Jane, quiet little Jane. The Light and the Dark bring terrifying powers down on Trewissick, they have a fucking opera out there by the sea. But it all comes down to Jane, who has no magic at all unless you count a little compassion.
Yeah. I was not expecting that. It's an ego check for power, and for the Light in particular. And considering what's to come, it's really, really interesting.
Other random thoughts -- I remembered that the Greenwitch was not feminine. That apparently made a huge impression on me as a child. This is why I like Cooper's paganism: she commits to it, there isn't any surprise Christian fundamentalism lurking back there. And it's not just candles and chanting and vagina-shaving parties. It's women raising ungendered wild magic out of the night and the sea and the wood and the fire.
I remembered this as a slight, inconsequential book. The weird-shaped one in the middle where the kids meet each other on vacation before we get really serious. I didn't remember -- or likely didn't understand -- just how serious this little book is.
Here's where it crystallized for me. Simon and Jane have a brief run-in with Will's American aunt, who is delighted with all the 'natives and their quaint customs' (Simon's phrase) of Cornwall. And Jane points out to Simon that it's not like he's a native, they're from London.
"But I'm not so much outside it all as she is. Not her fault. She just comes from such a long way away, she isn't plugged in. Like all those people who go to the museum and look at the grail and say, oh, how wonderful, without the least idea of what it really is."
And the whole thing came together, and surprised the heck out of me. This book is not at all what I expected from the woman who wrote the end of Silver on the Tree, with the thing. You know the thing. I have been surprised all along by how obvious and inevitable that end seems now, not just because I know what's coming, but also because these books have been arguing about it all along. As a child the end came out of nowhere and utterly enraged me; it still does, but I think I mischaracterized it in anger. I thought it was about the fragility of humans in the face of the larger powers. But that's nonsense. No one who could write this book could also write a story about that.
Because Simon and Jane (and to a lesser degree Barney), they're the tourists in this book. As holidaymakers in Cornwall, but also as mortals in Will and Merriman's quest, in the work of the Old Ones. They're only ever given a tiny slice of truth, just enough for a good pantomime. They're carefully coached to turn away from anything too magical, and when they're hit in the face with magic -- well. There's an awful lot of foreshadowing here. It's not just the Light, either -- there's that absurd incident of dognapping. Dognapping! because the forces of evil, that's totally their go-to strategy right there. And it becomes clear later that the Dark was merely putting on a show, calibrating their whole global evil thing down to fit Barney's young sensibilities because it's not like he'd understand the true scope of the Dark anyway, doncha know.
Except it doesn't work. This book is all about the magic of mortals. Barney's small gift of sight, of course, which is treated perhaps as a symptom of his larger gift for art. And then the Greenwitch, who is the wildest of magic, so wild that Merriman and Will are frightened of it and have to appease greater powers to even think of approaching it. That Greenwitch. Made by mortal women over one long night of companionship and tradition and casual use of old, old power. Mortals make the Greenwitch without knowing what they're doing, most of them. The Light and the Dark do not have a monopoly on power. And the central argument of this book is carried by Jane, quiet little Jane. The Light and the Dark bring terrifying powers down on Trewissick, they have a fucking opera out there by the sea. But it all comes down to Jane, who has no magic at all unless you count a little compassion.
Yeah. I was not expecting that. It's an ego check for power, and for the Light in particular. And considering what's to come, it's really, really interesting.
Other random thoughts -- I remembered that the Greenwitch was not feminine. That apparently made a huge impression on me as a child. This is why I like Cooper's paganism: she commits to it, there isn't any surprise Christian fundamentalism lurking back there. And it's not just candles and chanting and vagina-shaving parties. It's women raising ungendered wild magic out of the night and the sea and the wood and the fire.
June 14, 2018
Synopsis: Children shouldn't play with dead things, wild things, or green things; but if they do, they shouldn't stint on the compliments. A little empathy goes a long way!
This middle volume of Cooper's wonderful series is the second and last to center on the Drew siblings, "the three from the track". Three cheerful, curious, and often very excitable kids who never wore out their welcome. Yay for the Drews! See you all again in book five.
I really liked watching eerie series protagonist Will Stanton through their eyes. All of the little moments when they catch him acting like he's much older than his actual age or hiding his powers were fun and also, well, eerie. Especially that surprising moment when he just up and runs off of a cliff. Odd kid, that Will.
Cooper's focus on a Wild Green Magic that exists outside of the Light and the Dark was thoughtful and compelling. She gives the pre-Christian pagan forces of nature their proper due and I loved how she made those forces indomitable, beyond the control of either the legions of good or ill. Neither good nor bad intentions matter to Nature. Nature will do Nature, and that's that, thanks for playing. Women are also centralized in a way that I don't recall seeing much of in the other books (besides the final moments of the last book): in the pagan ritual that creates the Greenwitch of course, but also in how Jane Drew proves herself to be the true hero of the story - simply by being her brave, kind self. Her normal self is her best self; a wonderful way to be.
I particularly enjoyed the portrait of Greenwitch as a petulant and very dangerous elemental being subject to its own seething, unpredictable nature. A kind of child, but one that cannot be bullied - only swayed, with kindness. The confrontation between Greenwitch and a rogue agent of the Dark was riveting. Some people really shouldn't sass the Green, let alone try to boss them around. They might find themselves trapped and tormented on a ghost ship until the end of time. Oops, spoiler alert!
Overall, one of the lesser volumes in the series, but still a fascinating and resonant experience.
This middle volume of Cooper's wonderful series is the second and last to center on the Drew siblings, "the three from the track". Three cheerful, curious, and often very excitable kids who never wore out their welcome. Yay for the Drews! See you all again in book five.
I really liked watching eerie series protagonist Will Stanton through their eyes. All of the little moments when they catch him acting like he's much older than his actual age or hiding his powers were fun and also, well, eerie. Especially that surprising moment when he just up and runs off of a cliff. Odd kid, that Will.
Cooper's focus on a Wild Green Magic that exists outside of the Light and the Dark was thoughtful and compelling. She gives the pre-Christian pagan forces of nature their proper due and I loved how she made those forces indomitable, beyond the control of either the legions of good or ill. Neither good nor bad intentions matter to Nature. Nature will do Nature, and that's that, thanks for playing. Women are also centralized in a way that I don't recall seeing much of in the other books (besides the final moments of the last book): in the pagan ritual that creates the Greenwitch of course, but also in how Jane Drew proves herself to be the true hero of the story - simply by being her brave, kind self. Her normal self is her best self; a wonderful way to be.
I particularly enjoyed the portrait of Greenwitch as a petulant and very dangerous elemental being subject to its own seething, unpredictable nature. A kind of child, but one that cannot be bullied - only swayed, with kindness. The confrontation between Greenwitch and a rogue agent of the Dark was riveting. Some people really shouldn't sass the Green, let alone try to boss them around. They might find themselves trapped and tormented on a ghost ship until the end of time. Oops, spoiler alert!
Overall, one of the lesser volumes in the series, but still a fascinating and resonant experience.
January 14, 2016
Greenwitch is the shortest book of the sequence, and yet that doesn’t mean that little happens. It’s perhaps the most densely packed with symbolism and meaning and mythology that you just can’t get a handle on: the drowned man, the ship going inland, Roger Toms, the Wild Magic… This book, to me, emphasises the aspects of this sequence which are otherworldly and quite beyond the human characters, even while the humanity of those characters plays a huge part. It is Jane’s human kindness which wins the day, in the end. But she’s meeting a world which is wild and amoral and strange to her, with rules that make no sense to her.
It’s also, once again, great on human interaction: the pettiness of Barney and Simon toward the intruder, Will, and Jane’s attempts to bridge the two worlds. More out of a sense that that’s the girl’s job, perhaps, than because she has any genuine interest in Will for himself. Jane is the most reluctant of the Six — right now I’m wondering a little if that’s because she’s the only female character. I hope not, but there are so many scenes where she’s timid, more afraid than the boys… But at the same time, she also has a different understanding of the world, and a deeper view on things. She’s the one who can see the Greenwitch for the lonely creature it is, the one who can see Will for the strange being he has become. Which might, again, be rooted in gender, but I don’t think it’s any kind of simple binary. Which is a relief.
The writing is, as with the other books, very fine: there are some excellent set-pieces, for example when Will and Merriman travel beneath the sea to meet Tethys, or Jane looking out over the harbour — even the descriptions of the caravan.
I’m probably way ahead of the TDiR Readathon now. Always happens! And it means you still have the opportunity to join in…
Originally posted here.
It’s also, once again, great on human interaction: the pettiness of Barney and Simon toward the intruder, Will, and Jane’s attempts to bridge the two worlds. More out of a sense that that’s the girl’s job, perhaps, than because she has any genuine interest in Will for himself. Jane is the most reluctant of the Six — right now I’m wondering a little if that’s because she’s the only female character. I hope not, but there are so many scenes where she’s timid, more afraid than the boys… But at the same time, she also has a different understanding of the world, and a deeper view on things. She’s the one who can see the Greenwitch for the lonely creature it is, the one who can see Will for the strange being he has become. Which might, again, be rooted in gender, but I don’t think it’s any kind of simple binary. Which is a relief.
The writing is, as with the other books, very fine: there are some excellent set-pieces, for example when Will and Merriman travel beneath the sea to meet Tethys, or Jane looking out over the harbour — even the descriptions of the caravan.
I’m probably way ahead of the TDiR Readathon now. Always happens! And it means you still have the opportunity to join in…
Originally posted here.
June 12, 2024
In this 3rd installment of the series Will meets the siblings from book 1!
It was a curious jump from one set of MCs to the other (from book 1 to book 2) but it all came together nicely in this volume. As it turns out, Will is actually related to Simon, Jane and Barnaby (kinda) AND they all know "uncle Merri" (I mean, we all know by now that he's actually ). Oh, the sly old fox!
Anyway, the grail the Drew children so heroically found before the forces of Darkness has been stolen! To see if something can be done about it, they return to the seaside where a mysterious ritual is being performed that only the girls and women of the village may witness. This is where Jane makes a wish ... and as we all know, wishes have consequences!
I've said it before but it bears repeating: I LOVE the incorporation of British folklore and mythology in this series and the spells and rituals that were therefore created by the author. Here, I especially loved this one:
When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back;
Three from the circle, three from the track;
Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone;
Five will return, and one go alone.
Iron for the birthday, bronze carried long;
Wood from the burning, stone out of song;
Fire in the candle-ring, water from the thaw;
Six Signs the circle, and the grail gone before.
Fire on the mountain shall find the harp of gold
Played to wake the Sleepers, oldest of the old;
Power from the green witch, lost beneath the sea;
All shall find the light at last, silver on the tree.
Absolutely gorgeous.
The prose, the adventure, the characters - all was as wonderful as in the previous book(s). I can't wait to see the rest of the quest!
It was a curious jump from one set of MCs to the other (from book 1 to book 2) but it all came together nicely in this volume. As it turns out, Will is actually related to Simon, Jane and Barnaby (kinda) AND they all know "uncle Merri" (I mean, we all know by now that he's actually ). Oh, the sly old fox!
Anyway, the grail the Drew children so heroically found before the forces of Darkness has been stolen! To see if something can be done about it, they return to the seaside where a mysterious ritual is being performed that only the girls and women of the village may witness. This is where Jane makes a wish ... and as we all know, wishes have consequences!
I've said it before but it bears repeating: I LOVE the incorporation of British folklore and mythology in this series and the spells and rituals that were therefore created by the author. Here, I especially loved this one:
When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back;
Three from the circle, three from the track;
Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone;
Five will return, and one go alone.
Iron for the birthday, bronze carried long;
Wood from the burning, stone out of song;
Fire in the candle-ring, water from the thaw;
Six Signs the circle, and the grail gone before.
Fire on the mountain shall find the harp of gold
Played to wake the Sleepers, oldest of the old;
Power from the green witch, lost beneath the sea;
All shall find the light at last, silver on the tree.
Absolutely gorgeous.
The prose, the adventure, the characters - all was as wonderful as in the previous book(s). I can't wait to see the rest of the quest!
June 13, 2013
Re-read June 2013
I'm noticing this time around how clever Cooper is to show these events through the Drews' eyes, rather than Will's. The second book was of Will discovering and growing into his power; now we see him fully grown, as it were, relaxed and confident in his role as Old One, and the Drew children's outside perspective on him is invaluable. When he coolly deflects Simon's boyish attempts to quarrel, the way he treats Merriman as a peer--in the previous book, from Will's own point of view, these would seem perfectly natural. But when we see them through a normal human child's eyes, we are reminded of how alien, and how remarkable, he is.
There is a similar sense of second-hand witness to many of the supernatural elements of the story--rather than a straightforward confrontation, we get the children's puzzled perception of events as they peep at them from around a corner. Even the scene which concerns them directly--the scrying--is not narrated as it happens; we, like Barney and the others, must wait for Simon's story to find out what really happened in that caravan. I love how Cooper uses this delayed or relayed satisfaction to increase the mystery and awe. The ghostly ship is so much more chilling when seen incredulously from Jane's bedroom window, rather than impassively from some windswept cliff where horrors are to be expected.
Note on the sound recording: narrator is ok--not the best, but not distracting from the story--but he apparently can't decide what part of America the Stantons are supposed to be from; their accent wanders obnoxiously over the map. Fortunately they don't do much talking. I can't speak to the Cornish accent, but he does differentiate well between Simon and Barney's voices, which is helpful.
______________________________________
Beautiful, haunting, and gloriously inventive. Some have complained of the plotting or pacing in this book, but my only complaint is that it didn't last longer. Despite the brevity, however, it doesn't feel rushed--Susan Cooper ends it on exactly the right note, a sigh of relief mingled with just a touch of melancholy and a final surprising burst of wonder.
When it comes to spectacle and sheer blessed creativity, this one far overpasses anything Cooper had done before. Sure, there may not be as much action-adventure as the previous books--but ohmygollygracious, that scrying scene! painting spells! Tethys! the haunting! Reading this, there was hardly a moment when my toes weren't curling and my eyes bugging with delight.
And then, of course, there's the eponymous Greenwitch. I'm not sure what I was expecting it to be--given the cover art on my copy, I think I was expecting something like Treebeard. Certainly I couldn't have imagined this wild, changeful, childish hurricane of a being--and not to spoil the effect for new readers, that's all I'll say--but I absolutely adored it, and the Tolkien-esque infusion of sadness Cooper managed to give it.
A gorgous, spellbinding addition to the cycle, which seems to be getting better and better with each book. I look forward eagerly to diving into the next one.
I'm noticing this time around how clever Cooper is to show these events through the Drews' eyes, rather than Will's. The second book was of Will discovering and growing into his power; now we see him fully grown, as it were, relaxed and confident in his role as Old One, and the Drew children's outside perspective on him is invaluable. When he coolly deflects Simon's boyish attempts to quarrel, the way he treats Merriman as a peer--in the previous book, from Will's own point of view, these would seem perfectly natural. But when we see them through a normal human child's eyes, we are reminded of how alien, and how remarkable, he is.
There is a similar sense of second-hand witness to many of the supernatural elements of the story--rather than a straightforward confrontation, we get the children's puzzled perception of events as they peep at them from around a corner. Even the scene which concerns them directly--the scrying--is not narrated as it happens; we, like Barney and the others, must wait for Simon's story to find out what really happened in that caravan. I love how Cooper uses this delayed or relayed satisfaction to increase the mystery and awe. The ghostly ship is so much more chilling when seen incredulously from Jane's bedroom window, rather than impassively from some windswept cliff where horrors are to be expected.
Note on the sound recording: narrator is ok--not the best, but not distracting from the story--but he apparently can't decide what part of America the Stantons are supposed to be from; their accent wanders obnoxiously over the map. Fortunately they don't do much talking. I can't speak to the Cornish accent, but he does differentiate well between Simon and Barney's voices, which is helpful.
______________________________________
Beautiful, haunting, and gloriously inventive. Some have complained of the plotting or pacing in this book, but my only complaint is that it didn't last longer. Despite the brevity, however, it doesn't feel rushed--Susan Cooper ends it on exactly the right note, a sigh of relief mingled with just a touch of melancholy and a final surprising burst of wonder.
When it comes to spectacle and sheer blessed creativity, this one far overpasses anything Cooper had done before. Sure, there may not be as much action-adventure as the previous books--but ohmygollygracious, that scrying scene! painting spells! Tethys! the haunting! Reading this, there was hardly a moment when my toes weren't curling and my eyes bugging with delight.
And then, of course, there's the eponymous Greenwitch. I'm not sure what I was expecting it to be--given the cover art on my copy, I think I was expecting something like Treebeard. Certainly I couldn't have imagined this wild, changeful, childish hurricane of a being--and not to spoil the effect for new readers, that's all I'll say--but I absolutely adored it, and the Tolkien-esque infusion of sadness Cooper managed to give it.
A gorgous, spellbinding addition to the cycle, which seems to be getting better and better with each book. I look forward eagerly to diving into the next one.
February 3, 2020
In this third book in the Dark is Rising series, the protagonists from book one meet the protagonist from book two and things start coming together. This is another solid entry to the series and I’m still loving every minute of it. It’s certainly helping to take my mind off my torn rotator cuff...
December 13, 2009
I'm probably becoming repetitive with my reviews of this sequence. Parts of this book, especially the descriptions, are just glorious and perfect. I think of it as the book that focuses more on Jane, too, which is always interesting as she's the only real key female character. It also contains one of my favourite scenes/images from the sequence: Barney scrying.
There are some very interesting newer concepts introduced in this book. We've already met the Wild Magic, in a sense, in the form of Herne the Hunter, but the Greenwitch really personifies it. We also get to see Will growing into his power a lot more. He's still a boy, in some ways, but we get a more outside perspective of him so we see the part of him that is more than that shining through his boyishness. It's really interesting to see him through the eyes of the Drews.
It's also interesting to see the Drews drawn further into the deeper parts of the plot. It's always strange to me to realise how little they know. The characterisation of them is brilliant -- they're such ordinary kids, so resentful of another kid "interfering".
My only real complaint about Greenwitch is how short it is. I want more. There really isn't much action in this book and while I like it a lot, it feels somewhat lacking in climax.
Reread in December 2009. Struck most, this time, by the description of the haunting of Trewissick. I wanted to know so much more about it -- who the drowned man was, what the ship was doing...
There are some very interesting newer concepts introduced in this book. We've already met the Wild Magic, in a sense, in the form of Herne the Hunter, but the Greenwitch really personifies it. We also get to see Will growing into his power a lot more. He's still a boy, in some ways, but we get a more outside perspective of him so we see the part of him that is more than that shining through his boyishness. It's really interesting to see him through the eyes of the Drews.
It's also interesting to see the Drews drawn further into the deeper parts of the plot. It's always strange to me to realise how little they know. The characterisation of them is brilliant -- they're such ordinary kids, so resentful of another kid "interfering".
My only real complaint about Greenwitch is how short it is. I want more. There really isn't much action in this book and while I like it a lot, it feels somewhat lacking in climax.
Reread in December 2009. Struck most, this time, by the description of the haunting of Trewissick. I wanted to know so much more about it -- who the drowned man was, what the ship was doing...
May 15, 2024
This one really is very odd. These first books are very episodic, sort of setting up the final battle, and this one in particular is like, "Then this happened, as it had to, before we get to the real meaty part of the adventure." Also, it just highlights what I've always thought, Simon is a total DICK. I mean, he's already super bossy to his siblings, and gets whiny and jealous if they dare to do something he wanted to do, but now Will's here, and from the first minute he was like, "Let's destroy him emotionally so that he leaves and never comes back." UGH. The WORST.
January 1, 2020
I do believe this was the second time I’ve read this. I know I read it when I was young, but not since. I do think Susan Cooper’s Dark is Rising sequence is one of the best fantasy series written. This one is set by the sea in Cornwall again. The Grail which Simon, Jane and Barney discovered months before has been stolen. Great Uncle Merry takes them to Cornwall again where they meet Will Stanton. Of course they think Will is a boy but we know that Will is the last born of the Old Ones.
There is a wild beauty to this that I loved, and the aching loneliness of the Greenwitch. I’m so glad I’ve been reading this series again.
I was struck by the amount of freedom that the Drew children and Will have to explore in these books. Compared to the over scheduled lives of children today they spend most of their time alone, away from supervising adults. My own childhood was like that, and I think we were better for it.
There is a wild beauty to this that I loved, and the aching loneliness of the Greenwitch. I’m so glad I’ve been reading this series again.
I was struck by the amount of freedom that the Drew children and Will have to explore in these books. Compared to the over scheduled lives of children today they spend most of their time alone, away from supervising adults. My own childhood was like that, and I think we were better for it.
Read
December 28, 2022While I’ve given up any pretence of trying to catch up with the readalong of the wonderful Dark is Rising sequence hosted by Annabelle at AnnaBookBel, I am of course continuing to read the books, which I am enjoying very much. This will however, be the last of the books I will be able to review this year.
Greenwitch (1974), the third of the five books in the sequence, brings the threads from the previous two books together as Drew children and Will Stanton, the last of the ‘old ones’ work with each other (even if the former don’t quite know it) to recover some treasures from the Dark. In Over Sea, Under Stone, the three Drew children, Simon, Jane and Barney while on holiday in Trewissick, a fictional Cornish village had come across a strange manuscript in the Grey House, where they were staying, and with help from their Great Uncle Merry had recovered a grail, one of the Things of Power that the forces of Light must use in their fight against the Dark. In The Dark is Rising, we met Will Stanton, the seventh son of a seventh son, who discovers on his eleventh birthday, that he is no ordinary boy but the last of the ‘old ones’ charged with finding the six signs of Light and thereafter has a role in the fight against the Dark.
As Greenwitch opens, we learn that the grail that the Drew children had recovered and donated to the British Museum has been stolen. The children are naturally upset, but then are pleased to learn from Great Uncle Merry that they will spend a week again at Trewissick and attempt to recover it. Alongside, Will Stanton’s uncle who is on a visit from the United States, invites Will to spend a week with him and his wife at Cornwall—there they will be staying with his friend Merriman Lyon and his nephews and niece. And so it happens that the Drew children and Will Stanton come to stay in twin cottages at Trewissick. The Drews aren’t too pleased with Will’s presence, and Simon and Barney at least plan to get rid of him while Jane wishes to at least be polite. The Drews aren’t to be told who Will really is, but Jane soon begins to catch on. Meanwhile at Trewissick, an annual ritual, the night of the Greenwitch is to be celebrated. The tradition involves a ‘Greenwitch’ woven out of leaves and stems by only the women of the village and then sent ‘home’ to the sea by the menfolk the next morning. Jane alone can attend, being the only girl among them, and Uncle Merry asks her to pay special attention. But a strange dark-haired artist is hanging around in the village making attractive paintings but ones which give out powerful and sinister vibes. He, it seems, also doesn’t want the children (or the old ones) to approach the Greenwitch who is holding a secret they must access. The Drew children with limited knowledge, and Merriman, Will and another of the old ones, Captain Toms, must battle this representative of the Dark and also face greater and more dangerous powers as they attempt to recover the grail and uncover the secret of the Greenwitch.
Greenwitch is an enjoyable and interesting entry in the sequence, a quest story with elements of fantasy, magic, mythology, folklore and legend. The story takes us between fantasy and ‘reality’, part of it also unfolding in a dreamy space, where time isn’t flowing in its usual course, and past and present blend.
In the book while Simon, Jane and Barney are ordinary humans, who are in a sense ‘protected’ from the truth of the old ones, and the full extent of the fight being Dark and Light, they all play important roles without which even the Light can’t defeat the Dark. Simon uses his memory and wits while Barney has powers that even he isn’t himself aware of, besides his artistic skills, now emerging. But of the three Jane, perhaps, surprises us the most. She is the first one who is able to see that Will isn’t quite the 11-year-old boy he appears to be (and even before this, it is her first who wants to be kind to him, where the others simply wish to avoid him) and it is her compassion, sensitivity and kind heart that do what no one else can.
The Greenwitch herself, is however, the most intriguing character in the book—compelling, complex; ostensibly just a figure woven out of branches and leaves, an offering of sorts to the sea, she is one that defies definition or categorization. She is unique, ‘hypnotic … (with) no she quality … unclassifiable, like a rock or a tree’, and also extremely powerful
this silent image held within it more power than she had ever sensed before in any creature or thing. Thunder and storms and earthquakes were there, and all the force of the earth and sea. It was outside Time, boundless, ageless, beyond any line drawn between good and evil.
And yet, an unhappy figure with a home at sea may be, but also without anyone or thing she sees as her own; everyone only wanting something from her. And it is this strange, vulnerable, yet mighty figure whose secret the old ones need; and the key lies in unexpected quarters indeed.
Compared to the previous two books, the feeling of danger in this one isn’t ever present, yet we certainly have unsettling moments—be it in the strange artist’s curious paintings that have unexpected power as does the art decorating his caravan, to the uncanny image of the Greenwitch and the feeling it inspires, or the formidable forces even the old ones must face as they carry out their quest. And then there are the eerie elements, a dreamy space where time isn’t quite stable and also spaces or rather periods of time where magic is at work and its objects unaware they have even been touched.
Thoroughly enjoying my first visit of this wonderfully written and engrossing fantasy series!
4.5 stars
Greenwitch (1974), the third of the five books in the sequence, brings the threads from the previous two books together as Drew children and Will Stanton, the last of the ‘old ones’ work with each other (even if the former don’t quite know it) to recover some treasures from the Dark. In Over Sea, Under Stone, the three Drew children, Simon, Jane and Barney while on holiday in Trewissick, a fictional Cornish village had come across a strange manuscript in the Grey House, where they were staying, and with help from their Great Uncle Merry had recovered a grail, one of the Things of Power that the forces of Light must use in their fight against the Dark. In The Dark is Rising, we met Will Stanton, the seventh son of a seventh son, who discovers on his eleventh birthday, that he is no ordinary boy but the last of the ‘old ones’ charged with finding the six signs of Light and thereafter has a role in the fight against the Dark.
As Greenwitch opens, we learn that the grail that the Drew children had recovered and donated to the British Museum has been stolen. The children are naturally upset, but then are pleased to learn from Great Uncle Merry that they will spend a week again at Trewissick and attempt to recover it. Alongside, Will Stanton’s uncle who is on a visit from the United States, invites Will to spend a week with him and his wife at Cornwall—there they will be staying with his friend Merriman Lyon and his nephews and niece. And so it happens that the Drew children and Will Stanton come to stay in twin cottages at Trewissick. The Drews aren’t too pleased with Will’s presence, and Simon and Barney at least plan to get rid of him while Jane wishes to at least be polite. The Drews aren’t to be told who Will really is, but Jane soon begins to catch on. Meanwhile at Trewissick, an annual ritual, the night of the Greenwitch is to be celebrated. The tradition involves a ‘Greenwitch’ woven out of leaves and stems by only the women of the village and then sent ‘home’ to the sea by the menfolk the next morning. Jane alone can attend, being the only girl among them, and Uncle Merry asks her to pay special attention. But a strange dark-haired artist is hanging around in the village making attractive paintings but ones which give out powerful and sinister vibes. He, it seems, also doesn’t want the children (or the old ones) to approach the Greenwitch who is holding a secret they must access. The Drew children with limited knowledge, and Merriman, Will and another of the old ones, Captain Toms, must battle this representative of the Dark and also face greater and more dangerous powers as they attempt to recover the grail and uncover the secret of the Greenwitch.
Greenwitch is an enjoyable and interesting entry in the sequence, a quest story with elements of fantasy, magic, mythology, folklore and legend. The story takes us between fantasy and ‘reality’, part of it also unfolding in a dreamy space, where time isn’t flowing in its usual course, and past and present blend.
In the book while Simon, Jane and Barney are ordinary humans, who are in a sense ‘protected’ from the truth of the old ones, and the full extent of the fight being Dark and Light, they all play important roles without which even the Light can’t defeat the Dark. Simon uses his memory and wits while Barney has powers that even he isn’t himself aware of, besides his artistic skills, now emerging. But of the three Jane, perhaps, surprises us the most. She is the first one who is able to see that Will isn’t quite the 11-year-old boy he appears to be (and even before this, it is her first who wants to be kind to him, where the others simply wish to avoid him) and it is her compassion, sensitivity and kind heart that do what no one else can.
The Greenwitch herself, is however, the most intriguing character in the book—compelling, complex; ostensibly just a figure woven out of branches and leaves, an offering of sorts to the sea, she is one that defies definition or categorization. She is unique, ‘hypnotic … (with) no she quality … unclassifiable, like a rock or a tree’, and also extremely powerful
this silent image held within it more power than she had ever sensed before in any creature or thing. Thunder and storms and earthquakes were there, and all the force of the earth and sea. It was outside Time, boundless, ageless, beyond any line drawn between good and evil.
And yet, an unhappy figure with a home at sea may be, but also without anyone or thing she sees as her own; everyone only wanting something from her. And it is this strange, vulnerable, yet mighty figure whose secret the old ones need; and the key lies in unexpected quarters indeed.
Compared to the previous two books, the feeling of danger in this one isn’t ever present, yet we certainly have unsettling moments—be it in the strange artist’s curious paintings that have unexpected power as does the art decorating his caravan, to the uncanny image of the Greenwitch and the feeling it inspires, or the formidable forces even the old ones must face as they carry out their quest. And then there are the eerie elements, a dreamy space where time isn’t quite stable and also spaces or rather periods of time where magic is at work and its objects unaware they have even been touched.
Thoroughly enjoying my first visit of this wonderfully written and engrossing fantasy series!
4.5 stars
September 23, 2013
Greenwitch is the third in Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series. It unites the protagonists of the previous two books. Will Stanton meets Barney, Simon, and Jane. Together, they foil the latest plot of the Dark, which involves stealing a secret artifact from the Greenwitch. This entity is a construct of twigs and leaves built by the women of Trewissick in an elaborate, night-long ceremony. They assemble the Greenwitch, then the men of the village cast it over the cliff and into the sea below. This is supposed to bring renewal for the fisherman. But the Greenwitch has the secret that will decipher the Grail, and things are more complicated.
My critiques of this book are quite similar to how I felt about the previous books. Cooper writes well considering her audience; I can understand how children would be captivated by the types of danger that Simon, Barney, and Jane face. (Will still kind of bores me.) Nevertheless, the level of conflict and sense of peril remains steady for most of the book. We never learn what the terrible consequences might be if the Dark retrieves the secret. As with previous books, the Gandalf-like figure of Merriman haunts the outskirts of the pages, dispensing vague advice, like “Beware the Greenwitch”. It’s up to the children to muddle through as best they can, skirmishing here and there with an ancient of the Dark.
I’m confused by Will’s presence. It seems like he’s only there to receive the message deciphered from the Grail at the end of the book—I can’t think of anything else he does that is instrumental or that any of the Drews could not do themselves. If that’s his only reason for being there, it’s not a very good one. This character was good enough to shoulder the burden of sole protagonist during the previous book in the series, but here he fades into the background, because Cooper doesn’t give him that much to do.
The Drews aren’t that much better off, mind you. Though they have a little more in the way of an "adventure", there is less time dedicated towards showcasing their prodigious problem-solving skills. In general, Greenwitch seems rushed. It’s a short book, so if Cooper had paced it more slowly and given the plot more bulk, I don’t think it would have suffered for length.
Nothing about Greenwitch grabs me and makes me want to think about it in more depth or ruminate on the adventures these children have. Though technically well-crafted, it just lacks that spark that makes it noteworthy compared to all the other novels of its ilk out there. It’s a good example that it’s not enough to be able to write a good story; there need to be elements that stand out.
My reviews of the Dark is Rising sequence:
←The Dark is Rising | The Grey King →
My critiques of this book are quite similar to how I felt about the previous books. Cooper writes well considering her audience; I can understand how children would be captivated by the types of danger that Simon, Barney, and Jane face. (Will still kind of bores me.) Nevertheless, the level of conflict and sense of peril remains steady for most of the book. We never learn what the terrible consequences might be if the Dark retrieves the secret. As with previous books, the Gandalf-like figure of Merriman haunts the outskirts of the pages, dispensing vague advice, like “Beware the Greenwitch”. It’s up to the children to muddle through as best they can, skirmishing here and there with an ancient of the Dark.
I’m confused by Will’s presence. It seems like he’s only there to receive the message deciphered from the Grail at the end of the book—I can’t think of anything else he does that is instrumental or that any of the Drews could not do themselves. If that’s his only reason for being there, it’s not a very good one. This character was good enough to shoulder the burden of sole protagonist during the previous book in the series, but here he fades into the background, because Cooper doesn’t give him that much to do.
The Drews aren’t that much better off, mind you. Though they have a little more in the way of an "adventure", there is less time dedicated towards showcasing their prodigious problem-solving skills. In general, Greenwitch seems rushed. It’s a short book, so if Cooper had paced it more slowly and given the plot more bulk, I don’t think it would have suffered for length.
Nothing about Greenwitch grabs me and makes me want to think about it in more depth or ruminate on the adventures these children have. Though technically well-crafted, it just lacks that spark that makes it noteworthy compared to all the other novels of its ilk out there. It’s a good example that it’s not enough to be able to write a good story; there need to be elements that stand out.
My reviews of the Dark is Rising sequence:
←The Dark is Rising | The Grey King →
June 19, 2022
Marvellous storytelling of the first order! If I had come across this series as a child I would have curled up in a quiet corner and read all day, surfacing only for meals!
Next one already on order at the library!
Next one already on order at the library!
March 6, 2022
I needed a book to fill a hideous cover bingo square. This one fit the bill. Good book, ugly ass cover.
August 22, 2025
I don't know how Cooper did it, but she consistently infused this series with a sense of raw legend, the stuff folk traditions and mythology is made of, while maintaining a sense of awe and childlike wonder.
I was slightly disappointed with how reliant this book is on Over Sea, Under Stone because I had hoped one could simply start reading this series with The Dark Is Rising, because I found the first book rather dull. Who names a series after its second book, anyway? Fortunately, here the children of the first book are given stronger roles and there is much less need for detailed geographic and landscape depictions. It certainly helps that the book is half the length of the two prior.
The integration of art, primal forces, Old Ones and regular kids, two books' casts, folklore, and a commitment to giving each character a moment to shine, made the whole thing magical.
I still don't think today's children will go for this, though.
I was slightly disappointed with how reliant this book is on Over Sea, Under Stone because I had hoped one could simply start reading this series with The Dark Is Rising, because I found the first book rather dull. Who names a series after its second book, anyway? Fortunately, here the children of the first book are given stronger roles and there is much less need for detailed geographic and landscape depictions. It certainly helps that the book is half the length of the two prior.
The integration of art, primal forces, Old Ones and regular kids, two books' casts, folklore, and a commitment to giving each character a moment to shine, made the whole thing magical.
I still don't think today's children will go for this, though.
December 23, 2013
Greenwitch isn't really my favourite book of the series, though it is the one with the most mystery -- I wonder a lot about the background mythology, the legends of Cornwall that the Greenwitch brings to life and what lies behind each glimpse of part of a story. It occurred to me last night while reading that maybe Susan Cooper has come closer than Tolkien to a "mythology for England". Granted, he's closer if you're looking at England as "the land under the rule of the Anglo-Saxons", but Cooper has touched on the legends of the land, the real stories that matter, rather than inventing a quest and a ring. Her quests come organically out of the mythology she's using, and the places where she joins on her own are pretty seamless.
(Tolkien has created a world of his own, I think, and people often put too much emphasis on the "mythology for England" stuff. I don't mean to do that: whether or not he meant to achieve that, what he achieved in the end was great. I just think the idea of a mythology for England is maybe actually achieved by Cooper.)
Greenwitch also features one of the things I love most about this series -- the characters. They're people. Simon and Barney are good-hearted boys who get jealous and possessive when another boy of a similar age seems to encroach on their time and their friends. Captain Toms, an Old One of the Light, gets laid low by gout. And I liked that the Dark is personified in a single character, this one time -- not as the tide of the Dark, but as a single man of the Dark. We see hints of individuality there; his bitterness when he says "I have no friends", his genuine artistic talent. It's another of those moments where I think the black/white Dark/Light dichotomy cracks a little.
There are also some gorgeous passages in this book about the beauty and danger of the sea, the amoral and uncaring world of the Wild magic (and then, again, that hint of the Greenwitch as a child, as a lonely creation in need of something to hold on to, of kindness).
(Tolkien has created a world of his own, I think, and people often put too much emphasis on the "mythology for England" stuff. I don't mean to do that: whether or not he meant to achieve that, what he achieved in the end was great. I just think the idea of a mythology for England is maybe actually achieved by Cooper.)
Greenwitch also features one of the things I love most about this series -- the characters. They're people. Simon and Barney are good-hearted boys who get jealous and possessive when another boy of a similar age seems to encroach on their time and their friends. Captain Toms, an Old One of the Light, gets laid low by gout. And I liked that the Dark is personified in a single character, this one time -- not as the tide of the Dark, but as a single man of the Dark. We see hints of individuality there; his bitterness when he says "I have no friends", his genuine artistic talent. It's another of those moments where I think the black/white Dark/Light dichotomy cracks a little.
There are also some gorgeous passages in this book about the beauty and danger of the sea, the amoral and uncaring world of the Wild magic (and then, again, that hint of the Greenwitch as a child, as a lonely creation in need of something to hold on to, of kindness).
November 27, 2023
I read Over Sea, Under Stone several years ago and didn't like it, but I've been intrigued this series since coming across it (repeatedly, but never in the right reading order) in the library as a child. So I picked up Greenwitch and The Grey King and I'm glad I did.
I can't say I understood what was going on in the broad scope of the setting beyond the story - I suspect going back to read the second book would help - but the immediate adventure was intriguing and calmly absorbing. The suggestion that certain ancient pagan traditions, like the making of the Greenwitch, might have older significances, unknown to the Druidic and other religions that adopted them and glossed them with unrelated creeds, is a bountiful idea. Someday I'll need to start the series over and see if I can't figure out what the underlying coherence is. Greenwitch and The Grey King point at coherence and a definite world, while Over Sea, Under Stone did not.
I can't say I understood what was going on in the broad scope of the setting beyond the story - I suspect going back to read the second book would help - but the immediate adventure was intriguing and calmly absorbing. The suggestion that certain ancient pagan traditions, like the making of the Greenwitch, might have older significances, unknown to the Druidic and other religions that adopted them and glossed them with unrelated creeds, is a bountiful idea. Someday I'll need to start the series over and see if I can't figure out what the underlying coherence is. Greenwitch and The Grey King point at coherence and a definite world, while Over Sea, Under Stone did not.
November 28, 2015
Haunting little book in the middle of Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" sequence. A young girl is swept up in ritual and myth as she watches Cornish village women construct and cast into the sea a "greenwitch"; a propitiatory straw and seashell sculpture. Very neo-pagan and steeped in British folkloric custom; I felt a strong desire to reread this after watching an episode of "Poldark" where the Cornishwomen are awaiting the annual running of the pilchard, but alas my copy has been lost to downsizing.
November 3, 2020
This was an excellent bridge to set up the rest of the series. I LOVE Susan Cooper’s comfort with various mythologies as well as her character development. For example, the Drew children are heroic but suitably treated like children! Fabulous! And I think I have a literary crush on Will Stanton; I’ll let you know as the series continues. Overall, this was a very enjoyable adventure.
January 29, 2012
Not my favourite book of this sequence, but fun nonetheless -- mostly because of the clash of characters. Barney and Simon's outrage at another boy intruding into their special relationship with Merriman, and their special quest, is just so human and believable. And there's nothing that demonstrates Will's strangeness as well as his refusal to quarrel with them, his adult and distant attitude.
I think the other great thing about this one is the atmosphere. Once the Greenwitch enters the equation, you do start to get a sense of oppressiveness and fear. And I like that Cooper doesn't explain everything: the drowned man remains mysterious, the old hauntings of Cornwall/Trewissick aren't fully explained.
There's also some marvellous prose, like in the section where Will and Merriman dive down to speak to Tethys.
I think the other great thing about this one is the atmosphere. Once the Greenwitch enters the equation, you do start to get a sense of oppressiveness and fear. And I like that Cooper doesn't explain everything: the drowned man remains mysterious, the old hauntings of Cornwall/Trewissick aren't fully explained.
There's also some marvellous prose, like in the section where Will and Merriman dive down to speak to Tethys.
September 5, 2020
Опасности в этой книге, как и во второй, кажутся ненастоящими. Пока слушал книгу, я ни разу не подумал: "а попробуйте-ка из этой передряги выбраться". И еще как-то неэпично, особенно в сравнении с событиями второй части.
Зато в этой книге есть Саймон, Джейн и Барнабас(!). Это шаг в верном направлении, потому что Уилл похож на дохлую селедку.
Кстати, на русском серия называется "Восход тьмы". Красиво.
Зато в этой книге есть Саймон, Джейн и Барнабас(!). Это шаг в верном направлении, потому что Уилл похож на дохлую селедку.
Кстати, на русском серия называется "Восход тьмы". Красиво.
April 30, 2024
3.5 stars.
This was a very good read, but a bit flatter than the previous book in the series. But it was really cool to see all the characters again. Well written and very cozy, but extremely short. Very good book! Looking forward to the next one!
This was a very good read, but a bit flatter than the previous book in the series. But it was really cool to see all the characters again. Well written and very cozy, but extremely short. Very good book! Looking forward to the next one!
September 25, 2020
This is a book with magic in its pages, its phrases, its words. There were moments when my neck hairs rose, especially during the making of the Greenwitch, and times when I was transported by the sheer poetry within a paragraph or passage. If this short novel in Susan Cooper's five-book fantasy sequence occasionally feels poised between revelation and resolution, that's no doubt because it's the middle book in the series: it's here where earlier strands become more intertwined but where we can't yet see the whole picture. But to me it's the quality of the writing which holds the attention, and because Greenwitch is virtually a novella in length I think its brevity works in its favour, making the story more intense.
As the novel opens we realise it's the Easter after the events in Over Sea, Under Stone (published in 1965), with news of the theft of the so-called Trewissick grail from the British Museum where it had been donated by its finders the Drew children Simon, Jane and Barney. Before they can get too het up over the relic's disappearance relatives get in touch offering them a holiday break in south Cornwall, at the fishing village where their adventures had all begun.
Coincidentally -- or perhaps it isn't a matter of coincidence -- young Will Stanton, whom we met in The Dark is Rising (1973) and who is more than he at first seems, is invited by Merriman Lyon, the Drew children's great uncle, to take the next step in the conflict against the Dark, which of course will take them down to that Cornish village where the Drews are now already ensconced. Naturally their hackles are raised by the appearance of a strange boy, especially one who doesn't appear to mind their natural suspicion or quiet antagonism. But soon all will have their attention focused on the strange artist at work down by the harbour.
The figure of the title is an effigy made overnight by the women of Trewissick out of branches and greenery. This ceremonial weaving at Easter (mid April, and so probably in a notional 1965) is akin to many seasonal customs held in this southwestern peninsula -- such as Padstow, Combe Martin and Minehead -- mostly in May and featuring a hobby horse; but none have a female effigy as a focus. Jane is honoured as the only non-local witnessing the making, during which personal requests are offered to the uncanny Greenwitch. Jane's sympathetic and charitable gesture -- wishing the sculpture happiness rather than asking for a personal boon -- sets in train a set of events which affect the outcome of the looming crisis.
Saying much more about events would give too much of the plot away, so it's probably then best to talk about more general impressions -- and those impressions are overwhelmingly positive. Compared to the first book in the series -- which I found overly wordy, doubtless due to it being an early work -- Greenwitch is quite taut and focused. That's not to say that there isn't a lot going on: menace, misunderstandings, mysterious manuscripts, mystical visions, and of course magic all come into play. The author knew how to maintain suspense when she contrasted mundane events with inexplicable happenings, and when she hid some significances from the three Drew children while allowing us readers to see some of the bigger picture otherwise known to the trio of Great Uncle Merry, Will Stanton, and Captain Toms.
This is story that for me is best summed up by that hackneyed term 'haunting'. I retain strong visions of the Greenwitch being constructed like a Green Man or wicker effigy but at dead of night, and knowing that this is women's work and for female eyes alone gives the arcane ritual the kind of antiquity that means its origins are lost to human memory. Its function as an obscure form of community scapegoat, consigned by the village at dawn from high cliffs to the sea as one would a garland of remembrance is oddly moving, even as I know that it is an invention in a work of fiction.
We are invited to empathise with Simon, Jane and Barney who are assured they will be protected from the Dark but who are not so reassured by what they witness; their individuality comes out with Simon's suspicious yet pragmatic nature, Barney's susceptibility to suggestion while retaining an artistic sensitivity, and Jane's own sensitivity to undercurrents of the uncanny. Will aims to receive their grudging acceptance but they all sense he is somehow different, somehow older than his years, and that is hard for them to come to terms with.
Robert Macfarlane's introduction to this edition emphasises the spellbinding qualities of the series which he recognised from his youth and which he appreciates even more now. The spellbinding comes of course from words, from archaic rhymes and from the nature writing, as at the start of Chapter Three, and elsewhere:
More spellbinding, but of a darker nature, comes from the abstract expressionist daubings of the mysterious artist whose several malevolent interactions with the Drews unsettle them and cast a blight on their Easter holiday. I wonder if the abstract expressionism which came to the fore in North America during the Cold War years influenced Susan Cooper to introduce this element here, as the conflict with the Dark that dominates the novel sequence parallels that between East and West during the second half of the twentieth century.
The Arthurian influences -- Grail quest, Merlin, even the hint of ogham writing -- are more muted here than before, but their time will come. It's interesting that in the meeting of the Drews and Will Stanton in Trewissick a couple of motifs coincide. One is that not so far distant, south of Bristol, there is a complex of prehistoric stone monuments at Stanton Drew, reminding us of not only the two family names but also the five 'fingers' of stone on a Trewissick headland. The second is that in Over Sea, Under Stone the village is clearly based on Mevagissey, which is on the south Cornish coast; yet all the details -- sunrise and sunset, the Atlantic rollers, the undersea journey to a mid-oceanic trench -- all point to a setting on the north Cornish coast. It's almost as though this implicit reorientation is designed to anticipate the remaining west-facing episodes of the sequence set in Wales.
But for now, the theme is of voluntary giving, of sacrifice, even as the grail comes closer to their grasp. As the inscription on the gold strip Will makes and gives to Jane, to do as she will with, reads:
One hopes that the Greenwitch will at last be truly happy.
As the novel opens we realise it's the Easter after the events in Over Sea, Under Stone (published in 1965), with news of the theft of the so-called Trewissick grail from the British Museum where it had been donated by its finders the Drew children Simon, Jane and Barney. Before they can get too het up over the relic's disappearance relatives get in touch offering them a holiday break in south Cornwall, at the fishing village where their adventures had all begun.
Coincidentally -- or perhaps it isn't a matter of coincidence -- young Will Stanton, whom we met in The Dark is Rising (1973) and who is more than he at first seems, is invited by Merriman Lyon, the Drew children's great uncle, to take the next step in the conflict against the Dark, which of course will take them down to that Cornish village where the Drews are now already ensconced. Naturally their hackles are raised by the appearance of a strange boy, especially one who doesn't appear to mind their natural suspicion or quiet antagonism. But soon all will have their attention focused on the strange artist at work down by the harbour.
The figure of the title is an effigy made overnight by the women of Trewissick out of branches and greenery. This ceremonial weaving at Easter (mid April, and so probably in a notional 1965) is akin to many seasonal customs held in this southwestern peninsula -- such as Padstow, Combe Martin and Minehead -- mostly in May and featuring a hobby horse; but none have a female effigy as a focus. Jane is honoured as the only non-local witnessing the making, during which personal requests are offered to the uncanny Greenwitch. Jane's sympathetic and charitable gesture -- wishing the sculpture happiness rather than asking for a personal boon -- sets in train a set of events which affect the outcome of the looming crisis.
Saying much more about events would give too much of the plot away, so it's probably then best to talk about more general impressions -- and those impressions are overwhelmingly positive. Compared to the first book in the series -- which I found overly wordy, doubtless due to it being an early work -- Greenwitch is quite taut and focused. That's not to say that there isn't a lot going on: menace, misunderstandings, mysterious manuscripts, mystical visions, and of course magic all come into play. The author knew how to maintain suspense when she contrasted mundane events with inexplicable happenings, and when she hid some significances from the three Drew children while allowing us readers to see some of the bigger picture otherwise known to the trio of Great Uncle Merry, Will Stanton, and Captain Toms.
This is story that for me is best summed up by that hackneyed term 'haunting'. I retain strong visions of the Greenwitch being constructed like a Green Man or wicker effigy but at dead of night, and knowing that this is women's work and for female eyes alone gives the arcane ritual the kind of antiquity that means its origins are lost to human memory. Its function as an obscure form of community scapegoat, consigned by the village at dawn from high cliffs to the sea as one would a garland of remembrance is oddly moving, even as I know that it is an invention in a work of fiction.
We are invited to empathise with Simon, Jane and Barney who are assured they will be protected from the Dark but who are not so reassured by what they witness; their individuality comes out with Simon's suspicious yet pragmatic nature, Barney's susceptibility to suggestion while retaining an artistic sensitivity, and Jane's own sensitivity to undercurrents of the uncanny. Will aims to receive their grudging acceptance but they all sense he is somehow different, somehow older than his years, and that is hard for them to come to terms with.
Robert Macfarlane's introduction to this edition emphasises the spellbinding qualities of the series which he recognised from his youth and which he appreciates even more now. The spellbinding comes of course from words, from archaic rhymes and from the nature writing, as at the start of Chapter Three, and elsewhere:
Under the sunset sky the sea was glass-smooth. Long slow rollers from the Atlantic, rippling like muscles beneath the skin, made the only sign of the great invisible strength of the ocean in all the tranquil evening...
More spellbinding, but of a darker nature, comes from the abstract expressionist daubings of the mysterious artist whose several malevolent interactions with the Drews unsettle them and cast a blight on their Easter holiday. I wonder if the abstract expressionism which came to the fore in North America during the Cold War years influenced Susan Cooper to introduce this element here, as the conflict with the Dark that dominates the novel sequence parallels that between East and West during the second half of the twentieth century.
The Arthurian influences -- Grail quest, Merlin, even the hint of ogham writing -- are more muted here than before, but their time will come. It's interesting that in the meeting of the Drews and Will Stanton in Trewissick a couple of motifs coincide. One is that not so far distant, south of Bristol, there is a complex of prehistoric stone monuments at Stanton Drew, reminding us of not only the two family names but also the five 'fingers' of stone on a Trewissick headland. The second is that in Over Sea, Under Stone the village is clearly based on Mevagissey, which is on the south Cornish coast; yet all the details -- sunrise and sunset, the Atlantic rollers, the undersea journey to a mid-oceanic trench -- all point to a setting on the north Cornish coast. It's almost as though this implicit reorientation is designed to anticipate the remaining west-facing episodes of the sequence set in Wales.
But for now, the theme is of voluntary giving, of sacrifice, even as the grail comes closer to their grasp. As the inscription on the gold strip Will makes and gives to Jane, to do as she will with, reads:
Power from the green witch, lost beneath the sea.
One hopes that the Greenwitch will at last be truly happy.
April 21, 2019
The middle volume of probably the best kids series is just as superlative as the rest. Throwing all the kids from the first two books together for a crazy adventure in Cornwall is fun and you can start to see all the various threads coming together.
"Greenwitch" is about the, you guessed it, Greenwitch, a cobbled-together effigy the women of a Cornish village make and then throw into the sea. Except it is actually a living creature, imbued with the Wild Magic that could give few fucks about the war between the Light and the Dark, the series' central theme. Tethys herself, who shows up in a brief and disturbing character, won't help the Old Ones gain the manuscript lost in the first book. This makes this book not so much a book of confrontation as negotiation and the Drews, the kids from the first book and who have no powers whatsoever, thankfully, get pulled into all this in a interesting way, battling against a creepy abstract painter of the Dark who is also vying for the Greenwitch's secret.
I can't say enough (again) about what wonderful books these are, way better than the Pacific Ocean plastic-trash-island-sized mound of utter shit published today.
"Greenwitch" is about the, you guessed it, Greenwitch, a cobbled-together effigy the women of a Cornish village make and then throw into the sea. Except it is actually a living creature, imbued with the Wild Magic that could give few fucks about the war between the Light and the Dark, the series' central theme. Tethys herself, who shows up in a brief and disturbing character, won't help the Old Ones gain the manuscript lost in the first book. This makes this book not so much a book of confrontation as negotiation and the Drews, the kids from the first book and who have no powers whatsoever, thankfully, get pulled into all this in a interesting way, battling against a creepy abstract painter of the Dark who is also vying for the Greenwitch's secret.
I can't say enough (again) about what wonderful books these are, way better than the Pacific Ocean plastic-trash-island-sized mound of utter shit published today.
May 31, 2022
I wasn't as engaged in this book as I was in the previous two in this series. Perhaps because I was solely listening to it, but it just didn't grab my attention for large chunks. It was nice that the threads and characters from the two previous books come together here but found the animosity between the Drews and Will to be a bit petty even for a children's book.
However, the ending really brought it up for me and I found the description of the Greenwitch to be both chilling and tragic. I still think this a fantastic children's fantasy adventure and will continue with the series.
The Penhallows also play a much larger role in this book and hope they continue to as its such a novelty hearing my name in a book!
However, the ending really brought it up for me and I found the description of the Greenwitch to be both chilling and tragic. I still think this a fantastic children's fantasy adventure and will continue with the series.
The Penhallows also play a much larger role in this book and hope they continue to as its such a novelty hearing my name in a book!
March 30, 2024
ENGLISH: Third installment of the series "The dark is rising." The Drew siblings from the first book appear again, together with Will Stanton from the second. The Greenwitch is a doll built by the women of the Cornish fishermen, which is invested with ancient magic and takes part in the fight between light and dark.
ESPAÑOL: Tercera entrega de la serie "Los seis signos de la luz". Vuelven a aparecer los hermanos Drew del primer libro, que se reúnen con Will Stanton del segundo. La Brujaverde es un muñeco construido por las mujeres de los pescadores de Cornualles, que queda investido con una magia muy antigua y que interviene en la lucha entre la luz y la oscuridad.
ESPAÑOL: Tercera entrega de la serie "Los seis signos de la luz". Vuelven a aparecer los hermanos Drew del primer libro, que se reúnen con Will Stanton del segundo. La Brujaverde es un muñeco construido por las mujeres de los pescadores de Cornualles, que queda investido con una magia muy antigua y que interviene en la lucha entre la luz y la oscuridad.
October 1, 2022
3.5 stars
I liked this better than TDIR, mostly because the Drew kids were back (and they're my favorites, Will is way too special for me) and the Greenwitch itself was really cool. Excited to see where things go!
Audiobook read by Alex Jennings.
I liked this better than TDIR, mostly because the Drew kids were back (and they're my favorites, Will is way too special for me) and the Greenwitch itself was really cool. Excited to see where things go!
Audiobook read by Alex Jennings.
February 22, 2019
This turned out to be far more interesting than I remembered. For some reason I had classed this with the first, Over Sea Under Stone, as lesser. I guess you just need to be in the right mood for re-reading. This is another chapter in the war between the Light and the Dark, and it brings together characters established in the first 2 volumes: Simon, Barney, and Jane from the first book and Will Stanton from the second. And of course, the siblings' Uncle Merry is involved as well. The Greenwitch is a totem created every year and sent into the sea, but of course she also plays an important role as the Light team recovers another important clue necessary to fight the final battle in the last book. Excellent listening.
October 11, 2021
Mostly read on the northmost beach on Iona, which perhaps skews things a little.
October 21, 2022
“Though they make me in the form of a creature, yet they are making no more than an offering, as once in older days it might have been a slaughtered cock, or sheep, or man. I am an offering, Old Ones, no more.”
—Chapter Eleven
Greenwich, the meridian, marks the notional point when one day becomes the next but is neither, the point of balance when time is an orphan.
The Greenwitch – fashioned from hawthorn and then sacrificed as dawn breaks and a fishing fleet returns to a Cornish village – it too feels like an abandoned orphan, being a creature of Wild Magic and thus subservient to neither the Dark nor the Light.
And, in the interval between Easter and May Eve when spring gives way to summer, this wild child, this scapegoat naturally seethes and is ready to have a tantrum; is there anyone who doesn’t want to use her, who will instead show her kindness and wish for her to be happy?
Susan Cooper’s Greenwitch, the third fantasy in The Dark is Rising sequence, renews our acquaintance with the village of Trewissick and the Drew children of Over Sea, Under Stone (1965), and with young Will Stanton from Buckinghamshire who, in The Dark is Rising (1973), discovered he was an Old One with as yet untapped powers. The Cornish grail from the Dark Ages, which the Drews had discovered and gifted to the British Museum after a struggle with the Dark, has been stolen, and their great uncle brings them together with Will back to Trewissick to retrieve it, plus a vital clue to deciphering the chalice’s inscriptions.
I enjoyed this second reading of Greenwitch even more than I’d hoped for, despite first coming to it relatively recently. Sure, I wasn’t really lulled by Simon, Jane and Barney Drew’s Great Uncle Merry telling them no harm would come to them from the Dark, because all three come perilously close to it; but of course I remembered the general direction of the narrative and the main characters involved – the Drews, Will, Professor Merriman Lyon, and Captain Toms (whose Grey House the Drews had holidayed in during their stay in Trewissick the previous summer).
But I understood a little more about the anonymous abstract expressionist painter whose malign presence brings about much of the action through drugging, thievery, spellcasting and magical glamour. I also gained a deeper appreciation of the nature of the poor Greenwitch, a figure out of the dim mists of time who suffers annually when the community requires a good pilchard catch or marks an act of betrayal and even an ancient seaborne raid by Norsemen. She feels alone and abused – is it any wonder that she is childish and peevish and considering vengeance? And who else can reach out to her but someone who senses an affinity with her, who understands how she might feel, who might unblock the impasse that results when she feels beset by both Dark and Light?
Finally, I am in awe of the author’s ability to combine a sympathetic understanding of children – male as well as female – with writing credible dialogue and pacing an exciting twisty plot. In her 2013 introduction to this edition Susan Cooper tells us that this story “solves a riddle that I put into the ending of <>Over Sea, Under Stone<>—a riddle to which I didn’t know the answer myself, at this time. But a greater riddle will remain.” Part of the answer may lie in the next title, The Grey King, which will take us from a Cornish seaside settlement to a Welsh one.
February 10, 2017
The first book in this series was a treasure hunt plot with hints of magic. The second book in this series was all about the magic with little actual plot. This book, the third in the series, combines the two, with magic AND a plot. The results are... okay.
My main problem with the series so far is that not a lot of details are given about this ongoing battle between the Light and the Dark. Through two books we've been told of this ancient battle, and we've sort of seen some fights, but though the effort to make them epic is there, the pay off has been rather anemic. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the magic being used, and it usually comes down to "magnet magic": if one side is more powerful than the other, the other will be repelled. And the Light is always more powerful. That's it. No actual physical fighting, no swishing of arms or wands or beards or hands or sticks or anything. It's the Old Ones standing there, doing something not exactly visible, staring down the enemy and the enemy fleeing. Not very riveting.
(There is more action in this book than in TDIR, but even that was a letdown---the climactic "battle" was interesting but didn't seem to fit very well---like a lot of what happens in these books, showy but not very convincing.)
Another of my problems is with capitalizing things to make them more significant---here we have the White Lady, Wild Magic, the Lady of the Sea, the Law, High Magic, and Cold Spells. They're mentioned but nothing is really explained. What exactly is this Law we're hearing about for the first time? Why would using Cold Spells cause the evil painter to be detected? Does that mean there are Hot Spells and Warm Spells and Lukewarm Spells? What's the difference between them? What's the difference between Wild and High Magic? Does that mean there is a Middle or Medium or Intermediary Magic? No answers here.
A really annoying part involves talk or mention of "the spell of Mana and the spell of Reck and the spell of Lir." Whenever they are mentioned, they are ALL mentioned. They don't say "the spells of Mana, Reck, and Lir." No, they say "the spell of Mana and the spell of Reck and the spell of Lir." Are the spells explained at all? Nope. Are we told who are Mana, Reck or Lir? Nope.
This book at least had forward momentum, but the ins and outs of this magical world are still as enigmatic as they were at the beginning. The Old Ones can't be hurt, so there's no sense of danger there. The Dark can't directly hurt any mortals, so there's no danger there since no mortals have even been indirectly harassed.
I'm sensing that lots of myths and legends are being alluded to lightly or heavily, but since I'm not familiar with them they're lost on me. And if knowing them would make these books much more enjoyable, then that's quite a huge flaw for these books to have. They should work just as well on their own, without this prior knowledge. So far, they're lacking.
I'm sure I'll have more to complain about in the next one, but the next one is the only book to win a Newbury Medal, so who knows?
My main problem with the series so far is that not a lot of details are given about this ongoing battle between the Light and the Dark. Through two books we've been told of this ancient battle, and we've sort of seen some fights, but though the effort to make them epic is there, the pay off has been rather anemic. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the magic being used, and it usually comes down to "magnet magic": if one side is more powerful than the other, the other will be repelled. And the Light is always more powerful. That's it. No actual physical fighting, no swishing of arms or wands or beards or hands or sticks or anything. It's the Old Ones standing there, doing something not exactly visible, staring down the enemy and the enemy fleeing. Not very riveting.
(There is more action in this book than in TDIR, but even that was a letdown---the climactic "battle" was interesting but didn't seem to fit very well---like a lot of what happens in these books, showy but not very convincing.)
Another of my problems is with capitalizing things to make them more significant---here we have the White Lady, Wild Magic, the Lady of the Sea, the Law, High Magic, and Cold Spells. They're mentioned but nothing is really explained. What exactly is this Law we're hearing about for the first time? Why would using Cold Spells cause the evil painter to be detected? Does that mean there are Hot Spells and Warm Spells and Lukewarm Spells? What's the difference between them? What's the difference between Wild and High Magic? Does that mean there is a Middle or Medium or Intermediary Magic? No answers here.
A really annoying part involves talk or mention of "the spell of Mana and the spell of Reck and the spell of Lir." Whenever they are mentioned, they are ALL mentioned. They don't say "the spells of Mana, Reck, and Lir." No, they say "the spell of Mana and the spell of Reck and the spell of Lir." Are the spells explained at all? Nope. Are we told who are Mana, Reck or Lir? Nope.
This book at least had forward momentum, but the ins and outs of this magical world are still as enigmatic as they were at the beginning. The Old Ones can't be hurt, so there's no sense of danger there. The Dark can't directly hurt any mortals, so there's no danger there since no mortals have even been indirectly harassed.
I'm sensing that lots of myths and legends are being alluded to lightly or heavily, but since I'm not familiar with them they're lost on me. And if knowing them would make these books much more enjoyable, then that's quite a huge flaw for these books to have. They should work just as well on their own, without this prior knowledge. So far, they're lacking.
I'm sure I'll have more to complain about in the next one, but the next one is the only book to win a Newbury Medal, so who knows?
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