The Jonathan Bing Series by James P. Blaylock
The Jonathan Bing Series is a whimsical collection of fantasy novels centered around the character Jonathan Bing, a master cheesemaker in the fictional Twombly Town. In the first book, "The Elfin Ship," Bing embarks on an adventurous quest down the Oriel River to locate the missing elves who traditionally bring Christmas cheer to the town. Accompanied by his dog Ahab, a local boy named Dooly, and the eccentric Professor Wurzle, Bing faces a series of fantastical challenges, including encounters with goblins, witches, and an evil dwarf named Selznak, who seeks a powerful pocket watch capable of stopping time.
The narrative continues in "The Disappearing Dwarf," where the group faces new trials as Squire Merkle mysteriously vanishes, leading to more madcap adventures and confrontations with Selznak. The third installment, "The Stone Giant," shifts focus to the earlier life of Theophile Escargot, revealing his tumultuous past and intertwining his story with the magical elements of Twombly Town. The series is characterized by its imaginative prose, humor, and a vibrant cast of characters, appealing to readers who enjoy a rich blend of fantasy and adventure.
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The Jonathan Bing Series
First published:The Elfin Ship (1982), The Disappearing Dwarf (1983), and The Stone Giant (1989)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Fantasy—Heroic fantasy
Time of work: Indeterminate
Locale: Primarily Twombly Town, in a fictional world
The Plot
The Elfin Ship introduces Jonathan Bing, the master cheesemaker of Twombly Town who has inherited the family business from his father, Amos. Christmas nears, but the elves who normally arrive to trade elfin cakes and Christmas gifts for various cheeses fail to arrive. Bing, with his faithful dog Ahab (based on the authors real-life dog Ahab), decides to travel down the Oriel River to find the elves so that Christmas will not be ruined for the good people of Twombly Town. He is joined in his adventures by a local boy named Dooly and Professor Wurzle, the towns eccentric scholar, specimen collector, and librarian/book loaner.
Along the way, they are caught up in the doings of Theophile Escargot, a strange man (in Bing’s opinion) who may or may not be Dooly’s grandfather and who is a legendary figure in Twombly Town. Escargot has come into possession of a pocket watch that is able to stop time. Bing and his cohorts discover that an evil dwarf named Selznak would like to possess the watch so that he can wreak havoc upon the people who live along the Oriel River. The travelers find themselves deep in trouble.
Along the way, the group encounters numerous beings, ranging from goblins to elves, dwarves, witches, and trolls; fish and squid; cats, bats, and bugs; and Squire Merkle and his merry men, a group resembling Robin Hood and his entourage. Throughout these adventures, James P. Blaylock’s tumultuous and meandering purplish prose delights the reader. Eventually Escargot and the watch are recovered in a wild battle in which the evil dwarf is defeated. The group obtains the Christmas cakes and presents in a successful end to the quest.
The Disappearing Dwarf continues the saga. The book perhaps should have been titled The Disappearing Squire, because Squire Merkle is the one who disappears. The evil dwarf Selznak reappears, snatching the squire out from under the noses of his merry band. Jonathan Bing, Dooly, Escargot, Wurzle, and Ahab again are thrown into madcap adventures reminiscent of the Mad Hatters tea party. The wild mixture of events involving fish, squid, bugs, goblins, cats, skeletons, trolls, and fog requires the reader to willfully suspend disbelief. The band again engages the dwarf in a bizarre battle, the narration of which is full of twists and turns likely to both amuse and confuse the reader.
Although The Stone Giant is the third book in the series, the events in it take place prior to the events of the first two books. Escargot is the protagonist as a young man in a Twombly Town inhabited by Professor Wurzle and Jonathan Bings father, Amos. Escargot is thrown out of his marriage, his home, his daughters life, and Twombly Town after stealing a pie from his wifes cabinets. He can hardly be blamed, because his wife had been tantalizing him with pies for two years. She also had been having an affair with Stover, who is the local minister, judge, and tavern owner.
Escargot encounters a kind barmaid named Leta who quits working for the hypocritical Stover after she witnesses his cruelty to Escargot. Leta soon disappears from town. She and her uncle, Abner Helstrom, steal some marbles from Escargot. His chase after them reveals several curious facts: Helstrom is in reality the evil dwarf Selznak, the Leta he encountered is a witch, and the marbles are actually magical drops of blood of giants. Fish, witches, cats, goblins, trolls, squid, octopi, flying things, and homunculi again abound in this delightfully wacky tale of Escargot’s escapades.
Eventually Escargot finds the real Leta, takes a submarine into another world called Balumnia, encounters numerous wild and wonderful things, finds an airship full of elves, and manages to make peace with himself about his new relationship with his young daughter. He has the elfin captain send her one of the magical marbles, hoping that she will understand that her father loves her.