The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Encyclopedia
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is a novel
by Catherynne M. Valente
, published in May 2011. It follows a 12 year old girl named September as she is spirited away from her average life to Fairyland.
In Valente's previous novel, Palimpsest
, the narrator briefly discusses a book that one of the characters read as a child, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Valente then began a book by that title as a crowd-funded
project and published the story online. The book, and a sequel, was later picked up by Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan Publishers
) for traditional publication.
. September's father is a soldier at war in Europe and her mother works all day building airplane engines in a factory. One day a Green Wind visits her and she accepts his offer to take her to the great sea that borders Fairyland. September meets a gnome who gives her the ability to see Fairyland as it truly is before pushing her into that world. September's adventures continue in Fairyland, where she meets witches who give her the task of finding and returning their spoon, which was stolen by Fairyland's evil queen who calls herself the Marquess. She teams up with A-Through-L, a wyvern
who believes his absent father to have been a library and thus considers himself a "Wyverary", a wyvern and library hybrid.
When they find the Marquess, she hands over the witches' spoon in return for September's promise to retrieve a special sword from a casket in the Worsted Wood. September meets Saturday, a marid
, and with A-Through-L they head for the Worsted Wood, where September finds the casket. The "sword" inside varies depending on the interests of the finder's mother, so September found not an actual sword, but a wrench
because of her mother's work as a mechanic.
As September escapes the Worsted Wood with the wrench, Saturday and A-Through-L are kidnapped and she sets about finding them. She must circumnavigate
Fairyland in a ship of her own making to land at the Lonely Gaol
, a jail at the bottom of the world. There, she learns the Marquess's full story and that she wants September to use the wrench to permanently separate Fairyland and the human world. September refuses and frees her friends from the Gaol. She uses Saturday's marid powers to wish everything well again, just before her time in Fairyland runs out—until the next spring, when she is bound by law to return.
noted that "there’s a ton of grown-up humor — Valente mocks bureaucrats, Bergman and put-upon grad students, lost on kids but fun for oldsters." Neil Gaiman
called it a "glorious balancing act between modernism and the Victorian Fairy Tale", while Peter Beagle said "Catherynne Valente is a find, at any age!"
Selected as a Best Book of the Month for May 2011, Amazon.com called Fairyland "a fantastical tale that's somewhere between Lewis Carroll
and Terry Pratchett
", stating that "Catherynne Valente's imaginative cast of characters and spirited prose turn what could be a standard heroine-on-a-quest story into something on par with the best (and weirdest) classics."
. It was the first book to win the award before traditional publication.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making won the readers' choice CultureGeek Best Web Fiction of the Decade award for best web fiction of the 2000s.
In May 2011, it debuted at number 8 on the New York Times Bestseller list.
was published as an E-book
by Tor.com
. The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While features an opening illustration by Ana Juan, and tells the story of the young girl who became Fairyland's evil Marquess.
An upcoming sequel to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, to be published by Macmillan's Feiwel & Friends, is titled The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Catherynne M. Valente
Catherynne M. Valente
Catherynne M. Valente , is a Tiptree–, Andre Norton–, and Mythopoeic Award–winning novelist, poet, and literary critic. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine, the World Fantasy Award–winning anthologies Salon Fantastique and Paper Cities, along with numerous Year's Best volumes...
, published in May 2011. It follows a 12 year old girl named September as she is spirited away from her average life to Fairyland.
In Valente's previous novel, Palimpsest
Palimpsest (novel)
Palimpsest is a novel by Catherynne M. Valente, published in March of 2009. It follows four separate characters as they discover and explore a mysterious city accessed only at night....
, the narrator briefly discusses a book that one of the characters read as a child, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Valente then began a book by that title as a crowd-funded
Crowd funding
Crowd funding describes the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations...
project and published the story online. The book, and a sequel, was later picked up by Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
) for traditional publication.
Plot summary
An unseen narrator relates the story of September, a twelve-year-old girl from Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. September's father is a soldier at war in Europe and her mother works all day building airplane engines in a factory. One day a Green Wind visits her and she accepts his offer to take her to the great sea that borders Fairyland. September meets a gnome who gives her the ability to see Fairyland as it truly is before pushing her into that world. September's adventures continue in Fairyland, where she meets witches who give her the task of finding and returning their spoon, which was stolen by Fairyland's evil queen who calls herself the Marquess. She teams up with A-Through-L, a wyvern
Wyvern
A wyvern or wivern is a legendary winged reptilian creature with a dragon's head, two legs , and a barbed tail. The wyvern is found in heraldry. There exists a purely sea-dwelling variant, termed the Sea-Wyvern which has a fish tail in place of a barbed dragon's tail...
who believes his absent father to have been a library and thus considers himself a "Wyverary", a wyvern and library hybrid.
When they find the Marquess, she hands over the witches' spoon in return for September's promise to retrieve a special sword from a casket in the Worsted Wood. September meets Saturday, a marid
Marid
In Arabic folklore and common mythology, a Marid , is a jinn associated with open waters of the seas and oceans where it finds sanctuary. Marids are mentioned in pre-Islamic Arabian mythology and inside the One Thousand and One Nights alongside the Jinn in the story of The Fisherman and the...
, and with A-Through-L they head for the Worsted Wood, where September finds the casket. The "sword" inside varies depending on the interests of the finder's mother, so September found not an actual sword, but a wrench
Wrench
A wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning....
because of her mother's work as a mechanic.
As September escapes the Worsted Wood with the wrench, Saturday and A-Through-L are kidnapped and she sets about finding them. She must circumnavigate
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
Fairyland in a ship of her own making to land at the Lonely Gaol
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
, a jail at the bottom of the world. There, she learns the Marquess's full story and that she wants September to use the wrench to permanently separate Fairyland and the human world. September refuses and frees her friends from the Gaol. She uses Saturday's marid powers to wish everything well again, just before her time in Fairyland runs out—until the next spring, when she is bound by law to return.
Reception
Fairyland was published by Feiwel & Friends as a novel for young adults (10-14 years old), but has been embraced as a tale for all ages. The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
noted that "there’s a ton of grown-up humor — Valente mocks bureaucrats, Bergman and put-upon grad students, lost on kids but fun for oldsters." Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
called it a "glorious balancing act between modernism and the Victorian Fairy Tale", while Peter Beagle said "Catherynne Valente is a find, at any age!"
Selected as a Best Book of the Month for May 2011, Amazon.com called Fairyland "a fantastical tale that's somewhere between Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
and Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
", stating that "Catherynne Valente's imaginative cast of characters and spirited prose turn what could be a standard heroine-on-a-quest story into something on par with the best (and weirdest) classics."
Awards and honors
In 2009, Fairyland, which was published online, won the Nebula/Andre Norton AwardAndre Norton Award
The Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, named to honor prolific science fiction and fantasy author Andre Norton , is a yearly juried award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America to the author of an outstanding young adult science fiction or...
. It was the first book to win the award before traditional publication.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making won the readers' choice CultureGeek Best Web Fiction of the Decade award for best web fiction of the 2000s.
In May 2011, it debuted at number 8 on the New York Times Bestseller list.
Related books
On July 27, 2011, a short prequelPrequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
was published as an E-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
by Tor.com
Tor Books
Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...
. The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While features an opening illustration by Ana Juan, and tells the story of the young girl who became Fairyland's evil Marquess.
An upcoming sequel to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, to be published by Macmillan's Feiwel & Friends, is titled The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There.