Silverlock is a novel by John Myers Myers published in 1949. The novel's settings and characters, aside from the protagonist, are all drawn from history, mythology, and other works of literature.
While on a sea voyage, a ship named Naglfar founders. One anhedonic passenger, A. Clarence Shandon (M.B.A., Wisconsin), is washed ashore in a fictional land known as "The Commonwealth of Letters". He is befriended by Golias, who nicknames him "Silverlock" and who becomes his guide. Silverlock and Golias encounter figures from history, literature and mythology.
Charactersedit
This is a partial listing of the characters, settings, and events that are drawn from history, and from works of literature and mythology. Some of the characters go by names other than those given below, thus the reader is expected to identify them from their contexts.
John Myers Myers is remembered [largely] for SILVERLOCK, a recursive fantasy that centres on a picaresque voyage by a shipwrecked protagonist through the 'Commonwealth' (of literature), where he encounters numerous characters and situations from world literature and mythology – the Ass of Apuleius, Beowulf, the Green Knight, Robin Hood, Dante's Hell, Friar John from RABELAIS, and many more. The novel is light and pleasant, rather in the manner of Christopher Morley...
Gulliverian fantasy in which a castaway is washed up on the shore of the Commonwealth, where all the great characters of literature are to be found; the hapless hero wanders around, repeatedly getting himself into difficulties and finding famous rescuers, eventually cultivating a kind of heroism. An amusing exercise in literary game playing...
Journeys of self-discovery appear in every genre, teaching us about the main character as well as ourselves. The journey takes many forms: Gilgamesh searching for immortality; Dante's trips to Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory; and Wyatt and Billy's road trip in Easy Rider, among many others. These voyages speak to human beings' desire to answer fundamental questions about their place in the world. John Myers Myers takes a novel approach to this genre in Silverlock. His main character learns about himself by participating in the lives of other literary figures.
A Silverlock Companion: the life and works of John Myers Myers, edited by Fred Lerner, is a 52-page pamphlet published 1988 OCLC 22760287 and reprinted as a book 1989 OCLC 19352130.
Referencesedit
^"The Archpoet: The Confession Of Golias". Medieval Sourcebook. Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies. December 2006. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
^Clute, Grant (1997). The Encyclopedia of Fantasy.
Silverlock, including The Silverlock Companion 2008-06-12 at the Wayback Machine: NESFA Press edition with annotations and further information
December 20, 2023
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This article is about the novel by John Myers Myers For other uses see Silverlock disambiguation Silverlock is a novel by John Myers Myers published in 1949 The novel s settings and characters aside from the protagonist are all drawn from history mythology and other works of literature SilverlockFirst edition coverAuthorJohn Myers MyersCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreFantasy novelPublisherE P DuttonPublication date1949Media typePrint Hardback amp Paperback Pages349In 1981 The Moon s Fire Eating Daughter was published Thematically related to Silverlock it was billed as a sequel to Silverlock on the cover Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Characters 3 Literary significance and criticism 4 Release details 5 References 6 External linksPlot summary editWhile on a sea voyage a ship named Naglfar founders One anhedonic passenger A Clarence Shandon M B A Wisconsin is washed ashore in a fictional land known as The Commonwealth of Letters He is befriended by Golias who nicknames him Silverlock and who becomes his guide Silverlock and Golias encounter figures from history literature and mythology Characters editThis is a partial listing of the characters settings and events that are drawn from history and from works of literature and mythology Some of the characters go by names other than those given below thus the reader is expected to identify them from their contexts Golias His name is that of a mythical patron saint of wandering bards 1 He is also identified as Orpheus Taliesin Amergin Virgil and other wandering poets Lucius Gil Jones a composite of Lucius in The Golden Ass by Apuleius Gil Blas in Gil Blas by Alain Rene Lesage and Tom Jones in The History of Tom Jones a Foundling by Henry Fielding Robin Hood legendary figure Job character from the Bible Faust from Goethe s play Pathfinder from James Fenimore Cooper s 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza Daniel Boone American explorer Puck character from Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream Beowulf mythical hero Manon Lescaut from the novel L Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut and the opera Manon Lescaut Becky Sharp Becky Crawley from Thackeray s Vanity Fair Emma Watson from the novel fragment The Watsons by Jane Austen Izaak Walton English novelist as Piscator The Mad Hatter The March Hare and The Dormouse from Lewis Carroll s 1865 novel Alice in Wonderland The Green Knight from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Ship of fools a medieval European cultural phenomenon Hamlet from Shakespeare s play of the same name Oedipus the mythological Greek hero Brian Boru High King of Ireland Aeacus Minos and Radamanthus were the judges of the dead in Hades in Greek mythology Literary significance and criticism editJohn Myers Myers is remembered largely for SILVERLOCK a recursive fantasy that centres on a picaresque voyage by a shipwrecked protagonist through the Commonwealth of literature where he encounters numerous characters and situations from world literature and mythology the Ass of Apuleius Beowulf the Green Knight Robin Hood Dante s Hell Friar John from RABELAIS and many more The novel is light and pleasant rather in the manner of Christopher Morley Grant 2 Gulliverian fantasy in which a castaway is washed up on the shore of the Commonwealth where all the great characters of literature are to be found the hapless hero wanders around repeatedly getting himself into difficulties and finding famous rescuers eventually cultivating a kind of heroism An amusing exercise in literary game playing Barron 3 Journeys of self discovery appear in every genre teaching us about the main character as well as ourselves The journey takes many forms Gilgamesh searching for immortality Dante s trips to Heaven Hell and Purgatory and Wyatt and Billy s road trip in Easy Rider among many others These voyages speak to human beings desire to answer fundamental questions about their place in the world John Myers Myers takes a novel approach to this genre in Silverlock His main character learns about himself by participating in the lives of other literary figures Eller 4 Release details edit1949 US E P Dutton 1949 hardback first edition 5 1966 US Ace Books mass market paperback 1979 US Ace Books ISBN 0 441 76671 4 second printing 1982 US Ace Books ISBN 0 441 76673 0 1992 US Buccaneer Books ISBN 0 89968 409 2 hardback 1996 US Ace Books ISBN 0 441 76674 9 paperback 2004 US NESFA Press ISBN 1 886778 52 3 hardback with Silverlock Companion 2005 US Ace Books ISBN 0 441 01247 7 trade paperbackA Silverlock Companion the life and works of John Myers Myers edited by Fred Lerner is a 52 page pamphlet published 1988 OCLC 22760287 and reprinted as a book 1989 OCLC 19352130 References edit The Archpoet The Confession Of Golias Medieval Sourcebook Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies December 2006 Retrieved 2008 08 10 Clute Grant 1997 The Encyclopedia of Fantasy Barron 1990 Fantasy Literature Eller Eric 2006 05 05 John Myers Myers Silverlock Ace Books 2005 Green Man Review Archived from the original on 2017 02 02 Retrieved 2008 08 10 LCCN 49 5070 Library of Congress External links editVisit the Commonwealth of Letters Lee s Silverlock Reading Journal Dead link as of 9 30 12 Silverlock series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Silverlock title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database The Moon s Fire Eating Daughter title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Silverlock including The Silverlock Companion Archived 2008 06 12 at the Wayback Machine NESFA Press edition with annotations and further information Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Silverlock amp oldid 1144843019, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
