Hardcover edition
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Author | Terry Pratchett |
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Language | English |
Series |
Discworld 14th novel – 4th witches story |
Subject |
Shakespeare, Crop circles, Fairy lore
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Genre | Fantasy |
Publisher | Victor Gollancz |
Publication date
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1992 |
ISBN |
Shakespeare, Crop circles, Fairy lore
Lords and Ladies is the fourteenth Discworld book by Terry Pratchett. It was originally published in 1992. Much of the storyline spoofs elements of Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick return to Lancre after their recent adventure in Genua. Magrat is stunned when King Verence proclaims their imminent marriage, having already made all the arrangements in her absence. The sudden appearance of crop circles reveals to Nanny and Granny that it is now "circle time," a convergence of parallel universes when the Discworld is susceptible to incursions from the "parasite universe" of the Elves. Elves are capricious and amoral creatures that enter the minds of animals and sentient beings in a more destructive way than witches do, using "glamour" to alter human's perceptions of them. They are normally kept away by a circle of magnetized iron standing stones known as the Dancers. When Nanny and Granny refuse to explain the situation to Magrat, she leaves the coven, disavows witchcraft, and moves into an apartment in Lancre Castle. She soon becomes bored with the courtly lifestyle and unsure of her place.
Mustrum Ridcully, Archchancellor of Unseen University, leads a small group of faculty to attend the wedding. Along the way, they are joined by the Dwarfish lothario Casanunda.