Plot
The novel tells the story of Christopher Chant's childhood. Although both of his parents are powerful practitioners of magic, the two are constantly at loggerheads; his father (an enchanter, the strongest type of magic-user) is entirely devoted to his work, to such a degree that the young Christopher is afraid that he would not recognize him should the two meet in public. On the other hand, his mother (a sorceress, the second-strongest type of magic-user) is a social climber, and is apparently only married to his father for his social connections.
The only escape that Christopher has is through his dreams, in which he is able to escape to other worlds. While he is not the only person with this ability, seemingly no one is able to do it so easily as he. The fact that he can bring things back from these "spirit trips" makes him immensely valuable to his Uncle Ralph, a scheming silver-tongued businessman. He is soon caught up in a series of "experiments," supposedly to test his talents. In reality, they are to fetch a series of highly illegal goods (from mermaid meat to dragon's blood), for sale at the highest prices on a magical black market. He is accompanied on these trips by Tacroy, a guide arranged by his uncle.
While all this is going on, his father and mother part ways, his father having lost a goodly part of his fortune on the stock market, and Christopher is sent to a boarding school, where he does dismally at magic lessons, and develops an ambition to become a famous cricketer. However, his father has other ideas, and plucks him from the boarding school halfway through the school year, taking him to an irritable and elderly magic expert named Dr. Pawson. He soon unlocks the reason for Christopher's poor grades in magic: silver. When Christopher touches silver, he loses his ability to use magic. When not touching silver, his magic surpasses almost every other enchanter in the world. Upon this discovery, he is sent to Chrestomanci Castle in order to be groomed for the role of the next Chrestomanci.
Read more about this topic: The Lives Of Christopher Chant
Famous quotes containing the word plot:
“We have defined a story as a narrative of events arranged in their time-sequence. A plot is also a narrative of events, the emphasis falling on causality. “The king died and then the queen died” is a story. “The king died, and then the queen died of grief” is a plot. The time sequence is preserved, but the sense of causality overshadows it.”
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)
“The plot was most interesting. It belonged to no particular age, people, or country, and was perhaps the more delightful on that account, as nobody’s previous information could afford the remotest glimmering of what would ever come of it.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
“Trade and the streets ensnare us,
Our bodies are weak and worn;
We plot and corrupt each other,
And we despoil the unborn.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)