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Wintersmith

Wintersmith

FantasyHigh Fantasy
Pages
416
Published
2006
Language
English

Synopsis

Tiffany Aching, now thirteen, stumbles into the dance of the seasons — the Morris dance that keeps winter coming and going — and the Wintersmith, the ancient elemental spirit of winter, falls in love with her. Determined to become human for her, he begins putting her face on snowflakes and roses on ice. Meanwhile, Granny Weatherwax watches from a distance as Tiffany deals with the consequences of her own impulsiveness. The third Tiffany Aching novel, and Pratchett's meditation on what it means to be known.

Prose complexity
6/10

Vibe

FunnyAdventurousEmotionalWhimsical
Coming of AgeReluctant HeroSurvivalForbidden Love

Genres

Fantasy High Fantasy YA Comic Fiction Humor Mythology Satire Young Adult

Authors

P
Paul Kidby

Paul Kidby is the artist behind the cover art for Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men. His distinctive style brings fantasy worlds to life.

T
Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was an English author best known for the Discworld series, a sequence of forty-one comic fantasy novels set on a flat world carried through space on the backs of four elephants standing on a giant turtle. Across four decades, the Discworld grew from a parody of sword-and-sorcery fantasy into one of the most sustained works of social satire in English literature, examining politics, religion, science, gender, race, capitalism, and the nature of stories themselves. Pra...

Characters

Tiffany AchingProtagonist

Thirteen years old and dealing with an elemental spirit of winter who has become obsessed with her — and the consequences of having attracted his attention.

The WintersmithAntagonist

The ancient spirit of winter who falls in love with Tiffany and attempts to become human — dangerously misunderstanding what love requires.

Granny WeatherwaxSupporting

Present throughout as a distant watchful force — letting Tiffany find her own way while being ready if she truly needs help.

Rob AnybodySupporting

The Nac Mac Feegle chief, now married and with an expanding family, still entirely devoted to protecting Tiffany.

The Nac Mac FeegleSupporting
All characters in Wintersmith

Frequently asked questions

  • When was Wintersmith published?

    First published on 26 September 2006 by Doubleday. It is the thirty-fifth Discworld novel and the third Tiffany Aching book.

  • What is a wintersmith?

    The Wintersmith is an ancient elemental spirit — one of several personifications of the seasons that maintain the Disc's seasonal cycles through a ritual dance. He has no human qualities until Tiffany accidentally dances with him, which gives him a model to follow.

  • What folklore does Wintersmith draw on?

    The novel draws on the tradition of elementals and seasonal spirits from European folklore — the concept that winter is personified, that the seasons must be 'performed' rather than just happening, and the danger of catching the attention of non-human beings.

  • Why is Granny Weatherwax's role here different from other Tiffany books?

    Granny is deliberately distant in Wintersmith — she is allowing Tiffany to make and live with her mistakes rather than rescuing her. The novel is partly about the difference between mentoring and doing the work for someone.

  • What is the Summer Lady's role?
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