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Encyclopedia > The Wee Free Men
Terry Pratchett
The Discworld series

30th novel – 1st Tiffany Aching story
Outline
Characters: Tiffany Aching,
Nac Mac Feegle,
Granny Weatherwax
Locations: The Chalk,
Fairyland
Motifs: Fantasy clichés
Publication details
Year of release: 2003
Original publisher: Doubleday
Hardback ISBN: ISBN 0-385-60736-9
Paperback ISBN: ISBN 0-552-54905-3
Other details
Awards: WH Smith Teen Choice Award 2003
American Library Association's Best Book For Young Adults 2003
Parenting Book of the Year Award 2003
Center for Children's Books' Blue Ribbon
Notes:
For The Wee Free, see the Free Church of Scotland.

The Wee Free Men is the second Story of The Discworld book for younger readers. Although primarily written for children this book enjoys a large adult readership. For a period before its release it was known as For Fear Of Little Men. A sequel, A Hat Full of Sky, was published in 2004, and a third book, Wintersmith was published on 21 September 2006. Terence David John Pratchett OBE (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England[1]) is an English fantasy author, best known for his Discworld series. ... // This article is about the novels. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Download high resolution version (647x1024, 177 KB)Nac Mac Feegles I, the creator of this image, hereby release it into the public domain. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. ... Nac Mac Feegles on the cover of The Wee Free Men The Nac Mac Feegle (also known as Pictsies, the Wee Free Men, the Little Men, or Person or Persons Unknown, Believed to be Armed) are a fictional type of fairy appearing in Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels Carpe Jugulum... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Fairyland can have several meanings in English Faerie, a locus of strong and impressive magical powers, but has tended in modern times to become trivialised as a sort of Never-Never Land, an uncomplicated, child-like world. ... Smaug in his lair: an illustration for the fantasy The Hobbit Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Doubleday is one of the largest book publishing companies in the world. ... The contemporary Free Church of Scotland is that part of the original Free Church of Scotland that remained outside of the union with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1900. ... “Children” redirects here. ... A young woman who is 18 years old. ... A Hat Full of Sky is a novel written by Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld, written with younger readers in mind. ... Wintersmith is the title of the third Tiffany Aching novel in Terry Pratchetts Discworld series, published on the 21 September 2006. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...


While Terry Pratchett's first Discworld book for children, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents had swearing translated to rat language, in this book it is in the dialect of the Nac Mac Feegle which is taken from Scots and Scottish Gaelic. However, it does cheekily use the word pished. In typical tongue-in-cheek fashion Pratchett assures the reader that he does not know what it means. one of his remaining lives for Dangerous Beans. Though Spider is defeated, there is still a problem remaining: the rat piper is due to arrive the next day. ... Nac Mac Feegles on the cover of The Wee Free Men The Nac Mac Feegle (also known as Pictsies, the Wee Free Men, the Little Men, or Person or Persons Unknown, Believed to be Armed) are a fictional type of fairy appearing in Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels Carpe Jugulum... Scots refers to the Anglic varieties spoken in parts of Scotland. ... Scots refers to the Anglic varieties spoken in parts of Scotland. ...


Perhaps the most noteworthy item, in the context of the larger Discworld mythology, is that The Wee Free Men is the first and so far only book in which Death does not appear.


The novel contains a scene inspired by the painting called "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke", by Richard Dadd. The Fairy Fellers Master-Stroke is a Richard Dadd painting. ... Richard Dadd. ...

Contents

Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Queen of the Elves (see Lords and Ladies) has another attempt at invading the Discworld, by stealing children and infesting dreams. In Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels elves are extradimensional inhuman monsters. ... Lords and Ladies is the fourteenth Discworld book by Terry Pratchett. ... The Discworld is the setting for all of Terry Pratchetts Discworld fantasy novels. ...


With the help of the Wee Free Men, the Nac Mac Feegle (see Carpe Jugulum), 9-year-old Tiffany Aching finds out that her grandmother used to be the witch of the Chalklands, and that she has inherited the trade. When her baby brother is stolen, Tiffany and the Nac Mac Feegle enter the elves' world to steal him back. Nac Mac Feegles on the cover of The Wee Free Men The Nac Mac Feegle (also known as Pictsies, the Wee Free Men, the Little Men, or Person or Persons Unknown, Believed to be Armed) are a fictional type of fairy appearing in Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels Carpe Jugulum... Carpe Jugulum is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the twenty third in the Discworld series. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involve the witches of Lancre. ... A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. ...


Granny Weatherwax only appears in the end of the book with Nanny Ogg in a cameo. This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Gytha Ogg (usually called Nanny Ogg) is a character from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ...


Themes

Several times in the book, fairy-tales and romanticism in general are mentioned. Tiffany strongly distrusts fairy tales for telling children how they should think (love the beautiful princess and the handsome prince, but hate the old woman because she's wicked). Tiffany even tells Miss Tick about how after the Baron's son disappeared, an old woman was thrown out of her house, her house and books burned, and her cat killed for, essentially, looking like a witch from a story. Pratchett's view of fairy-tale romanticism can be extrapolated from a quote:

Miss Tick sniffed. "You could say this advice is priceless," she said. "Are you listening?"
"Yes," said Tiffany.
"Good. Now...if you trust in yourself..."
"Yes?"
"...and believe in your dreams..."
"Yes?"
"...and follow your star..." Miss Tick went on.
"Yes?"
"...you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy. Good-bye."

(Page 51, American HarperTrophy paperback)


There are also references to country traditions. For example, Tiffany is called "Jiggit" by her grandmother, as she was her twentieth grandchild. This is a reference to the traditional "Yan Tan Tethera" methods of counting sheep practised in the north of England. Yan Tan Tethera is an old method of counting sheep which was common in Britain. ...


Translations

  • Волният народец (Bulgarian)
  • Svobodnej národ (Czech)
  • De små blå mænd (Danish)
  • Vapaat pikkumiehet (Finnish)
  • Kleine freie Männer (German)
  • L' intrepida Tiffany e i piccoli uomini liberi (Italian)
  • Skrellingene (Norwegian)
  • Wolni Ciutludzie (Polish)
  • Tillud Vabamehed (Estonian)
  • De Vrijgemaakte Ortjes (Dutch)
  • Les ch'tits hommes libres (French)
  • Mazie brīvie ķipari (Latvian)
  • Scoţiduşii liberi (Romanian)
  • Χιλιάδες Νάνοι κι ένα τηγάνι (Greek)

Movie

In January 2006, it was revealed that director Sam Raimi has signed up to make a movie based on this novel, from a script by Pamela Pettler, the writer of Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. Sony Pictures Entertainment have recently acquired the rights to the book. The producers are Josh Donen, Vince Geradis, and Ralph Vicinanza. No other details have been released about the movie adaptation. [1] [2] The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Samuel Marshall Raimi (born October 23, 1959) is an American film director, producer, and writer. ... Timothy William Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an Academy Award-nominated American film director, writer and designer known for his off-beat and quirky style. ... Tim Burtons Corpse Bride is a 2005 Academy Award-nominated stop-motion-animation film based loosely on a 19th century Russian-Jewish folktale version of an older Jewish story and set in a fictional Victorian era England. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...


External links

  • Annotations for The Wee Free Men
Reading Order Guide
Preceded by
Night Watch
30th Discword Novel Succeeded by
Monstrous Regiment
Preceded by
None
1st Tiffany Aching Story
Published in 2003
Succeeded by
A Hat Full of Sky

  Results from FactBites:
 
Terry Pratchett The Wee Free Men Reviewed By Rick Kleffel (835 words)
In 'The Wee Free Men' his second YA title, the language seems finer, the characters more detailed, the prose almost elegiac.
As it happens, 'The Wee Free Men' could easily change what you think of as "a Terry Pratchett novel." Apparently, we're all going to look back and be utterly amazed that the we were having quite a lot of fun reading what turns out to be great literature.
The real treat of 'The Wee Free Men' is that anybody can pick it up and have a great time reading what proves to be great literature.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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