The Duncton Chronicles and The Book of Silence by William Horwood
The Duncton Chronicles, a series of six novels by William Horwood, explores the intricate lives of moles over several generations, focusing on their struggles, beliefs, and relationships. The saga begins with "Duncton Wood," introducing Bracken, a young mole who becomes a leader while navigating love, faith, and persecution in a complex underground society. As the narrative unfolds, key themes of spirituality and survival are depicted through Bracken's journeys and the evolving dynamics within the Duncton community.
The series continues with "Duncton Quest" and "Duncton Found," highlighting the challenges faced by Bracken’s descendants, including religious conflicts and the quest for knowledge, culminating in the emergence of a prophesied savior, Beechen. The sequel trilogy, "The Book of Silence," shifts focus to the search for the final sacred text, exploring the trials of Privet, a determined scribe who strives to protect her community's literary heritage from oppressive forces.
Set against the backdrop of rich lore and intricate relationships, the "Duncton Chronicles" provide a deep, allegorical look at themes of faith, resilience, and the pursuit of wisdom within a unique mole society.
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The Duncton Chronicles and The Book of Silence
First published:Duncton Wood (1980), Duncton Quest (1988), Duncton Found (1989), Duncton Tales (1991), Duncton Rising (1992), and Duncton Stone (1993)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Fantasy—animal fantasy
Time of work: The 1970’s-1990’s
Locale: Various rural locations in England and Wales
The Plot
It is difficult to summarize the exceedingly full plot of William Horwood’s six books, involving many named moles (there are no nonmole characters) and extending over about ten generations and some four thousand pages. Although the Duncton Wood system of tunnels and burrows remains central, a dozen or more other systems are featured, together with extreme ups and downs in mole life.
Duncton Wood, the first novel of the Duncton Chronicles, introduces the world of moles through Bracken, first met as a young mole and followed throughout his life. It tells of his love for Rebecca, a healer, and how he becomes the leader at Duncton and tries to maintain the mole religion. For this last, he is persecuted by Mandrake, Rune, and their followers. Bracken goes on long journeys to other systems, accompanied by Boswell, a scribemole. They visit Uffington, the religious center of moledom, where the Holy Mole (analogous to the pope) resides and where there is a great library of mole books. They also visit Siabod, a system in a Welsh mountain. Despite a fire and a plague, the worshipers of the Stone at Duncton keep their faith alive.
Duncton Quest is the story of Tryfan, Bracken and Rebecca’s son, who accompanies Boswell (now elderly and revered) to Uffington, which is almost deserted. There, Boswell appoints Tryfan as a scribemole, instructing him to write down the history and philosophy of moledom during the coming period of religious persecution. This Tryfan does, despite terrible hardships.
As leader at Duncton, he evacuates the system (though with terrible losses when a tunnel under the river floods) in response to an attack by followers of the Word, a hostile religion. They use the empty Duncton system as a dumping ground for moles who are plague victims. In company with his friend Spindle and the greatest of all mole route-finders, Mayweed, Tryfan journeys to the outskirts of London (which Horwood calls The Great Wen), contacting moles there, particularly Feverfew, the love of his life. Tryfan even has time to mate with Henbane, Mistress of the Word, his archenemy. Their son Lucerne succeeds Henbane.
In Duncton Found, the moles of the Word continue to destroy systems of followers of the Stone, who are usually pacifists (except in Wales). The Stone Mole, long prophesied as a savior of the Word, is born in Duncton from a mystical union between Boswell and Feverfew. He is Beechen, soon accepted as a very holy mole, who defeats his enemies by converting them with his love. Most of the central characters (followers of the Stone) are ritually slaughtered by Lucerne at Duncton. After Lucerne dies, his followers disperse, and the empty Duncton is gradually repopulated by Stone-worshiping moles. Among them is Woodruff, grandson of Tryfan and the author of this first trilogy.
The second trilogy, The Book of Silence, is set a couple of mole generations later and concentrates on the search for the seventh and last holy book of the Stone, The Book of Silence. The other six books have long been in the moles’ possession, originally at Uffington but later at Duncton. Duncton Tales introduces Privet, an insignificant seeming female of middle years who is a scribe and scholar. She is the granddaughter of Wort, a zealot of the Word, who persecuted Beechen. Apart from the religious intolerance caused by the Newborns, a sect of Stone believers, there are fascinating details of the great library at Duncton, its organization, its eccentric denizens, and their professional rivalries. This library must be saved from the Newborns, who would censor or destroy it.
In Duncton Rising, Privet journeys to Caer Caradoc in Wales, in search of The Book of Silence. Behind her she leaves the humble library assistant, Pumpkin (who becomes the leader of the Duncton rebels), and the Master Librarian, Stour, to defend the library’s treasures. All of Privet’s early life is revealed in flashback. She meets up again with her offspring and with Rooster, her great love. She is the one who delivers The Book of Silence safely to Duncton Wood at the end of Duncton Stone.