What i liked about this story was the chemistry between polly and thomas. Dwj has often said that the things she writes in her books end up coming true. I read this article one time that diana wynne jones wrote, about the process of writing fire and hemlock and all the different strands of stories she used, which was quite, quite interesting. Again, it is unclear without more description exactly which painting is being referenced. Fire and hemlock diana wynne jones works archive of.
So fire and hemlock is a retelling of the ballad tam lin, but it incorporates elements from a dozen other fairy tales, myths, and legends. Specifically, the part set in the magical swimming pool. They meet when shes a child, and hes old enough to have been married. I had a lot of fun reading fire and hemlock, and if you like dwj, dont miss it. In fire and hemlock, the real world has a way of blurring with a fantastic world, as when tom and polly journey to the town of stowonwater and learn there that the stories and characters they.
Fire and hemlock, diana wynne jones reading the end. Both focus on a young, handsome man fancied by a powerful queen of a magical elf kingdom. What do you think happened at the end of fire and hemlock. The mechanics are not simple, but the book doesnt need the exposure of its guts to be enjoyed. Fire and hemlock retells the story of two scottish ballads, thomas the rhymer and tarn lin. Fire and hemlock was one of her first attempts to move into the area best characterized as young adult fiction. The ending of fire and hemlock literature stack exchange. The ending corresponds approximately to part 4 nowhere, section 6, where.
I notice there are now study guides for fire and hemlock, and analyses like the. Fire and hemlock is a modern fantasy by british author diana wynne jones based largely on the scottish ballads tam lin and thomas the rhymer it was first published in 1984 in the united states by greenwillow books then in 1985 in great britain by methuen childrens books it has been republished several times since then in paperback, by various publishers. To go into much more detail here would enter spoiler territory, but suffice to. Fire and hemlock was a great book, but the ending has baffled. My favorite part of the book was when polly wins back thomas at the end. With the books running theme of blending the real world with nowhere, this ambiguity is probably on purpose. Another hopeful element of the book is its disconcerting ending. If there is anyone out there that understands the ending of fire and hemlock, id be very grateful for a detailed explanation. Half point off because of the typical dwj ending a reread and an explanation by the author almost mandatory. They had a really good relationship even though thomas was older than polly. If you are not familiar with diana wynne joness novel. They wanted to be together even though they couldnt.