Subject: (urth) more questions on Sorcerer's House (spoilers)

From: Stephen Case <scase at olivet.edu>
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:24:26 +0000

I’ve been following the discussion on The Sorcerer’s House here with
interest.  This is the first Wolfe book I’ve read through and then
immediately re-read.  A few things I’m still wondering about after the
second time through:

-I think it’s pretty clear that Ted is Ambrosius and that the ring Doris
gives Bax is Ambrosius? item of sorcery.  What’s not clear though is
Doris’s intentions in giving Bax the ring.  I don’t buy the reasons she
gives.  Plus, in the conversation in letter 5 in which she gives him the
ring and explains why she wants him to wear it, she knows his first
name.  Then almost immediately she acts like she doesn’t yet know it and
refers to him again as Mr. Dunn.  

-If Ted is Ambrosius, can we figure out from the text who Goldwurm is? 
For some reason I found myself suspecting Jim Hardaway.  There’s a lot
that doesn’t make sense if that’s the case (for example, Emlyn says that
their father doesn’t want Goldwurm to know he’s not around, but Hardaway
knew the Black House was unoccupied).  A couple things that make me
suspicious of him though: in letter 41 Martha tells Bax to watch out for
Hardaway.  Why?  Also, the first time Bax wanders out of his house into
Faerie (letter 20), he gets a call from Hardaway, who says he must be
far from the tower.  We can assume he meant cell phone tower, but for
some reason this made me think of Goldwurm’s tower.

-Who is Mary King?  She’s mentioned twice (letters 21 and 25).

-In letter 26, when Bax meets Kate Finn’s mom, they make a big deal
about calling each other Bax and Biddy instead of Mr. Dunn and Mrs.
Finn.  So much so that it seems to be hinting at something, though I
don’t know what.

-What’s the deal with the dwarf’s name in letter 31?  He calls himself
Quorn but Baxter says he knew him as Quilp.  A quick search on Wikipedia
reveals that Daniel Quilp was a dwarf in Dickin’s The Old Curiosity
Shop.  I skimmed the plot synopsis, but no immediate parallels jumped
out.  I’m also curious at the name’s similarity to Dick Quist, the
jeweler who’s so interested in Bax’s ring.

-Finally, something still bothers me about the chronology regarding
George’s activities once he’s in Medicine Man.  According to Baxter, he
arrives, ends up in prison, makes bail, comes to Bax’s house and
releases Nicholas, and then gets lost in the house.  Then he’s suddenly
“picked up” on the street.  Then he’s back in the house again
and along with his father, Doris, and Madame Orizia gets Nicholas
back in the trunk.  This just seems weird.  What would make George come
back to the house and solve the problem of Nicholas being loose?

-Maybe we shouldn't make too much out of this, but are we sure that Bax
replacing George means that George is definitely dead?  We had Mrs.
Naber saying that if one twin died, the other usually died soon after. 
Sure this isn't necessarily always the case, but it seems like it would
be more likely for "magic" twins.  Maybe Bax duped me as well, but I
figured George had been taken into Faerie at the end of the book to
spend some time with his parents and maybe get straightened out. 
Something like this is hinted with the partial reconcilation between
Emlyn and Ieuan at the end of the battle by the river, maybe.

I’m sure there’s much I’ve missed, but that’s what sticks out to me now.
 Any thoughts?
-Steve

---

From: James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:03:43 +0000

> gives.

I think I did. She didn't know that Ted was a sorcerer. She didn’t realize 
the significance of the ring or that Ted would return to claim it. She was 
under the influence of Bax's numen heightened by Bax wearing an item of 
sorcery already.

> Plus, in the conversation in letter 5 in which she gives him the

Same thing. Under the influence of numen. She's holding his hand when she 
momentarily forgets his first name. I can't think of of reason otherwise for 
her admitting she forgot his first name.

> -Who is Mary King?  She’s mentioned twice (letters 21 and 25).

Good question. During my read I just pegged her as one of the women killed 
by the werewolf but now I see that's not so. Bax brings up her name out of 
nowhere to Shell in connection with Skotos/Zwart. Then later she is a 
phantom hitch-hiker.

> Shop.

You know. One could get hopelessly lost taking this too far, but a name like 
Quilp for a Literature PhD with an announced fondness for Dickens certainly 
smells as though the character were fabricated or embellished. Of course The 
Quorn is a famous club for sponsoring fox hunts FWIW.

> back to the house and solve the problem of Nicholas being loose?

I found the news that he was searching the house  with Doris and Orizia 
peculiar on it's face. And George just didn't seem to be the kind of person 
would worry about a Nosferatu on the loose. That's among the reason I like 
Bax for impersonating George at the time. And why would he do that unless he 
were hiding that George was dead?

> replacing George means that George is definitely dead?

No.

>We had Mrs.

I agree with Tallman that a reconciliation is fits better with the theme of 
Jacob & Esau, but find it hard to believe that Bax would do it. He HATES 
George. Nothing in the story seems likely to change those feelings. We don't 
know that George is definitely dead, but I'm increasingly inclined that he 
probably has died (which in a Wolfe novel is not the same thing as "is 
dead"). It certainly makes a better story than the reconciliation ending.

J.

---

From: James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:16:12 +0000

\>> -Who is Mary King?  She’s mentioned twice (letters 21 and 25).
> nowhere to Shell in connection with Skotos/Zwart. Then later she is a 

I'm going to try reading letter 21 as if it actually belongs after 25.

There is a Mary King's Ghost Fest held in Edinburgh every year (it was last 
month). I can't determine what is the story behind it. Apparently she 
something a of a tourist draw in Edinburgh.

J.

---

From: Eugene Zaretskiy <eugene.zar at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 05:40:25 +0000

On Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 1:24 PM, Stephen Case <scase at olivet.edu> wrote:
> interest. “This is the first Wolfe book I’ve read through and then
> immediately re-read. ?A few things I’m still wondering about after the
> second time through:
>
> gives Bax is Ambrosius” item of sorcery. “What’s not clear though is
> Doris’s intentions in giving Bax the ring. ?I don’t buy the reasons she
> gives. ?Plus, in the conversation in letter 5 in which she gives him the
> name. ?Then almost immediately she acts like she doesn’t yet know it and
> -If Ted is Ambrosius, can we figure out from the text who Goldwurm is”
> For some reason I found myself suspecting Jim Hardaway. “There’s a lot
> knew the Black House was unoccupied). ?A couple things that make me
> Hardaway. ?Why” ?Also, the first time Bax wanders out of his house into
> far from the tower. “We can assume he meant cell phone tower, but for
> -Who is Mary King” “She’s mentioned twice (letters 21 and 25).
>
> Finn. ?So much so that it seems to be hinting at something, though I
> don’t know what.
>
> -What’s the deal with the dwarf’s name in letter 31” ?He calls himself
> Quorn but Baxter says he knew him as Quilp. ?A quick search on Wikipedia
> Shop. ?I skimmed the plot synopsis, but no immediate parallels jumped
> out. ?I’m also curious at the name’s similarity to Dick Quist, the

Bax being well-read, I took it as Bax wanting to point out how
horrible the dwarf was by comparing him to Quilp the horrible dwarf
from _The Old Curiosity Shop_ via metaphor. To back up the theory of
Quilp-as-metaphor, if we assume the final letter is really forged by
Bax, he mentions _The Old Curiosity Shop_ with familiarity there. In
fact, it almost makes me want to re-read it to see if there's anything
else of substance to that connection...

As for the connection to Quist, Quilp was a moneylender in Dickens'
story. A jeweler is pretty close to that, in my mind -- especially one
who buys jewelery (as, typically, this service is used as an
alternative to borrowing money). In fact, with so many twins in this
book, why not Faerie and Medicine Man? I'm sure it's been mentioned.
So, who is Doris' twin? I nominate Lupine. Was the ring a gift, like a
limb?

> George’s activities once he’s in Medicine Man. “According to Baxter, he
> releases Nicholas, and then gets lost in the house. ?Then he’s suddenly
> ?picked up” on the street. “Then he’s back in the house again
> back in the trunk. ?This just seems weird. ?What would make George come
> back to the house and solve the problem of Nicholas being loose”
>
> replacing George means that George is definitely dead? “We had Mrs.
> be more likely for "magic" twins. ?Maybe Bax duped me as well, but I
> ?Any thoughts”
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Eugene Z
http://blog.eugenez.net

---

From: Mo Holkar / UKG <lists at ukg.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:43:30 +0000

At 05:16 12/04/2010, James Wynn wrote:
>There is a Mary King's Ghost Fest held in Edinburgh every year (it 
>was last month). I can't determine what is the story behind it. 
>Apparently she something a of a tourist draw in Edinburgh.

Mary King's Close is an underground street in Edinbirgh that's 
organized as a historical 'experience' museum. Mary King's Ghost Fest 
is run by the company that operate the Close.

The historical Mary King after whom the street was named is thought 
to have been the daughter of Alexander King, who owned the land in 
the 16th century. She is not thought to be a ghost herself (or at 
least is not marketed as such), although there are several ghosts 
allegedly associated with the site.

It is possible I suppose that Wolfe might have pulled up the name 
Mary King as associated with ghosts in Edinburgh and assumed that she 
was one, but I would expect him to be more thorough than that. It 
seems more likely to me that a different, more obscure Mary King is 
his source; or that the name is constructed for some onomastic purpose.

best wishes,

Mo

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