Thursbitch Explained

Thursbitch
Author:Alan Garner
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Genre:Fantasy novel
Publisher:The Harvill Press
Release Date:October 2003
Media Type:Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages:160 p. (hardback edition)
Isbn:1-84343-087-8
Isbn Note:(hardback edition)
Dewey:823/.914 22
Congress:PR6057.A66 T49 2003
Oclc:52622302

Thursbitch is a novel by English writer Alan Garner, named after the valley in the Pennines of England where the action occurs (also listed in the 1841 OS map as "Thursbatch"). It was published in 2003.

Plot

Set both in the 18th century and the present day, the novel centres on the mystery of an inscription on an extant engraved wayside stone tablet about a death from exposure.

Major themes

The book features shamanic use of the fly agaric mushroom[1] and a piece of Derbyshire Blue John as plot elements.

Literary significance and criticism

The book is seen by critics of Garner's work as a continuation of styles and structures first used in Red Shift (1973) and Strandloper (1996).

Notes and References

  1. Book: Letcher, Andy . Shroom: A Cultural history of the magic mushroom . limited . 2006 . 129. Faber and Faber . London . 0-571-22770-8.