The Orphan's Tales
Encyclopedia
The Orphan's Tales is a fantasy
series by Catherynne M. Valente
with illustrations by Michael Kaluta. The two novels of the series, In the Night Garden and In the Cities of Coin and Spice, are in turn split into four books. While three of these four books begin with a story told by the same young woman, her stories branch out into other stories, often narrated by a completely different character.
The series won the 2008 Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature, and In the Night Garden was nominated for both the 2006 James Tiptree, Jr. Award
and the 2007 World Fantasy Award
.
Because of the strange tattoo
s around her eyes, a girl lives alone in the Sultan
's gardens until the young prince dares to speak to her. When he visits, she tells him the stories that are inked on her skin.
The novel is split into two books, which revolve around two different casts of characters who inhabit the same world. Some characters appear in both books - as well as in the sequel, In the Cities of Coin and Spice; for example, the myths of the Stars run through numerous stories.
Book of the Steppe: Prince Leander escapes his castle in search of adventure. Once he's on the road, he kills a goose for food and is accosted by a witch who accuses him of murdering her daughter. As he tries to redeem himself, he learns about the witch's life on the steppe, quests for the skin of a beast, and discovers the truth of his family's history.
Book of the Sea: In the bitter cold of an icy country, to pass the time as they work, Sigrid tells a girl how she got her name: When she was young, she joined a group of monk
s traveling back to their temple and eventually entered into a temple of her own. Desperate to see the story to its conclusion, Snow convinces Sigrid to continue her quest to find the original Saint Sigrid.
The friendship between the girl and the prince strengthens as she begins to tell him the stories inked on her second eye. While in the first volume the children had the garden almost completely to themselves, now the marriage of the prince's sister Dinazade threatens their sanctuary. The stories grow similarly darker, revolving around the two titular cities: one where coins are made from bones of the children who work at the mint, and the second, an exotic city that homes a variety of fantastic creatures such a phoenix, a clockwork woman, and sirens.
Like the first volume, In the Cities of Coin and Spice is composed of two books. Although each book focuses on a different set of characters and new locations, some of the stories run through each part of the series.
Book of the Storm: Seven, the seventh son in a farmer family, is ritualistically abandoned. Instead of being taken by the Stars, he is captured and forced to work at a mint, pressing coins out of bone. He escapes with Oubliette, a part cow, part tree, part human girl, and they join a troupe of performers traveling across the countryside.
Book of the Scald: Unlike the other three books, in Scald, it is the prince who tells the story. From the girl's eye, he reads about a city besieged by an army of djinn.
, the girl tells a story that then branches into more stories. The prince's sister is named Dinarzad, another reference to One Thousand and One Nights.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
series 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...
with illustrations by Michael Kaluta. The two novels of the series, In the Night Garden and In the Cities of Coin and Spice, are in turn split into four books. While three of these four books begin with a story told by the same young woman, her stories branch out into other stories, often narrated by a completely different character.
The series won the 2008 Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature, and In the Night Garden was nominated for both the 2006 James Tiptree, Jr. Award
James Tiptree, Jr. Award
The James Tiptree, Jr. Award is an annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February of 1991 by science fiction authors Pat Murphy and Karen Joy Fowler, subsequent to a discussion at WisCon.- Background...
and the 2007 World Fantasy Award
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
.
In the Night Garden
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s around her eyes, a girl lives alone in the Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
's gardens until the young prince dares to speak to her. When he visits, she tells him the stories that are inked on her skin.
The novel is split into two books, which revolve around two different casts of characters who inhabit the same world. Some characters appear in both books - as well as in the sequel, In the Cities of Coin and Spice; for example, the myths of the Stars run through numerous stories.
Book of the Steppe: Prince Leander escapes his castle in search of adventure. Once he's on the road, he kills a goose for food and is accosted by a witch who accuses him of murdering her daughter. As he tries to redeem himself, he learns about the witch's life on the steppe, quests for the skin of a beast, and discovers the truth of his family's history.
Book of the Sea: In the bitter cold of an icy country, to pass the time as they work, Sigrid tells a girl how she got her name: When she was young, she joined a group of monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s traveling back to their temple and eventually entered into a temple of her own. Desperate to see the story to its conclusion, Snow convinces Sigrid to continue her quest to find the original Saint Sigrid.
In the Cities of Coin and Spice
Like the first volume, In the Cities of Coin and Spice is composed of two books. Although each book focuses on a different set of characters and new locations, some of the stories run through each part of the series.
Book of the Storm: Seven, the seventh son in a farmer family, is ritualistically abandoned. Instead of being taken by the Stars, he is captured and forced to work at a mint, pressing coins out of bone. He escapes with Oubliette, a part cow, part tree, part human girl, and they join a troupe of performers traveling across the countryside.
Book of the Scald: Unlike the other three books, in Scald, it is the prince who tells the story. From the girl's eye, he reads about a city besieged by an army of djinn.
Allusions
The Orphan's Tales is written in the style of One Thousand and One Nights; like ScheherazadeScheherazade
Scheherazade , sometimes Scheherazadea, Persian transliteration Shahrazad or Shahrzād is a legendary Persian queen and the storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights.-Narration :...
, the girl tells a story that then branches into more stories. The prince's sister is named Dinarzad, another reference to One Thousand and One Nights.
Musical adaptations
Singer-songwriter S. J. Tucker's albums For the Girl in the Garden and Solace and Sorrow were inspired by the novel. The albums also have readings from the books.Awards and nominations
- 2008 Mythopoeic Award
- 2007 World Fantasy AwardWorld Fantasy AwardThe World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
nominee for In the Night Garden - 2006 James Tiptree, Jr. AwardJames Tiptree, Jr. AwardThe James Tiptree, Jr. Award is an annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February of 1991 by science fiction authors Pat Murphy and Karen Joy Fowler, subsequent to a discussion at WisCon.- Background...
for In the Night Garden