Stoneheart
Encyclopedia
Stoneheart is a children's novel by Charlie Fletcher
, published in 2006. It is part of the Stoneheart Trilogy. Stoneheart is followed by "Ironhand", which is itself followed by "Silver Tongue". It is a story about two kids, George and Edie, as they struggle to repair the damage George has done at the start of the story by breaking a stone dragon statue.
, George takes off in a huff and, out of anger, breaks off the head of a stone dragon on the side of a wall. This sets off a stone pterodactyl literally peeling itself off the top of the building and chases George. As George runs away he sees three stone salamanders too chasing him. During the chase, George bumps into the Gunner, a statue of a World War I soldier who helps him escape the pterodactyl and salamanders. He explains to George that by breaking the stone dragon,he has entered a different world - an unLondon - where statues move and talk. The statues that are models of humans have the spirit of that particular person inside of them, enabling them to talk. Being the 'spitting image' of that person, they are called 'spits'. The animal and other creature statues (such as the pterodactyl and the salamanders) have no spirit inside them so cannot talk. They are called taints. There are many worlds and the world George has entered is one where all the statues and sculptures and spits and taints are at war with each other. No one else can see what is happening to him, except Edie Laemmel, a glint. She has the power to experience past events recorded in stones by touching them. But unknown to them the Stone has alerted the Walker, one of its servants, who stalks them with the help of his own servant, the Raven. On his journey, George discovers he has special powers. The Black Friar identifies George as a maker, someone with a special gift for sculpting things from stone or metal. The Friar also tells them to find the 'Stone Heart' and put the broken dragon carving back to make amends for the damage George has done. But on the way the Gunner has sacrificed himself by breaking his promise sworn in the Maker's name to the Walker to try and save Edie, and ultimately falls into the clutches of the Walker. It is left to George to use his new-found gifts as a maker to rescue her. In so doing he sacrifices his own safety and is fated to take 'The Hard Way', remaining with her in this dangerous unLondon.
Edie meanwhile has gone back to the Black Friar for help but, helped by an urchin-like statue named Little Tragedy, tries to escape the pub when it appears the Walker has come to the door. Only when they arrive at their destination through the mirrors does it become apparent that Tragedy has betrayed her to the Walker, since they are now in a past London, the London of the Frost Fair where she once glinted herself being killed. Meanwhile the Gunner has discovered that the Walker has killed many glints and stolen their sea-glass heart stone in his search for power. He escapes the water tank by crawling through London's underground rivers, taking the stones with him. He expects to die at midnight (turn o' day) but survives because George stands his watch on his plinth in his place.
While he does this, he experiences what the Gunner and his brother soldier, the Officer, experience every night, an hour in the trenches under bombardment during an artillery duel in World War One (this is his first duel). While he does this, he meets a soldier with his own dead father's face and, though the soldier dies, George is able to heal his guilt at his father's death and realize he was both loved and known to love him back. The Gunner and George and the Officer are reunited, along with the Queen (Boadicea) and her daughters who have taken an interest in saving Edie. They travel through mirrors into the past to try and rescue her. Edie escapes briefly from the Walker but is recaptured, after she has buried her sea-glass heart stone to save it. He takes her to the Frost Fair, where, despite having foreseen it, she is unable to prevent her own death beneath the ice. George fights the Walker on the ice (his second duel) while the Gunner retrieves Edie's body. The Queen takes them all through the mirrors in her chariot but, at the moment they almost run down the Walker, he escapes into the Outer Darkness beyond the Black Mirrors. Unseen by any of the others, but felt as an icy blast, an Ice Devil enters our word as he exits it and follows them back to the present. Edie is revived by the power of all the stolen heart stones the Gunner saved from under the city, and she finds, among them, her mother's own stone. This is doubly shocking for Edie - she knows her mother didn't realize she had been a glint, and the fire remaining in the stone suggests her mother, believed dead, may actually be alive. George has one more duel to fight before the last stone vein twines into his heart and kills him. The arrival of the Ice Devil has frozen time and the city, which is disappearing under a heavy snow fall. And the ordinary people seem to have disappeared, leaving George and Edie the only normal humans in a city now only populated by warring statues.
Edie Laemmel - one of the thought to be extinct 'glints', met early on in the book, who reluctantly befriends George.
The Walker - The antagonist of the book. Cursed and now a servant of the stone, he is unable to keep still. It is strongly implied in the book that he is actually the Elizabethan occultist John Dee
.
which was made by Charles Sargeant Jagger
and stands in Hyde Park Corner
.
The Sphinxes - Met near Cleopatra's Needle
. Being half lion and half woman, there is some confusion as to whether they are spits or taints.
Dictionary Johnson - the statue of the first man to write down all English words and their definition, Samuel Johnson
. Like Johnson himself, the statue is prone to muscle spasms and fidgeting behaviour. The statue, made by Percy Hetherington Fitzgerald is in Westminster at Aldwych & Strand behind St Clement Danes Church.
The Black Friar - enigmatic spit whose true allegiances are unknown. The statue stands above Black Friar's Pub in Blackfriars, London.
Fusilier - The 5th spit George Chapman meets. The Fusilier saves George from the Gridman. The Royal Fusilier Memorial, made by Albert Toft
, is on High Holborn
, near Chancery Lane tube station
and the regimental chapel is at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate
.
(Image of Royal Fusilier memorial.)
Minotaur - captures Edie but is killed by the plasticine bullet that George makes.
Spout - named by George, lives near St Pancras railway station
and originally an enemy though after(in the next book) George uses his 'maker' skills to heal its wing, befriends him and fights by his side.
Temple Bar Dragon - the most detailed of all dragon sculptures. As with Spout, the dragon is against George, having a big battle with him and scarring his hand, but in the last book of the series, the Temple Bar Dragon turns over sides because of his purpose. The purpose of its construction being to defend the city, it ended up being a major part in battle.
The Pterodactyl - the first taint that unpeeled itself from a frieze at the Natural History Museum
and chased George. It was killed by The Gunner as with the salamanders.
Salamanders - three lizard-like statues that are killed by The Gunner at the War Memorial.
Kay - George's 'babysitter'. Lives in the flat below.
The Clocker - Another of the 'Weirded' or cursed men, unlike the Walker it is his punishment, not his choice to serve the Stone. It is his curse to watch time.
and longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
. It has also been nominated for the Carnegie Medal
.
Responses to the book were mixed. Several critics praised the central concept, calling it an "intriguing premise" and an "ingenious idea". The Scotsman
said the book was "thrilling stuff", and The Times
was highly positive, describing it as "intelligently and elegantly written, with pace and suspense, varied and convincing dialogue, and big themes of loyalty, sacrifice and emotional growth." However some reviewers felt that it was "tedious and longer than necessary" and that "the execution is flat". In particular, Kirkus Reviews
criticised the action for being "disappointingly dry" and Publishers Weekly
said it had a "protagonist who doesn't ring true."
The film rights were purchased by Paramount
months before the book was even released.
Stoneheart is succeeded by its sequels Ironhand and Silvertongue.
Charlie Fletcher
Charlie Fletcher is a British screenwriter and author.After many years writing for film and television, he is now probably best known for his children's novel, Stoneheart.-Biography:...
, published in 2006. It is part of the Stoneheart Trilogy. Stoneheart is followed by "Ironhand", which is itself followed by "Silver Tongue". It is a story about two kids, George and Edie, as they struggle to repair the damage George has done at the start of the story by breaking a stone dragon statue.
Stoneheart
After getting in trouble on a school trip to the Natural History MuseumNatural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
, George takes off in a huff and, out of anger, breaks off the head of a stone dragon on the side of a wall. This sets off a stone pterodactyl literally peeling itself off the top of the building and chases George. As George runs away he sees three stone salamanders too chasing him. During the chase, George bumps into the Gunner, a statue of a World War I soldier who helps him escape the pterodactyl and salamanders. He explains to George that by breaking the stone dragon,he has entered a different world - an unLondon - where statues move and talk. The statues that are models of humans have the spirit of that particular person inside of them, enabling them to talk. Being the 'spitting image' of that person, they are called 'spits'. The animal and other creature statues (such as the pterodactyl and the salamanders) have no spirit inside them so cannot talk. They are called taints. There are many worlds and the world George has entered is one where all the statues and sculptures and spits and taints are at war with each other. No one else can see what is happening to him, except Edie Laemmel, a glint. She has the power to experience past events recorded in stones by touching them. But unknown to them the Stone has alerted the Walker, one of its servants, who stalks them with the help of his own servant, the Raven. On his journey, George discovers he has special powers. The Black Friar identifies George as a maker, someone with a special gift for sculpting things from stone or metal. The Friar also tells them to find the 'Stone Heart' and put the broken dragon carving back to make amends for the damage George has done. But on the way the Gunner has sacrificed himself by breaking his promise sworn in the Maker's name to the Walker to try and save Edie, and ultimately falls into the clutches of the Walker. It is left to George to use his new-found gifts as a maker to rescue her. In so doing he sacrifices his own safety and is fated to take 'The Hard Way', remaining with her in this dangerous unLondon.
Ironhand
In Ironhand, the gunner is imprisoned below the city in an old water tank. At the moment George and Edie set off to try and rescue him they are separated, as George is snatched into the air by the cat-faced gargoyle named Spout. Edie sets of on her own. George is seemingly rescued from Spout by Ariel, a spit who is also an Agent of Fate come to ensure he takes The Hard Way. She takes him to receive the challenge issued by a statue called The Last Knight. He has to fight three duels: on land, on water and in the air. He is rescued from certain death on the end of the Knight's lance by the timely arrival of Spout who snatches him into the sky. George mends Spout's broken wing, and the two form a bond. Spout calls George Ironhand, which he pronounces as 'Eigengang'. Although he has cheated death, the legacy of The Hard Way is inescapably carved into George's flesh, as three veins of marble, bronze and stone twine up his arm, each representing a duel to be fought. Each one will only stop moving fatally towards his heart as he fights and wins the duel it represents.Edie meanwhile has gone back to the Black Friar for help but, helped by an urchin-like statue named Little Tragedy, tries to escape the pub when it appears the Walker has come to the door. Only when they arrive at their destination through the mirrors does it become apparent that Tragedy has betrayed her to the Walker, since they are now in a past London, the London of the Frost Fair where she once glinted herself being killed. Meanwhile the Gunner has discovered that the Walker has killed many glints and stolen their sea-glass heart stone in his search for power. He escapes the water tank by crawling through London's underground rivers, taking the stones with him. He expects to die at midnight (turn o' day) but survives because George stands his watch on his plinth in his place.
While he does this, he experiences what the Gunner and his brother soldier, the Officer, experience every night, an hour in the trenches under bombardment during an artillery duel in World War One (this is his first duel). While he does this, he meets a soldier with his own dead father's face and, though the soldier dies, George is able to heal his guilt at his father's death and realize he was both loved and known to love him back. The Gunner and George and the Officer are reunited, along with the Queen (Boadicea) and her daughters who have taken an interest in saving Edie. They travel through mirrors into the past to try and rescue her. Edie escapes briefly from the Walker but is recaptured, after she has buried her sea-glass heart stone to save it. He takes her to the Frost Fair, where, despite having foreseen it, she is unable to prevent her own death beneath the ice. George fights the Walker on the ice (his second duel) while the Gunner retrieves Edie's body. The Queen takes them all through the mirrors in her chariot but, at the moment they almost run down the Walker, he escapes into the Outer Darkness beyond the Black Mirrors. Unseen by any of the others, but felt as an icy blast, an Ice Devil enters our word as he exits it and follows them back to the present. Edie is revived by the power of all the stolen heart stones the Gunner saved from under the city, and she finds, among them, her mother's own stone. This is doubly shocking for Edie - she knows her mother didn't realize she had been a glint, and the fire remaining in the stone suggests her mother, believed dead, may actually be alive. George has one more duel to fight before the last stone vein twines into his heart and kills him. The arrival of the Ice Devil has frozen time and the city, which is disappearing under a heavy snow fall. And the ordinary people seem to have disappeared, leaving George and Edie the only normal humans in a city now only populated by warring statues.
Characters
George Chapman - the protagonist, whose adventures the story follows. Branded a 'maker' during a battle with the Temple Bar Dragon.Edie Laemmel - one of the thought to be extinct 'glints', met early on in the book, who reluctantly befriends George.
The Walker - The antagonist of the book. Cursed and now a servant of the stone, he is unable to keep still. It is strongly implied in the book that he is actually the Elizabethan occultist John Dee
John Dee
John Dee was a Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I.John Dee may also refer to:* John Dee , Basketball coach...
.
Spits
The Gunner - the first 'spit' George meets in the book. The Gunner is part of the Royal Artillery MemorialRoyal Artillery Memorial
The Royal Artillery Memorial is a stone memorial at Hyde Park Corner in London, dedicated to casualties in the British Royal Regiment of Artillery in First World War. The memorial was designed by Charles Jagger and Lionel Pearson, and features a giant sculpture of a BL 9.2 inch Mk I howitzer upon a...
which was made by Charles Sargeant Jagger
Charles Sargeant Jagger
Charles Sargeant Jagger MC was a British sculptor who, following active service in the First World War, sculpted many works on the theme of war...
and stands in Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
.
The Sphinxes - Met near Cleopatra's Needle
Cleopatra's Needle
Cleopatra's Needle is the popular name for each of three Ancient Egyptian obelisks re-erected in London, Paris, and New York City during the nineteenth century. The London and New York ones are a pair, while the Paris one comes from a different original site where its twin remains...
. Being half lion and half woman, there is some confusion as to whether they are spits or taints.
Dictionary Johnson - the statue of the first man to write down all English words and their definition, Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
. Like Johnson himself, the statue is prone to muscle spasms and fidgeting behaviour. The statue, made by Percy Hetherington Fitzgerald is in Westminster at Aldwych & Strand behind St Clement Danes Church.
The Black Friar - enigmatic spit whose true allegiances are unknown. The statue stands above Black Friar's Pub in Blackfriars, London.
Fusilier - The 5th spit George Chapman meets. The Fusilier saves George from the Gridman. The Royal Fusilier Memorial, made by Albert Toft
Albert Toft
Albert Toft was a British sculptor.Toft trained in Wedgwood's pottery and studied sculpture at the South Kensington Schools under Professor Edouard Lanteri.-Notable works:...
, is on High Holborn
High Holborn
High Holborn is a road in Holborn in central London, England. It starts in the west near St Giles Circus, then goes east, past the Kingsway and Southampton Row, and continues east. The road becomes Holborn at the junction with Gray's Inn Road....
, near Chancery Lane tube station
Chancery Lane tube station
Chancery Lane is a London Underground station in central London. It is on the Central Line between St. Paul's and Holborn stations. The station is located at the junction of High Holborn, Hatton Garden and Gray's Inn Road with subway entrances giving access to the ticket office under the roadway...
and the regimental chapel is at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate
St Sepulchre-without-Newgate
St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre , is an Anglican church in the City of London. It is located on Holborn Viaduct, almost opposite the Old Bailey...
.
(Image of Royal Fusilier memorial.)
Taints
The Grid Man - a metal sculpture separated into a grid, he moves part by part, just out of sync. Although a humanoid shape, it is classified as a taint. The Grid Man statue is located in High Holborn at the Chancery Lane junctionMinotaur - captures Edie but is killed by the plasticine bullet that George makes.
Spout - named by George, lives near St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
and originally an enemy though after(in the next book) George uses his 'maker' skills to heal its wing, befriends him and fights by his side.
Temple Bar Dragon - the most detailed of all dragon sculptures. As with Spout, the dragon is against George, having a big battle with him and scarring his hand, but in the last book of the series, the Temple Bar Dragon turns over sides because of his purpose. The purpose of its construction being to defend the city, it ended up being a major part in battle.
The Pterodactyl - the first taint that unpeeled itself from a frieze at the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
and chased George. It was killed by The Gunner as with the salamanders.
Salamanders - three lizard-like statues that are killed by The Gunner at the War Memorial.
Supporting Roles
Mr Killingbeck - George's teacher at the start of the book.Kay - George's 'babysitter'. Lives in the flat below.
The Clocker - Another of the 'Weirded' or cursed men, unlike the Walker it is his punishment, not his choice to serve the Stone. It is his curse to watch time.
Achievements
The novel was shortlisted for the Branford Boase AwardBranford Boase Award
The Branford Boase Award is a British literary award presented annually to an outstanding novel for young people by a first-time writer.Wendy Boase, Editorial Director of Walker Books and Henrietta Branford worked together previously to produce a great number of books. Both Wendy Boase and...
and longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
Guardian Award
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award is a prominent award for works of children's literature by British or Commonwealth authors, published in the United Kingdom during the preceding year. The award has been given annually since 1967, and is decided by a panel of authors and the...
. It has also been nominated for the Carnegie Medal
Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
.
Responses to the book were mixed. Several critics praised the central concept, calling it an "intriguing premise" and an "ingenious idea". The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
said the book was "thrilling stuff", and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
was highly positive, describing it as "intelligently and elegantly written, with pace and suspense, varied and convincing dialogue, and big themes of loyalty, sacrifice and emotional growth." However some reviewers felt that it was "tedious and longer than necessary" and that "the execution is flat". In particular, Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus . Kirkus serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. Kirkus Reviews is published on the first and 15th of each month...
criticised the action for being "disappointingly dry" and Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
said it had a "protagonist who doesn't ring true."
The film rights were purchased by Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
months before the book was even released.
Stoneheart is succeeded by its sequels Ironhand and Silvertongue.