The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Susan Cooper’s Six Signs, the Old Ones and the Greenwitch
"When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back." With a rhyme like that, Will Stanton discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is the Sign-Seeker, the last of the immortal Old Ones, destined to fight the powers of evil gathering over the land. Susan Cooper’s fantasy sequence, published in Spanish as Los seis signos de la luz, has become a classic of children’s literature. This post brings together two reviews of the series: The Dark Is Rising and Greenwitch.
Author: Susan Cooper
Title: The Dark Is Rising sequence (five books, 1965–1977)
Format: English paperback omnibus (Puffin), 800 pages, containing all five novels
Scope: Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark Is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King; Silver on the Tree
Amazon: www.amazon.es/dp/0140316884 (ASIN 0140316884)
The Six Signs of the Light
Will’s astonishment at his new ability to travel through time is immense. The gift has a purpose: he must use it to find the six Signs of the Light, which long ago helped his forebears defeat the Dark. He has only twelve days to find them, and his task is vital, because once they are joined they will create a force strong enough to overcome the darkness.
Before he can complete his mission, Will faces many obstacles that he could never overcome without the help of Merriman, the Lady and the other Old Ones. It is the classic struggle between good and evil, in the tradition of The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. Cooper deals with important themes: growing up, curiosity, the importance of family and friendship, and rising to a challenge. You can also buy The Dark Is Rising on its own.
Greenwitch: A Grail, a Manuscript and a Wish
In Greenwitch, an agent of the Dark steals a golden chalice, the Grail of Trewissick, from the British Museum, but the thief still needs the manuscript that explains the engravings around it. The three Drew children, who found the relic in an earlier adventure, spend their Easter holidays in Cornwall, where they meet Will Stanton.
The village is preparing its annual spring ritual, open only to women, in which the villagers build the Greenwitch, a figure of branches and stone, and throw it into the sea from a cliff. Jane Drew is invited. Before it is thrown, each woman touches the Greenwitch and makes a wish; Jane, sensing its immense power and loneliness, can only wish for it to be happy. The lost manuscript lies with the Greenwitch under the sea, and in the end, after the agent of the Dark is defeated, the Greenwitch gives it to Jane as a reward for her kindness. Recommended from about age ten; available separately as Greenwitch.
Traditions, Dreams and a Disenchanted World
The reviewer singled out the themes of Greenwitch: the meaning of tradition (Cooper draws on Celtic and Cornish customs throughout), the importance of dreams in everyday life, and the loss of magic in a highly scientific, rational world.
Awards and Settings
The sequence was recognised early: The Dark Is Rising was a Newbery Honor book, and The Grey King, set in the mountains of Wales, won the Newbery Medal in 1976. Cooper, who was born in Buckinghamshire and later moved to the United States, roots each book in a real British landscape, from Cornwall to the Welsh valleys, which is part of why the magic feels so close to the ground. A 2007 film loosely based on the second book disappointed most fans; the novels are the thing.
Why Read It Now
The sequence, first published between the 1960s and 1970s, remains a cornerstone of British fantasy for young readers; its fourth book, The Grey King, won the Newbery Medal. The Puffin omnibus is the easiest way to read all five in order, starting with Over Sea, Under Stone, where the Drews first find the Grail.
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Part of the reading recommendations featured on books.sapiensverbum.com.
