Book:The Shepherd's Crown/Annotations

Doubleday hardback (UK), p10:

Tiffany notices young Feegle are following her on her rounds and collecting examples of the strongest substance known to man, toenail clippings from the elderly. It is not specified as to what they do with them, but she suspects some sort of weapon-use is involved. Later in the book crescent-shaped boomerangs are deployed as weapons.

Compare this to Pat O'Shea's fantasy novel Hounds of the Morrigan (Reading_Suggestions) where the Celtic Irish war goddess Morrigan returns to Ireland. She/they (the Morrigan is a triple Goddess) uses her fingernails as a sort of boomerang-like ninja throwing star. This is also in Irish mythology, apparently. Where fingernails are lethal projectile weapons.

Doubleday hardback (UK), p19:

Mephistopheles is a good name for a goat. Although perhaps not as fitting as "Baphomet". Apparently Geoffrey Swivel got the name from a book. Geoofrey reads widely. Another literary Swivel on the Disc is the Ankh-Morpork Times' literary critic Tuppence Swivel. On Roundworld the demon Mephistopheles appears to Faust, in both book and opera, to offer him the Standard Contract. Demons, such as Baphomet, are closely associated with goats. And we know on the Discworld the nearest equivalent to the Faust thing happened with a youth called Eric.

And the story of the goat Mephistopheles - the rejected runt in the litter who needs intervention in order to survive - is echoed a little later when Tiffany Aching rescues the unwanted triplet Tiffany Robinson (p48). Foreshadowing?

Doubleday hardback (UK), p21: Langus, who like Daedelus managed to fly. This is not a million miles away from Lingus, as in the Irish national airline Aer Lingus.

Doubleday hardback (UK), p32 and on: Pratchett tours the Disc to get a series of reactions, from established characters, to the Disc-changing event that marks the early part of this book (sorry: no spoilers. But it's a big one. We can rewrite this bit after the book has circulated a bit and people have had time to read it.) As he calls back to the events of Equal Rites - Smith's rag-rug on the bed and a very brief cameo from Esk - he reverts, in this chapter, to the second-person writing style that distinguished Equal Rites from the other early novels.

Doubleday hardback (UK), p42: An enigma fated never to be be resolved: the second reference to Eskarina Smith's son. (Although this is discussed elsewhere on the wiki).

Doubleday hardback (UK), p44: Triplets are born. A daughter is disregarded after two sons. Tiffany takes charge and even names the girl Tiffany after herself. There is a hint that in the fullness of time this girl will become the next non-leader that the community of witches emphatically doesn't have; Pratchett's way of saying the circles of life continue?

Doubleday hardback (UK), p45: The white cat You's mysterious means of getting about. Elsewhere it has been speculated that this is a case of Schrödinger's Hat....

Doubleday hardback (UK), p214: It had to happen. The concept that Discworld lumberjacks perform their duties better when wearing womens' clothing. They even get the 'Biggerwoods mail-order catalogue. In Britain, Littlewoods is a popular mail-order company specialising in women's clothing from lingerie up to outerwear.

Doubleday hardback (UK), p223 In this case Elvish has indeed left the building. A callback to Soul Music.

Doubleday hardback (UK), p230: A callback to Granny Weatherwax in Lords and Ladies. Only here, Tiffany is contemplating the possibility inherent - what if Elves really can be made to learn? What if they learn, and develop, and grow up a little?

Doubleday hardback (UK), p277: A shout-out to a bleak old English ballad made relevant by Terry's favourite band, Steeleye Span. The ballad "Long Lankin" is about child-murder by night and named this particular elf. The LP that has this song, incidentally, is called The Commoner's Crown. Listen to it here