The Sorcery Hall Trilogy by Suzy McKee Charnas
The Sorcery Hall Trilogy, authored by McKee Charnas, follows the journey of a young girl named Valentine (Val) Marsh, who discovers her magical heritage at the age of fourteen. The series explores themes of self-acceptance, friendship, and the battle against evil forces through Val's adventures with Sorcery Hall, a group of wizards committed to protecting the world. Throughout the trilogy, Val learns to embrace her abilities, guided by her grandmother, Granny Gran, and her allies, as she confronts various menaces, including the kraken and the evil wizard Brightner.
In the first book, *The Bronze King*, Val embarks on a quest to retrieve a magical statue crucial for defeating the kraken, facing challenges along the way and ultimately growing in confidence and maturity. The second installment, *The Silver Glove*, sees Val attempting to rescue her grandmother and mother from the clutches of the nefarious Brightner, leading to a climactic confrontation that tests her resolve. The series concludes with *The Golden Thread*, where Val, now more self-assured, must battle a witch named Bosanka while navigating complex friendships and uncovering her own unique powers.
Overall, the trilogy blends fantasy elements with coming-of-age themes, providing a rich narrative that resonates with readers interested in magical adventures and character development.
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The Sorcery Hall Trilogy
First published:The Bronze King (1985), The Silver Glove (1988), and The Golden Thread (1989)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Fantasy—feminist
Time of work: The 1980’s
Locale: New York City
The Plot
Suzy McKee Charnas’ Sorcery Hall trilogy tells the story of Valentine (Val) Marsh, a fourteen-year-old who possesses magical ability. The ability to use magic runs in Val’s family: Her grandmother, known as Granny Gran, possesses magical powers. Val’s mother, Laura, chooses not to develop her ability. In this series, Val becomes involved with Sorcery Hall, an alliance of wizards dedicated to defending worlds from evil. With the help of Gran, Sorcery Hall, and her friends, Val eventually defeats three dangerous villains. In the process, Val learns to accept her magic, develops confidence in herself, and reaches a new level of maturity.
The Bronze King begins with a series of mysterious disappearances, including those of Val’s tuna sandwich and sneakers. One large object that vanishes is a statue of King Jagiello. Val realizes that she is in danger when she is stalked by three young men who call themselves the Princes of Darkness. The Princes corner Val in a subway train, but Paavo Latvela, an elderly fiddler from Sorcery Hall, rescues her. Val later meets Paavo in Central Park, where he tells her that Earth is threatened by a monster known as the kraken. The kraken wants to find something Val possesses that can stop the kraken’s return to the world.
Val, Paavo, and their ally, Joel Wechsler, a seventeen-year-old who wants the fiddler to help him improve his musical ability, must find Jagiello’s statue, a magical artifact made of bronze, in order to defeat the kraken. They must deal with the Princes who serve the kraken. In the process of trying to locate Jagiello, they are attacked by the Princes and Paavo’s violin is smashed. Joel later gives Paavo a fiddle that belongs to his family, allowing the old man to perform his magic.
Val eventually discovers that a key that landed on her after a subway explosion is critical to their efforts to free Jagiello. Val gives the key to Joel, who, instead of taking it to Paavo, tries to free Jagiello on his own. Joel is captured by the kraken, but the monster cannot harm him because he has Paavo’s enchanted bow. Val eventually gets the key from Joel, and she uses it to free Jagiello from his prison. The final confrontation with the kraken takes place in Central Park. Jagiello, animated by the spirit of Paavo, destroys the monster in combat. The battle results in Paavo’s death.
The Silver Glove takes place several months later and begins with the disappearance of Val’s grandmother from a nursing home. Gran has fled in order to avoid being captured by Brightner, an evil wizard who plans to gather people’s souls to serve as soldiers in a distant war against Sorcery Hall. Val briefly talks to her grandmother on the telephone, and Gran uses the opportunity to give her a magic silver glove that will protect her. In an attempt to locate Gran, Brightner becomes the new psychologist at Val’s high school. Val senses his threat, which becomes clear when the wizard traps her mother’s soul.
Val eventually meets her grandmother to find a way to defeat Brightner. After a narrow escape, on a flying carpet, from Brightner, Gran decides to investigate a restaurant that she believes is connected to the wizard. Val does not hear from Gran and decides to find her after Brightner traps her mother’s soul. She eventually finds the restaurant, Kali’s Kitchen, but discovers that it is run by Brightner’s wife, Ushah. Val is held prisoner but manages to escape. In the process, she inadvertently frees Gran, who has changed herself into a cat.
Val eventually discovers Gran’s transformation, and they plan to use the change to their advantage. Val returns with Gran, still in cat form, to Kali’s Kitchen, where they confront Ushah. After Gran returns to human form, she has to slay Ushah after the latter refuses to turn against her husband. Gran and Val confront Brightner at the ice rink, from which he and his victims will be transported to the war. Gran cannot defeat Brightner in direct battle, so Val ventures onto the ice to rescue her mother. Val succeeds in her mission, causing Brightner to lose control of his magic and leading to his destruction.
The Golden Thread begins when Val receives a call from Joel, who no longer can play the violin because he tried to use one he constructed from the remnants of Paavo’s fiddle. Joel visits Val in New York City and attends a New Year’s Eve party thrown by Lennie, one of Val’s friends. During the party, Val and six of her friends, known as the Comet Committee, perform an act of magic by sending a comet flying into the night. Their display attracts the attention of Bosanka Lonat, a witch from another world who has disguised herself as a foreign exchange student.
Val becomes Bosanka’s host and soon learns her intentions. Bosanka insists that Val and the Comet Committee help her find her missing people. The witch has the ability to transform humans into animals. She forces Val and her friends to help her. In order to ensure their aid, Bosanka transforms two members of the committee, Peter and Mimi, into deer. Val must rely on herself in this confrontation because Gran is comatose.
The Comet Committee eventually gathers to help Bosanka, but, working together, its members are able to trap the witch in the middle of an ocean. Val turns out to be a Lord of the Water—her magic revolves around water. Bosanka is able to communicate with her people because of the magic produced by Joel’s playing of Paavo’s fiddle. Bosanka’s people were transformed into dolphins to atone for their abuse of nature. Bosanka finally agrees to join them, and the members of the Comet Committee are accepted as members of Sorcery Hall. Val and Joel meet with Gran before she dies. The end of the novel hints at a future romance between Joel and Val.