Lords and Ladies

by Stephen Briggs (Adapter), Terry Pratchett

It's Midsummer Night – no time for dreaming. Because sometimes, when there's more than one reality at play, too much dreaming can make the walls between them come tumbling down.

Unfortunately there's usually a damned good reason for there being walls between them in the first place – to keep things out. Things who want to make mischief and play havoc with the natural order.

Granny Weatherwax and her tiny coven of witches are up against real elves. And they're spectacularly nasty creatures. Even in a world of dwarves, wizards, trolls, Morris dancers – and the odd orang-utan – this is going to cause trouble…

Adapted by Terry Pratchett's long-time collaborator Stephen Briggs, this play text version of Pratchett's bestselling Discworld novel Lords and Ladies wittily and faithfully reimagines the story for the stage.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

111 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 22, 2021

About the author

Stephen Briggs is a British writer of subsidiary works and merchandise surrounding Terry Pratchett's comic fantasy Discworld. He is also a narrator of many Discworld audiobooks
who graduated from Curtin University with a double major in Theatre Arts and Creative Writing before attending WAPPA and studying Broadcasting. Midway through his time there he decided he didn't want to be a journo and moved to Sydney to join RMK Voice Productions. Stephen has voiced countless campaigns and appeared in numerous professional plays. He has written and directed six short films, one of which, Whatever it Takes, satirises the Voice Over business.

Please note that there is a separate Stephen^^Briggs whose area of expertise is psychotherapy.

Reviews

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun adventure with the Witches!

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an avid Terry Pratchett reader, this book was definitely interesting. It is reminiscent of other books he has written, most notably to me the Tiffany Aching series.
For me, the book has a very slow start. Honestly, I had a bit of a hard time getting caught up in it, which is unusual for me regarding anything to do with the Discworld. I do feel that the story snagged me, but toward the late middle rather than the beginning. The writing tone and prose are perfect, as always, and there were definitely some great moments.
Things I loved:
-Magrat Garlick's character arc. Anyone who has read the book is probably dwelling on the keyhole scene, as I am. It lives in my head rent free.
-The twist of elves and fae and unicorns being evil creatures, rather than whimsy little things. As I stated earlier, this is also found in the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett. I would also argue that this world of the elves and the Elf Queen were explored more interestingly there, though you get more of the elf peons in this novel, rather than just the Queen.
-Anything to do with Nanny Og. I love her to bits and enjoy any moment which the novel focuses on her and her mass of children.
-The humor. I think that perhaps this is a given for reading Terry Pratchett. But as always, the humor continued to delight me.

Some things that I did not love:
-The romance or bygone romance between Ridcully and Weatherwax. I don't know why, but I did not enjoy this aspect of the story. For me it was akin to finding out my grandparents were doing the devil's tango. It made me a bit squeamish, and I find a romance between them didn't feel genuine. I also felt that Weatherwaxs' exploration of what her life could have been had she chosen marriage over witchery not thoroughly explored enough for it to make much impact on me as a reader.
-The pacing. As I stated earlier, the pacing toward the beginning was a bit slow, especially in contrast to many of Pratchett's works.
-The Morris Men. While funny at times, this bit felt a bit too on the nose for me. It's nearly a direct call back to the play this novel is based on, and I would've loved a subversion of expectation.

Overall, Lords and Ladies is by no means a bad novel, though given the high caliber of other works by Pratchett, it is hard not to compare. This is a fun read if you enjoy the Discworld witches (which I do), a dash of fae mischief, a strong female protagonist who finds her hidden depths out of sheer necessity, a representation of the Wizards from Unseen University, and witty tongue in cheek prose.

[Michael Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

You ever showed up to a party that seems like it’s been going on for a while and it would continue on the same if you left immediately. I assume this is part of a bigger series so I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt of 2 stars instead of one. It was painful to get through at times. I don’t know who this is for. At times the characters will say something clever or funny and then at others things will just happen with no explanation. Elves look to return to the world, from wherever they are “imprisoned.” Granny weatherwax and her friend Nanny Ogg are suspicious of this happening. Magrat Garlick is set to marry Verence II and become queen. But she’s also a witch? A side plot of actors practicing a play sets loose the elves who wreak havoc on the town. Yada yada yada, big show down, confusing ending with bees. Oh and the elves are warded off by iron, like vampires with garlic. Maybe I should give this one star, I really wanted to like this. Big let down.

[Daniel Greear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lords and Ladies:

Fun, quick, and simple. Lords and Ladies is a parody of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I know almost nothing about that play, so I’m sure the story is enhanced if you are familiar with it. This book features many of the best characters in the series including Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg. I found the elves to be sinister and eerie.

I am reading these on Kindle, and it looks like Amazon in the US only has the ‘modern plays’ version of this in the Kindle Store. I can’t find the novel. So this means I read a play, thinking it was how Terry Pratchett structured the book. I will at some point need to go back and read the novel version now.

[Matthew Meigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Diskworld book with some fantastic moments

[Jessica Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just keep loving Granny Weatherwax more and more!