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Three children on vacation in Cornwall find an ancient manuscript which sends them on a dangerous quest that entraps them in the eternal battle between the forces of the Light and the Dark.Tags
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ed.pendragon Another classic children's book with an Arthurian theme, bringing the Matter of Britain into the 20th century.
20
humouress The same sense of adventure, and children in mid 20th century Britain striving against sinister adults.
Member Reviews
It's possible I would have liked this in my pre-20s mad for anything Arthurian days. It's also possible that the plodding tale and the complete acceptance of her brothers' belittling her for being a girl might have made me less than enthusiastic. At one point, middle child Jane gets picked up and carried during a chase. Now the ever so 60s emphasis on good vs evil doesn't go over with me at all. Arthur was fighting for law and land, not for abstract good, though it's easy to frame it that way, just not really meaningful or interesting.
On holiday in Cornwall, the three Drew children—Simon, Jane and Barney—find themselves drawn into an exciting but dangerous adventure, as they discover a treasure map, and embark on a quest to find its object: a chalice that once belonged to the legendary King Arthur. Their search is about far more than a lost artifact however, as they discover from their Great Uncle Merry, a mysterious figure in their lives. No, it is all part of a great struggle between the forces of good and evil, between Light and Dark, and the children must struggle to ensure that the chalice does not fall into the wrong hands...
Published in 1965, Over Sea, Under Stone is the first in Susan Cooper's five-volume Dark Is Rising fantasy sequence, and is a book show more that I read and reread (along with its sequels) countless times as a girl. I am rereading it now as part of a group read of the entire series that I am currently conducting with some friends, and I found it every bit as engrossing as ever I did. Cooper has a knack for making places come alive, and the small Cornish village of Trewissick is no exception. One feels as if one were right there with the children, making discovers and fleeing the enemy. Suspenseful, entertaining, utterly gripping—this is an almost perfect blend of the classic British holiday adventure story and a work of fantasy fiction. Of course the latter is rather oblique: we get the sense of the great cosmological struggle in the background, but it doesn't emerge fully until the second book in the series, The Dark Is Rising, which switches focus (and protagonists). Still, there is a powerful sense of menace here, created through Cooper's skillful writing and storytelling, and the reader races along for the conclusion. I finished this one eager to continue my reread of the series. Highly recommended to all young fantasy fans! show less
Published in 1965, Over Sea, Under Stone is the first in Susan Cooper's five-volume Dark Is Rising fantasy sequence, and is a book show more that I read and reread (along with its sequels) countless times as a girl. I am rereading it now as part of a group read of the entire series that I am currently conducting with some friends, and I found it every bit as engrossing as ever I did. Cooper has a knack for making places come alive, and the small Cornish village of Trewissick is no exception. One feels as if one were right there with the children, making discovers and fleeing the enemy. Suspenseful, entertaining, utterly gripping—this is an almost perfect blend of the classic British holiday adventure story and a work of fantasy fiction. Of course the latter is rather oblique: we get the sense of the great cosmological struggle in the background, but it doesn't emerge fully until the second book in the series, The Dark Is Rising, which switches focus (and protagonists). Still, there is a powerful sense of menace here, created through Cooper's skillful writing and storytelling, and the reader races along for the conclusion. I finished this one eager to continue my reread of the series. Highly recommended to all young fantasy fans! show less
Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew have come to Trewissick, Cornwall to spend their holidays with their Great-Uncle Merry (no actual relation, one of the obligatory mysterious elderly men who actually pay attention to children; see the Professor in the Chronicles of Narnia). While playing in the house, the three children happen upon an old map that leads them on a quest to find an ancient Arthurian treasure. But the children are not alone in their search. Powerful and wily enemies also seek the artefact, and very soon the three siblings find themselves in grave danger locked in a race to recover the precious object lest it fall into the wrong hands and change the course of a centuries-old power struggle between good and evil.
Based on the show more title and the shelving of this, I had expected it to be more conventional fantasy. To tell the truth, I thought it would be similar to Narnia. So I was surprised (but not disappointed) when this turned out to be quite different. Over Sea, Under Stone is a fairly basic children-on-a-treasure-hunt plot line. There are riddles to be solved, adults to be outwitted, parents who never seem to be around...all the usual elements. But the novel didn't really fall into the formulaic - each of the children has a distinct personality, and while not exactly greatly fleshed out, they are also not the stock-types generally seen in this sort of adventure.
The children behave realistically as children rather than as miniature adults, the riddles aren't made so frustratingly obvious that a seven-year-old could have guessed the outcome pages before the characters, and generally this is a (to fall into the book's terms) jolly good romp.
I'm really looking forward to the rest in the series. show less
Based on the show more title and the shelving of this, I had expected it to be more conventional fantasy. To tell the truth, I thought it would be similar to Narnia. So I was surprised (but not disappointed) when this turned out to be quite different. Over Sea, Under Stone is a fairly basic children-on-a-treasure-hunt plot line. There are riddles to be solved, adults to be outwitted, parents who never seem to be around...all the usual elements. But the novel didn't really fall into the formulaic - each of the children has a distinct personality, and while not exactly greatly fleshed out, they are also not the stock-types generally seen in this sort of adventure.
The children behave realistically as children rather than as miniature adults, the riddles aren't made so frustratingly obvious that a seven-year-old could have guessed the outcome pages before the characters, and generally this is a (to fall into the book's terms) jolly good romp.
I'm really looking forward to the rest in the series. show less
[This is a review I wrote in 2007]
**A good adventurous read -sort of Famous Five meet King Arthur!**
Simon, Jane & Barney are off on their summer holidays with their mum & dad, to a holiday house in the village of "Trewissick" on the Cornish Coast, where they will all stay with Great-Uncle-Merry in a rambling old house overlooking the sea. They are all thrilled to be going to Cornwall, but none more so than Barney, the youngest, who loves the stories of Arthurian Legend and dreams of stories of King Arthur and his Knights. He can't wait to see Cornwall, the land of the Pendragon, the centre of Arthurian myth.
On a miserable rainy day at the beginning of their holiday, the children decide to make an adventure of exploring the house where show more they are staying. Locked cabinets, chests and personal papers are out of bounds but they are free to explore the rest of the house as they like. In real Enid Blyton style they soon discover a secret stairway hidden behind a large heavy wardrobe in the boys' bedroom... and off they go to explore.... An ancient treasure map soon emerges & the children have found an adventure for their holiday... secrets to discover.
But are they out of their depth? They don't seem to be the only people chasing after hidden treasure. Soon, they find an ally in Great-Uncle-Merry & Rufus, the dog... but can they reach the treasure before the sour Mr & Miss Withers, the rude ruddy-faced boy, Billy and the man they think is the vicar?!!
A good, innocent, Famous-Five-style adventure story (first published In 1965), with just a hint of Arthurian legend & magic thrown in. The magic & legend are developed in the rest of the series, so here just the foundations are laid. The children are all very cheery, optimistic, happy-go-lucky, although individual characters aren't developed at all in the story. Well-written, with more depth than an Enid Blyton story, lacks pace in a few places but overall recommended. show less
**A good adventurous read -sort of Famous Five meet King Arthur!**
Simon, Jane & Barney are off on their summer holidays with their mum & dad, to a holiday house in the village of "Trewissick" on the Cornish Coast, where they will all stay with Great-Uncle-Merry in a rambling old house overlooking the sea. They are all thrilled to be going to Cornwall, but none more so than Barney, the youngest, who loves the stories of Arthurian Legend and dreams of stories of King Arthur and his Knights. He can't wait to see Cornwall, the land of the Pendragon, the centre of Arthurian myth.
On a miserable rainy day at the beginning of their holiday, the children decide to make an adventure of exploring the house where show more they are staying. Locked cabinets, chests and personal papers are out of bounds but they are free to explore the rest of the house as they like. In real Enid Blyton style they soon discover a secret stairway hidden behind a large heavy wardrobe in the boys' bedroom... and off they go to explore.... An ancient treasure map soon emerges & the children have found an adventure for their holiday... secrets to discover.
But are they out of their depth? They don't seem to be the only people chasing after hidden treasure. Soon, they find an ally in Great-Uncle-Merry & Rufus, the dog... but can they reach the treasure before the sour Mr & Miss Withers, the rude ruddy-faced boy, Billy and the man they think is the vicar?!!
A good, innocent, Famous-Five-style adventure story (first published In 1965), with just a hint of Arthurian legend & magic thrown in. The magic & legend are developed in the rest of the series, so here just the foundations are laid. The children are all very cheery, optimistic, happy-go-lucky, although individual characters aren't developed at all in the story. Well-written, with more depth than an Enid Blyton story, lacks pace in a few places but overall recommended. show less
Susan Cooper, Alan Garner and Ursula Le Guin were the holy trinity of childrens' fantasy for me - Tolkien is a different category altogether, somehow. They are all just great writers. There are wonderful little bits of prose scattered throughout this, Cooper's debut, and they really shine. Simon, Jane and Barney find themselves searching for the Holy Grail in Cornwall, aided from the wings by Uncle Grammery and threatened by some sinister folks who want it for themselves. It's a lovely adventure, full of drama and excitement These three are somehow more fun to hang around with than Will Stanton, which, i suppose, is part of Will's seperateness.
A family with three children go to cornwell on holiday, along with their mysterious uncle Merry.
Eh? i'm not sure i'd have liked reading this as a kid, its kind of creepy, then again maybe kid-me wouldn't have felt it as much.
It's a childrens book so i wasn't actually expected anything really bad to happen, nevertheless the story has a Mundane sense of evil to it which was kind of disturbing. Its not ghosts or monsters but people who are the danger, but which people, what do they want and how far are they willing to go to get it? It felt at times like a kids version of 'the Wicker Man' :lol .
Its quite a fast paced book and very easy to picture the goings on, and all the characters stand out quite vividly.
Eh? i'm not sure i'd have liked reading this as a kid, its kind of creepy, then again maybe kid-me wouldn't have felt it as much.
It's a childrens book so i wasn't actually expected anything really bad to happen, nevertheless the story has a Mundane sense of evil to it which was kind of disturbing. Its not ghosts or monsters but people who are the danger, but which people, what do they want and how far are they willing to go to get it? It felt at times like a kids version of 'the Wicker Man' :lol .
Its quite a fast paced book and very easy to picture the goings on, and all the characters stand out quite vividly.
There's a lot to like about this book. I wouldn't say I LOVED it, but there are a lot of scenes that stick with me. It's fun watching these young siblings as they start down the beginnings of a big mysterious path.
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The story, which starts slowly, becomes more compelling as the supernatural starts to take over, although the mystic powers never reach the terrifying proportions they should have, and the ending, necessarily ambiguous, seems uncomfortably contrived.
added by rretzler
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Group read - Over Sea, Under Stone in 75 Books Challenge for 2009 (December 2009)
Book Discussion: Over Sea, Under Stone in The Green Dragon (February 2007)
Author Information
41+ Works 44,961 Members
Susan Cooper was born in Buckinghamshire, England in May of 1935. She attended Slough Grammar School, and then went on to Somerville College and Oxford. She was the first woman to ever edit the University Magazine, the Cherwell. She graduated from Oxford with an MA in English and went to work for London's The Sunday Times as a reporter on the show more Atticus Column for Ian Flemming. She evenutally made it to features writer, during which time she wrote her first book, "Mandrake," a science fiction story for adults. Soon after the publication of "Mandrake," Cooper wrote the children's story "Over Sea, Under Stone" for a publishing house competition. It would later become the first of a five book series she would become famous for. She left England in 1963 to marry an American professor. Once there, she wrote two more books for adults, "Behind the Golden Gate" a study of America, and "Portrait of an Author" the biography of J. B. Priestley. In 1970, Cooper published "Dawn of Fear" an almost entirely autobiographical book about growing up as a child during the war. Even though Cooper wrote "Over Sea, Under Stone" as a entry for a publishing house competittion, she did not know at the time that it would be the first of her most famous copilation, "The Dark is Rising Series." In 1973 she wrote the second in the five book series, entitled "The Dark is Rising," published more than ten years after the first. In1974, Cooper published Greenwitch, book three, and book four, "The Grey King" a year later. "The Grey King" won the Newberry Medal in 1976. "Silver on the Tree" was the fifth and last book published, completing the series in 1977. After completing the "Dark is Rising" series, Cooper turned to writing for the theater, learning the style from Urjo Kareda at Tarragon Theatres in Toronto. She wrote for Jack Langstaff's "Revels." Her first major play was called "Foxfire," which was written in coolaboration with Hume Cronyn. The play eventually went to Broadway in 1983 and starred Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, who won a Tony for her performance. Cooper then began working on "Seaward," but was interrupted by Jane Fonda, who wanted her to write the screenplay for Harriet Arnow's "The Dollmaker." She wrote the adaptation with Cronyn and won a Humanitas Award for it, while Jane Fonda won the Best Actress Emmy for her role. Cooper also got an Emmy nomination for her adaptation of "Foxfire" for television. "To Dance with the White Dog," a made for tv movie, was the last collaboration of Cooper, Cronyn and Tandy, Tandy having died in '94. IN the '80's and '90's, Cooper wrote the text for many children's picture books such as, "Jethro and the Jumbie" and "Danny and the Kings." 1993 marked her return to the Children's Book List with "The Boggart" and int's follow up "The Boggart and the Monster" in 1997. In 1996, Cooper published a collection of essays on children's literature entitled, "Dreams and Wishes." Over the course of her career, Cooper has written for newspapers, books for children and adults, screen[plays for television and cinema, and a Broadwat play. Today, she lectures on children's literture and continues to write. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Bevor die Flut kommt
- Original title
- Over Sea, Under Stone
- Original publication date
- 1965
- People/Characters
- Merriman Lyon (Great-uncle Merry, Gumerry); Barnabas Drew (Barney); Jane Drew; Simon Drew; Dick Drew (doctor); Ellen Drew (painter) (show all 14); Bill Hoover; the Black Rider (Hastings); Molly Palk; Mr. Penhallow; Rufus (dog, Irish setter); Norman Withers; Polly Withers; Merlin
- Important places
- Trewissick, Cornwall, England, UK (Based on Mevagissey); Cornwall, England, UK
- Related movies
- The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- For my mother and father, with love
- First words
- "Where is he?"
Barney hopped from one foot to the other as he clambered down from the train, peering in vain through the white-faced crowds flooding eagerly to the St Austell ticket barrier. "Oh, I can't see him. Is he... (show all) there?" - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"I think we shall know," he said slowly, "one day."
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- This LT work, Over Sea, Under Stone, is Book 1 (of 5 Books) in Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising Sequence. Please distinguish it from other single titles in the series, and from any combination(s) of part or al... (show all)l of the series. Thank you.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Fiction and Literature, Fantasy, Tween, Kids
- DDC/MDS
- 823.914 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English fiction 1900- 1901-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PZ7 .C7878 .O — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
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