Lords and Ladies (Discworld Novel) [Import] [Audio CD]

Terry Pratchett (Author), Tony Robinson (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 2005 | Series: Discworld Novel (Book 14)

The fairies are back, but this time they don’t just want your teeth . . . Granny Weatherwax and her tiny coven are up against real elves. There’s a full supporting cast of dwarfs, wizards, trolls, Morris dancers and one orangutan. It’s Midsummer Night — no time for dreaming. And lots of hey-nonny-nonny and blood all over the place.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pratchett (Small Gods) has won an ardent following with his tales of Discworld and his particular brand of comedic fantasy. This latest installment, however, is unlikely to widen his readership. It's circle time on the Discworld; portentous round depressions are showing up everywhere, even in bowls of porridge. Worlds are weaving closer to one another, with unpredictable results. Only the three wacky witches, formidable Granny Weatherwax, crusty Nanny Ogg and scatterbrained Magrat Garlick, can ensure that the worst does not happen: the return of the elves. Trouble is, almost everyone else in the kingdom of Lancre is eager to welcome the "lords and ladies" back. They've forgotten that elves are nasty creatures who live only to torture their prey?humans especially. It's a tempting premise, but underdeveloped by Pratchett, who relies too heavily on his trademark humor, veering into the silly and sophomoric, to fuel the early portions of this fantasy. Only in the last third of the novel does he strike a successful balance among action, imagination and comedy. There is much fun to the tale once the smiling, sadistic elves actually appear, befuddling the townfolk with their beauty and illusion. An earlier arrival would have done much to strengthen this uneven novel.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

When an invasion of elves from another world threatens the Kingdom of Lancre, only the intervention of Granny Weatherwax and her sister witches can keep the human populace from succumbing to the enemy's fatal spell. This latest addition to the whimsical "Discworld" series features a tireless flow of tongue-in-cheek humor, lowly puns, and broad, comic vision. Pratchett (Soul Music, LJ 11/15/94) demonstrates why he may be one of the genre's liveliest and most inventive humorists. A good selection for libraries in possession of previous titles in the series.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Corgi Audio; Abridged edition (September 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552153184
• ISBN-13: 978-0552153188
• Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 0.9 x 5.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,832,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Pratchett, Terry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Midsummer Night's Dream (Revised), March 4, 2006

By 

James D. DeWitt "Alaska Fan" (Fairbanks, AK United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lords and Ladies (Mass Market Paperback)

One of Pratchett's favorite comedic tools is inversion; in Lords and Ladies, he inverts the elves of Shakespeare and Tolkein. In Pratchett's hands, they are far from noble and dangerously evil.

For decades, the Elves have been kept out of the little kingdom of Lancre by a circle of stones called the Dancers, made of meteor iron. But while the Lancre witches, Esme Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick, have been away (as described in "Witches Abroad"), a few young gels have been playing at witchcraft, dancing up by the Dancers with their knickers off. That's always dangerous. It could let the Elves back in. Especially since it is Circle Time, when all those universes line up and the walls between them get thin.

Can Granny, Nanny and Magrat protect Lancre from the Lords and Ladies? They'll need help, not just from Hodgesaargh, master of the mews and Mr. Brooks, the Royal Beekeeper. It may take Wizards Archchancellor Ridcully (former suitor of Esme Weatherwax!), Ponder Stibbons, the Bursar and the Librarian; and the Lancre Morris Dancers, who, despite their vows, may have to do the Stick and Bucket Dance just one more time. It may even take Ynci, the half-mythical former queen of Lancre. After all, the wedding of King Verence and Magrat is supposed to happen.

What makes this and almost all of the Pratchett books extraordinary isn't just his lampooning of myth, comedic inversions, literary allusions, spoofs of physics and hysterical dialog; Pratchett give you something to think about. The power of myth, for example, and why glamour, good looks and style may be dangerous. A Pratchett novel makes you thoughtful.

The Witches series isn't my favorite, but among the Witches stories this is one of the best. Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg are among the best-developed of Pratchett's regular characters. They are fully realized here - warts and all.

A book to read and re-read with pleasure. Very highly recommended.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hey nonny, nonny- its funny!, October 1, 2000

By 

Kelly EC (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lords and Ladies (Mass Market Paperback)

The first Discworld book I read. I was on holiday in Italy, and so wreatchedly ill I had too stay in my tent. A fellow camper lent me "Lords and Ladies". Its cheered me up no end!

I have since read the other witches novels, but I still think this one is the best. A great parody of midsummer nights dream with extra imagination. The Ogg family are brilliant, and the morris men and Wizards make a welcome appearence. I love the bit were Magrat fights off the elves in the castle. Those elves were such chilling villians- bring them back Terry!

"Before we go back to those dark old ways I'll see you nailed!" My favourite quote- those words certainly did slice the air. If you like the Disc this novel is essential. I would also recomend "Guards,Guards!", "The light Fantastic" and the one I reading at the moment-"Soul music"- which is turning out to be the best one I've read so far!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No one is to do the Stick and Bucket Dance ever again, February 5, 2005

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lords and Ladies (Mass Market Paperback)

The three witches, especially Granny Weatherwax, have always been my favorite denizens of the Discworld, and they do nothing to disappoint the reader over the course of Lords and Ladies. Add in a few of Unseen University's highest-ranking wizards, and you're guaranteed to have one wild time in the kingdom of Lancre. This novel wasn't quite as funny as Pratchett's earlier witch novels, but it shows Granny Weatherwax in a whole new light and makes for a very entertaining read all the way around.

Lords and Ladies opens with the three witches returning home to Lancre after their encounter with the Godmother in the novel Witches Abroad. They arrive just in the nick of time. A group of young girls have started doing some witching of their own; dancing around (with or without their drawers on) some of the ancient stones up in the hills isn't good for anybody, especially when the barriers between the worlds are rubbing close together and beings on the other side are just waiting to pounce on anyone capable of weakening the borders a wee bit more. The Elf Queen has set her sights on crossing over into reality, but there just isn't room in this reality for Granny Weatherwax and the Elf Queen. Granny knows what regular people forgot long ago - all that glamour and beauty that Elves project is just a mask. Elves are really nasty little buggers who care about human beings only insofar as they can torture them for their own amusement. Things are really nip and go here, as Granny Weatherwax isn't her old self these days - she can't even see the future anymore, and that doesn't bode well for anybody.

Of course, the citizens of Lancre are all distracted by the upcoming nuptials of King Verence and Magrat Garlick. Wyrd Sisters tells the story of Verence's witch-assisted rise from the king's Fool to the King of Lancre, as well as the budding romance between Verence and Magrat. Magrat is of course the third member of the witches' trio, a young lass with eternally plain looks, great interest in the traditions and proper ceremonies of witchcraft, and a naivety and generosity of nature that frequently drives Granny up the wall. She and Verence are as shy as the day is long, but they are to be married on Midsummer's Eve. Granny and Nanny Ogg tend to treat Magrat as a child, and she finally gets so perturbed she abandons the coven and settles in to learning the ways of being a Queen - which mostly involves being incredibly bored.

All kinds of folks arrive for the royal wedding, including Giamo Casanunda, the world's second greatest lover ("he tries harder," a process which invariably involves the use of a stepladder), and a caravan of wizards from Unseen University. Archchancellor Ridcully is extremely excited about it because he used to live in Lancre. He goes on and on about this girl he once knew and wanted to marry, a girl who happens to be Granny Weatherwax. It's hard to imagine Granny as a young woman, but Lords and Ladies shows us a side of the old crone we've never seen before. Magrat really starts to come into her own, as well, after the Elves capture Verence. Of course, everything comes down to a big fight with the Elves, but that's the least exciting part of the novel, as far as I'm concerned. It's much more fun just watching Pratchett put all his players in place for the ending.

Pratchett is absolutely on fire in a number of passages here, especially when young Ponder Stibbons tries to explain his theory of parallel universes and multiple forms of existence to Archchancellor Ridcully. Granny and Nanny Ogg are always hilarious, the whole makeup of Lancre sets up many a joke, and Verence's dependence on book knowledge sets up one of the funniest bits in the whole Discworld series. Lords and Ladies is enough to get a new reader hooked on Pratchett's unique genius, but you won't truly appreciate this novel unless you read Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad first.