The Deptford Histories

Published in the United Kingdom
by Hodder Children's Books.

Published in the United States by Chronicle Books. Cover illustration, © Leonid Gore.

'Long, long ago when the mountains were but hills and the ungirdled oceans were pools and meres, a vast darkness lay over eastern lands.

Whilst on western shores the foundations of the three thrones were still part of the living rock and the Raith Sidhe had not grown to an eighth of their later strength, in the East a foulness reigned.'

Storming the city of Hara

It is four years since the fall of Jupiter, but upon the Cutty Sark all is far from well. Thomas Triton, midshipmouse, is tormented by horrific visions of the past; of stormlashed seas, ferocious battles, lost cities and terrifying heathen gods.

But now the time has come to confront the most chilling memory of his youth and a dark, dreadful secret...

Musings

'How could I not write an account of the early adventures of the midshipmouse? In the original trilogy, he was always keeping some dark secret back until we finally learn that somehow he was responsible for the death of his best friend, Woodget. With that in mind I set about compiling his history and writing his memoirs.

From the beginning I knew it had to be an epic quest type of story and the enemy had to be something entirely different, that was how the idea of the Scales came into being - that frightening sect who worshipped the banished serpent god. I found their habit of ripping their skins off to be quite revolting and terrifying, but its a perfectly logical and necessary thing for them to do.

Of course, we haven't seen the last of Simoon and I don't think its right for Thomas to end his days suffering with that terrible guilt - do you?'

'There were a couple of special guest cameo appearances in this book. We meet Morgan, shortly before his tail is hacked in half, and also a young ratmaiden who decides that the glamorous life of a fortune teller is for her. I'm always on the lookout for interesting and unusal names and have collected quite few I've yet to use. I took the name of the sea maiden, Zenna, from the daughter of a very nice librarian I met when I visited her school in Shropshire.'

The Characters

Thomas Stubbs.
A brash young mouse with a weakness for berrybrew and who will one day become Thomas Triton.

Woodget Pipple
A fieldmouse from Betony Bank and Thomas' best friend. A great doom lies before him.

Mulligan
An Irish, one legged seafarer who bears a terrible burden which must not fall into the wrong claws.

Zenna
A daughter of the sea.

Mother Lotus/Ma Skillet
Ugly fat rat who owns a foul drinking den in Singapore called the Lotus Parlour.

Dimlon/Dimmy
A simple brained mouse befriended by Thomas and Woodget.

Captain Chattan Giri
Mongoose Captain from the fabled Indian city of Hara.

Neltemi
One of the twelve mouse maidens who tended the Shrine of Virbius.

Gorscarrigern/Sarpedon/Scarophion/The Dark Despoiler
The evil serpent God whose corporeal form was vanquished many years ago but whose dreadful spirit is ever waiting to return.

The Holy One
An ancient Lorus, one of the wisest of all creatures. He dwells in the city of Hara.

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