Stardust (novel)
First UK edition cover
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| Author | Neil Gaiman |
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| Illustrator | Charles Vess |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Avon Books |
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Publication date
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1 February 1999 |
| Media type | Hardback, Paperback, Audiobook (Read by the author) |
| Pages | 256 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 39313435 |
Stardust is a novel by British writer Neil Gaiman, usually published with illustrations by Charles Vess. Stardust has a different tone and style from most of Gaiman's prose fiction, being consciously written in the tradition of pre-Tolkien English fantasy, following in the footsteps of authors such as Lord Dunsany and Hope Mirrlees. It is concerned with the adventures of a young man from the village of Wall, which borders the magical land of Faerie.
In 2007, a film based on the novel was released to generally positive reviews. Gaiman has also occasionally made references to writing a sequel, or at least another book concerning the village of Wall.
The story begins in late April 1839, as John William Draper had just photographed the Moon and Charles Dickens was serialising Oliver Twist. The majority of the book takes place seventeen years later, starting around October 1856.
On the outskirts of Wall, a small town in rural England, the Faerie Market is held every nine years on the other side of the wall dividing Faerie - a mystical realm of magic - from our world and for which the town of Wall is named. As the book begins, the market has just begun and the town is filled with visitors and vendors. A young man named Dunstan Thorn rents out his cottage to a stranger in exchange for his "Heart's Desire", in addition to a monetary payment. The next day in the market, he meets Una, a beautiful woman imprisoned by the witch called Semele. He purchases a glass snowdrop from Una with a kiss, and gives the flower to his fiancée Daisy. Enthralled by her beauty during the encounter, Dunstan later meets Una in the woods that night and makes love to her. A month later, Dunstan marries Daisy as planned. In February (a little over nine months later), he receives a baby in a basket — his and Una's son, Tristran.
Eighteen years after these events, Tristran - now a young man with a half-sister named Louisa - seeks the love of Victoria Forester, the town beauty. One night, while Tristran is walking her home from the shop where he works, he sees a shooting star land in Faerie, and he vows to bring it to her in exchange for a kiss, and perhaps her hand in marriage. Thinking that he will never actually do it, Victoria promises to do whatever he asks if he brings her the star. Tristran tells his father of the bargain, and Dunstan gives Tristran the snowdrop, as well as helping him pass the guards at the wall by alluding to his faerie heritage. Tristran enters Faerie and begins his search for the star.
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