The Perilous Gard

"The Perilous Gard" is a novel written in 1971 by Elizabeth Marie Pope. It was awarded the Newbery Honor in 1975.

Plot summary

The "Perilous Gard" takes place in England during the 1500s. The lead character, Kate Sutton, is a lady-in-waiting for Queen Mary I of England. Her sister, Alicia, inadvertantly gets her exiled to a castle named Elvenwood Hall, also known as The Perilous Gard, where she finds that the daughter of Sir Geoffrey Heron, the master of the hall, vanished under mysterious circumstances that implicate his brother, Christopher Heron. She also finds that the local villagers fear the fairy folk who live under the hill and think they may be kidnapping children. Kate stumbles into the underground fairy world where she faces several challenges, which include saving herself and Christopher, who chose to put himself foward as king of the Land. Kate though at the end saves him and Christopher takes Cecily to London to live with his sister Jenny (Jennifer). When Christopher comes back he proposes to Kate, and she accepts. Kate is granted freedom when Queen Elizabeth I ascends the throne.

In this book, faeries, or "the Old Ones", are cold, heartless creatures. They serve as a representation of the old pagan religions that were gradually driven out of England by Christianity. They are ruled by the GUARDIAN OF THE WELL and the QUEEN OF THE FAERIE FOLK.

The story has references to Tam Lin and weaves in ballads, paganism, and Christianity.

Parallels have been drawn between the characters and plot structure of "The Perilous Gard" and Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." Kate Sutton's sister, Alicia, behaves and talks very much like Lydia Bennett. On page 268, during a conversation with Kate, Alicia says, "Hadn't you heard? There was some old manor near Sir Geoffrey's house in Norfolk that he wanted, and he was buying it, so - oh, how silly of me! I forgot. We were keeping it a secret. He said I wasn't to tell you." Any reader of "Pride and Prejudice" will recognize the sentiment and tone of this statement from the scene where Lydia accidentally lets slip Mr. Darcy's involvement in her and Wickham's wedding. Additionally, Christopher Heron possesses the proud demeanor of Mr. Darcy, and, like Mr. Darcy, blames himself when harm comes to Cecily, his young niece (Cecily is comparable to Georgiana Darcy). Lastly, Kate seems very similar to Elizabeth Bennett. She is more intelligent than most other women, is her father's personal favorite, and has a clever and sometimes cutting tongue.