Foxglove Summer Trivia Quiz

Answer: Croft Castle

Those who have read the book might remember that Croft Castle and its estate form the backdrop to the novel. Those who haven't but are familiar with English geography might be aware of the locations of some of the other options, and eliminate those that they know are not in Herefordshire.

For those who aren't so familiar with them, Stonehenge is in Wiltshire, Mam Tor is in Derbyshire and Cissbury Ring is in Sussex. The nearest of these three is about 80 miles from Herefordshire.

The castle itself isn't relevant to the plot, but the castle estates, particularly the woodlands are.

Answer: Samantha

Samantha or Stan was injured in an accident involving alcohol and a quad bike. She has called in her police friend as her stash of illegal drugs, poached meat and red diesel has been raided. The theft appears to have happened around the same time as the girls going missing.

By the end of the story, the chief suspect is an invisible, carnivorous unicorn. Nothing unusual in that, certainly nothing to do with UFOs. UFO detection does provide Peter with an alibi when he purchases electronics so that he can search for magical creatures.

Matthew Ten-Tons appears in the third book of this series, "Whispers Underground".

Answer: Mortimer Trail

All these paths exist in the UK, but only one of them passes anywhere near Herefordshire, and that is the Mortimer Trail. The trail is referred to repeatedly throughout the book. The trail runs from Ludlow in Shropshire to Kington in Herefordshire. Whiteway Head also appears on the map as the book describes. Whiteway Head was a significant location on the networks of historical tracks both in British History and in this novel.

Answer: Lugg

The goddess of the River Severn is Sabrina, who is only mentioned in passing and has not appeared in any of the books so far. The goddess of the River Teme is Miss Teveyddyadd, while her daughter Corve is the goddess of the River Corve. In keeping with the concepts in the other books, this is because the River Corve is a tributary of the River Teme.

As a passing note it is claimed on Wikipedia that the names Teme and Thames come from the same root. I don't have access to the quoted sources to verify this, but it does nicely tie up with London rivers.

The River Lugg used to have a Genius Loci, but Welsh Methodists had "done in" the resident in the nineteenth century, according to Miss Teveyddyadd.
It is possible that the River Lugg may regain a resident spirit in the future, due to the activities of Beverley and Peter.

Answer: Starling

The reason for Peter Grant's appearance this far from London is to check on a retired wizard, Hugh Oswald. This gentleman calls Peter "Nightingale's Starling". This appears to be a common term for Peter amongst the magic-using and demi-monde communities. So far as this story goes, the origin of this term hasn't been identified.

Answer: Trolls

Beverley Brook, the goddess of the Thames tributary of the same name, has been sent to assist Peter Grant. She has appeared in most of the previous novels. By the end of this novel, she describes Peter as her boyfriend.

Trolls have been noted as living in London, as per the first book in the series. A later book notes that another troll has undertaken employment as a Physical Education teacher in a school in Reading.

In this part of the novel, Beverley reveals her knowledge of forestry management. All of her sisters are rather interested in this as "ground cover has a critical impact on water tables and flow rates". I suspect that if I was the Genius Loci of a river, I would also be interested in those things that affected my well-being. Thinking about it, as a normal person I am interested in those things that affect my well-being.

Answer: Cathedral & Anne Summers shop

Although Dominic was born in the countryside, he claims to have hated it and moved to the city as soon as possible. This is a bit of a problem as his boyfriend is a farmer. Dominic and his partner assist Peter's night-time expedition to tempt some of the demi-monde out of hiding.

Answer: Subject of an Elgar opera

How does this relate to the story? Well at this point Peter Grant is investigating the possibility of fae and demi-monde activity in the area. He is studying a book from the early twentieth century which details magical activity in the countryside. The author was upset that his theory about the location of Caractucus's last stand was not supported by the evidence.

Forgetting the story for a moment and looking at the historical record, Caractacus is believed to have made his last stand somewhere in the England/Wales border area. The only information which is considered accurate is the description of the site by the Roman historian, Tacitus.

Additionally Elgar wrote a choral cantata about Caractacus but not an opera. The only opera of Elgar's is the incomplete work "The Spanish Lady". Rolf Harris did sing a song, "The Court of King Caractacus", which has no bearing on "Foxglove Summer".

Answer: Quantum mechanics

This all comes out in a discussion between Peter Grant and retired wizard Hugh Oswald. Hugh is reminiscing about World War 2, the Battle of Ettersburg and Operation Spatchcock. David Mellenby was one of the survivors who later committed suicide.

Thomas Nightingale was heavily involved with the battle, as has been referred to in previous books. Nightingale keeps tight-lipped about it, so this conversation provides Peter a bit of previously unknown background information. The operation was to capture the notes of the Nazis' magical experiments, to prevent the Russians or anyone else getting their hands on them. Many British wizards died. Nightingale is revealed to have been against the operation from the start and wanted the place bombed out of existence instead.

Answer: Traction engine

The Fairy Queen, also known as the Queen of the Fae, has Peter on the end of a rope as the result of a hostage swap. Beverley Brook turns up on the traction engine (described in the book as a "steam road locomotive"), although the shotgun loaded with scrap iron does help in negotiations.

A quote in this showdown echoes Terry Pratchett. In "Foxglove Summer" Beverley says to the Queen, referring to the scrap iron, words to the effect of "I don't know if this will kill you." This is followed by, "But think of the fun we could have finding out."

In "Wyrd Sisters" by Terry Pratchett, you will find a very similar quote from Magrat: "You're wondering if I really would slit your throat. To tell the truth, I don't know either, but think of the fun we could have finding out."

Beyond this, "The Fairie Queene" is the title of both a long poem by Edmund Spenser and an opera by Henry Purcell.