Greenmantle by Charles de Lint
"Greenmantle" is a novel by Charles de Lint that intertwines elements of pastoral myth with violent crime fiction, set primarily in a Canadian forest. The story follows Frances (Frankie) Treasure, a lottery winner who relocates to a family home in the countryside with her daughter, Alice (Ali). Their peaceful life is disrupted by the arrival of Frankie’s ex-husband, Earl Shaw, a violent criminal seeking to exploit their newfound wealth for a drug deal. Living next door is Tony Valenti, a retired Mafia hitman believed to be dead, who becomes entangled in the escalating dangers surrounding Frankie and Ali.
The narrative explores a hidden village called New Wolding in the forest, where the mystical music of village pipers calls forth strange and sometimes threatening entities, including a changeling figure known as Greenmantle, represented as a giant stag. As the plot unfolds, Ali finds herself drawn to the forest's magic, befriending the wild girl Maggy Mellan, while Frankie faces threats from Earl and his associates. The story culminates in a series of violent confrontations, where themes of friendship, danger, and the interplay between reality and magic converge, ultimately leading to a rescue that highlights the bonds formed amidst chaos.
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Greenmantle
First published: 1988
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—magical world
Time of work: The late 1980s
Locale: Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
The Plot
Greenmantle is relatively unusual in its combination of high pastoral myth and violent crime fiction. Charles de Lint often writes what might be called urban fantasy, but this novel is set primarily in or alongside a Canadian forest.
Frances (Frankie) Treasure has won a large lottery and has moved to a family home in the country with her fourteen-year-old daughter, Alice (Ali). Her former husband, Earl Shaw, a violent criminal who has worked with the Mafia, decides to take what money he can get from Frankie in order to finance a drug deal. Living next door to Frankie is a retired Mafia hitman, Tony Valenti, who is thought to be dead by everyone but a close older friend, Mario Papale.
In the neighboring forest is a mystery associated with a hidden village, New Wolding. The village pipers music sometimes calls to view a changeling figure, notably as a giant stag. Also in the woods is a secret, a wild girl called Maggy Mellan. People who hear the piping respond in various ways. A local man, Lance Maxwell, becomes violently lustful, but others seem nobler.
As the plot develops, various dangerous people threaten Frankie and Tony. Ali is in danger because Earl plans to use her to make ransom demands on Frankie. Meanwhile, Ali and Frankie become close friends of Tony. Ali develops a strong interest in the strange forest magic, forming a friendship with Maggy. She also becomes friends with a pair of people in New Wolding, the learned Lewis Datchery and his friend Lily. The stag intervenes to attack Earl in his car, and Earls associate, Howie Peale, is shot by Tony. Earl and Tony recognize each other from former dealings.
In New York, one of the gangsters who framed Tony for murder, Broadway Joe Ricca, fails to honor a promise made to Mario that he will call off a hit against Tony. He has put his son Louie on the job. Louie is killed while attempting to murder Tony. Frankie is almost raped by Lance but is rescued by Howie and two young women from a nearby gangsters home. Ali is helped by the stag, whom she comes to call Greenmantle and who takes her into an alternate universe. She also is captured by “the Hunt of dogs,” who become monks, and is violently interrogated. In the end, she must be rescued by Greenmantle, while Frankie and Tony are helped by the fast-moving Maggy.