Stardust: Neil Gaiman

British author Neil Gaiman’s 1999 novel Stardust is a fantasy often considered to be akin
to the traditions of pre-Tolkien English fantasies. It follows the events in the life of a man
from the village of Wall near Faerie, a magical realm. The tale opens in 1839. During this
time, John William Draper had made a photograph of the moon and Charles Dickens was
writing Oliver Twist. The bulk of the storyline unfolds a number of years later, in 1856.

In order to find a fallen star that will help him gain the hand of his beloved Victoria
Forrester, Tristran Thorn has entered the land of Faerie. Ordinarily, nobody is permitted to
pass the wall that serves as the border to Wall. Tristran is given permission due to the
conditions that surrounded his birth. The random meeting of Tristran’s father and a witch’s
slave resulted in his birth. Tristran was sent to Wall in a basket. Now, Tristran, eighteen
years old and in love with Victoria, sets out to fulfil his promise to her to find a fallen star.
In Faerie, he encounters various beasts and magic beings.

The first person he meets in Faerie is a hairy man called Charmed. Charmed is small and
carries a case with his name on it. Years earlier, charmed knew Dunstan, Tristran’s father.
This was during the same time period that Dunstan had his encounter with Tristran’s
mother at the Faerie Market. Charmed shares information with Tristran that will help him
understand the way things are done in Faerie and that will aid him in his travels. In
addition, charmed gives him a candle that speeds his journey through Faerie. The candle
eventually leads Tristran to the fallen star, where, to his surprise, he finds that the star is a
woman. The star is not happy to learn that Tristran plans to take her with him to Wall as a
gift for his love.

Meanwhile, the eighty-first Lord of Stormhold is nearing death and is faced with choosing
one of his sons to take his place. He has three living sons, four others have met their
deaths, killed by their brothers. The ghosts of the dead brothers are there and speaking
about which of the remaining brothers will replace their father as Lord. The Power of
Stormhold is topaz, which the father throws from a window. He tells his sons that the one
who retrieves it will become the next Lord. It seems that the topaz is what knocked the
star from the sky causing her to suffer a broken leg. It is the star’s responsibility to carry
the topaz until it is claimed by its rightful owner. In addition to Tristran, there are three
witches who also covet the star. They want her heart, which will allow the witches to
recapture their lost strength and youth. The queen witch, Lilam, sends the eldest sister to
search for the star. She goes to Faerie, but the repeated use of her magic makes her older
and weaker as she continues.

Tristran is journeying through Faerie with the star as he attempts to return to Wall. They
are helped by the people of Faerie along the way and also face threats. Tristran frees the
star from the chain with which he has held her captive, and ends up saving her life when
they encounter the witch queen. This leads to a connection between Tristran and the star.
When they reach the Faerie Market just outside of Wall, Tristran finds that Victoria has
fallen in love with someone else. She tells Tristran that although she has promised to
marry Robert Monday, she will honour her commitment to Tristran if he asks her to.
Tristran releases her, happy to be with the star.

After sixty years of being a bound servant, the slave of the witch is released. The slave is
Lady Una, who is the first child of the eighty-first Lord of Stormhold. Tristran gets the topaz
from the star and takes his place and title as the eighty-second lord. Lady Una returns to
Stormhold. Eight years later, Tristran and the star return and rule the land after having
spent many happy years wandering about Faerie. Many more year’s passes, and upon
Tristran’s death, the star remains the ruler of Stormhold. Each night, she mounts the
highest tower in the kingdom to be close to her mother the moon and her sister the stars.

Publishers Weekly praised Neil Gaiman’s Stardust saying, “This novel is at once a magical
adventure, a charming love story and a fable about attaining one's heart's desire--which, in
Gaiman's world, is seldom what one thinks it to be. Grounding his narrative in mythic
tradition, Gaiman employs exquisitely rich language, natural wisdom, good humour and a
dash of darkness to conjure up a fairy tale in the grand tradition.”