What I Can Recall or Recreate About “The Fellowfeel Books”

 

     It was sometime in the 1980’s that I first conceived the Fellowfeels. I vaguely remember coming up with the idea for the first story, not with a whole lot of details, but with a sort of plot that I could flesh out as it developed. My main delight was in coming up with chapter names that I thought were fun or clever or evocative, the same sort of titles that would intrigue me when I looked at a table of contents and would make me want to read the book.

After the outline for the first volume was done, the other six quickly followed, developing almost spontaneously one after the other. I remember typing it up (rather laboriously), on our old Brother EP43, and these two sheets still survive. The EP43 came out in 1985, so this helps put an approximate date on the original composition. I think I was typing up The Broadsheet of Imaginative Literature around the same time.

The main inspirations for the series were mostly The Dark is Rising books, then John Bellairs’ Lewis Barnavelt stories, Bed-knobs and Broomsticks, and lastly (and more distantly) the Narnia Chronicles. I imagined my stories taking place in the 1970’s of my childhood, as that period brand of youth was what I was familiar with, and (at the same time) wanted to come to grips with and memorialize.

1. The Man in the Mist

I. The High Hills

II. Following the Creek

III. Lost in the Caves

IV. The Knocker

V. Ivy Leads the Way

VI. The Deep Woods

VII. And What They Found There

VIII. Fool's Fire

IX. On the Peak

X. The Bells at Evening

XI. The Mist Gathers

XII. The Man in the Mist

XIII. The Blind Battle

XIV. Home Again

 

2. The Secret Gate

I. Summer Vacation

II. Around the Corner

III. Some Odd Observations

IV. The Old Storaway

V. Some Further Odd Observations

VI. The Reluctant Wizard

VII. Through the Gate

VIII. George Goes Down a Chimney

IX. The Golden Ball

X. An Unfortunate Discovery

XI. Pursuit in the Night

XII. Unexpected Help

XIII. A Gratifying Conclusion

XIV. What They Thought of It

 

3. The Stone Ring

I. News From Far Away

II. Over the Water

III. Cousin Lucy

IV. The River

V. The Stone Ring

VI. Who Came to Them

VII. Elvira Weeds

VIII. Lucy Makes a Bargain

IX. What Came of It

X. An Inexperienced Burglar

XI. George Goes to Jail

XII. An Unusual Dream

XIII. Elvira Uses the Ring

XIV. Some Farewells

 

4. A Dark, Hard Winter

I. Paul All Alone

II. Paul and Ivy

III. English 101

IV. The Clue in the Library

V. All Hallow's Eve

VI. A Chance Find

VII. Threats

VIII. Ivy's Intuition

IX. The End of November

X. P.E.

XI. The Holly and the Ivy

XII. New Year's Day

XIII. The Turning of the Tide

XIV. Spring

 

5. The Place of Elder Days

I. How They Came Together

II. A New Fellowship

III. Dry Spell

IV. Paul Strikes Out On His Own

V. What He Heard

VI. The Three Are Lost

VII. And Found Again

VIII. The Old Man's Wrath

IX. A Storm Brewin'

X. The Gray Man

XI. Lucy's Surprise

XII. Some Complicated Alchemy

XIII. The Spell Breaks

XIV. Goodbye to George and Ivy

 

6. The Sundering Flood

I. Paul's Project

II. The "Ark" Takes Shape

III. How They Were Left By Themselves

IV. Anxiety

V. Rising Waters

VI. They Take to the "Ark"

VII. The Launching of the "Ark"

VIII. Navigational Hazards

IX. What They Rescued From the Waters

X. Ten Miles Up

XI. Weathering the Storm

XII. The Wrack and Rubble

XIII. Lucy Makes Tea While the Sun Shines

XIV. Safe Harbor

 

7. The Badge of Bravery

I. Arthur

II. The Retired Witch

III. The Badge of Bravery

IV. What He Did For It

V. What He Did With It

VI. The Fellowship Meets

VII. Ivy Makes Friends

VIII. Further Information

IX. Mrs. Kettle Sneers

X. The Abuse of Power

XI. "I Pull the Strings"

XII. Ivy's Last Appeal

XIII. A Paradox of Power

XIV. The New Member

In the first book, “The Man in the Mist”, George and Ivy Fellowfeel go on an autumn camping trip into the hills with their parents. The siblings are in that 11-13 years-old age range, only about ten months apart, and that makes them rather competitive. Exploring, they follow a creek up to a cave. Daring each other to enter, they are quickly lost in the caverns. A mysterious knocking (‘knockers’ are a kind of Cornish mine spirit) directs them up out onto the side of the mountain. ‘Ivy Leads the Way’, and they are soon wandering in the woods there, where they encounter disquieting phenomena. They are lured along by ‘Fool’s Fire’ and end up near the peak of the mountain. From there they can hear distant bells, by which they know there is civilization not far away. But they can see that evening is coming on and to wander down in the dark could be disastrous. An eerie mist gathers, further bewildering their efforts. ‘The Man in the Mist’ appears (evil mountain spirit? ghost? sorcerer?) who has either lured them in, or, finding them trespassing on his domain, now means to punish them. ‘The Blind Battle’ in the mist now ensues, and the siblings (somehow) defeat their nemesis – with teamwork, I imagine. George and Ivy return to camp, scolded no doubt, but with a newly confirmed bond.

Looking back on it now, I can see the similar elements that popped up in “A Grave on Deacon’s Peak”. Brother and sister are lost on a mountain and fight an evil spirit. It wasn’t until I came to write the summary that I really noticed it. Perhaps because in the original dream of ‘the American fantasy’ they were two brothers. If I were to get all metafictional, I could even say that the two stories took place on the same mountain, 170 years or so apart.

I have the fewest memories of what was supposed to happen in “The Secret Gate”. It is now early the following summer, and George and Ivy go to spend a few weeks with (their parents’ friends? relatives?) while their Mom and Dad go on their own trip. They notice odd things going on in the neighborhood, and start to develop weird theories, first as a sort of game to stave off boredom but then in earnest. They trace everything down to ‘The Old Storaway’, a sort of Yesterday’s Warehouse place. After further investigation, the owner is revealed to be ‘The Reluctant Wizard’, whom circumstance has forced into a life of magic to counteract the machinations of a cabal of villains. He opens a magical door and they are transported ‘Through the Gate’ to spy on the villains’ headquarters. ‘George Goes Down a Chimney’ into the house, where he overhears their plans. When they leave the room, he steals ‘The Golden Ball’, the artifact of their plans and power. Unfortunately, he is discovered, and a chase begins. George and Ivy are pursued through the night, until they receive ‘Unexpected Help’. All is brought to ‘A Gratifying Conclusion’ (I seem to remember the villains are hoisted by their own petard; perhaps the Golden Ball was not quite what they expected). They return to the storekeeper and he explains what happened and the ramifications. Then the vacation is over, and they must return home. When they go for one last visit the store is empty and a note tells them that the wizard has relocated for security reasons.

In “The Stone Ring” it is now near the end of summer. The Fellowfeels get ‘News from Far Away’ from their Aunt Mary, that necessitates that they travel ‘Over the Water’ to England (perhaps as a balance to their parents’ previous vacation). There they meet their ‘Cousin Lucy’ who is a rather shy and lonely little girl. They play along ‘The River’, which is now little more than a stream, but used to be quite wide. They find ‘The Stone Ring’, which summons a magical being, who tells them it can grant them one wish when the time is right. While the cousins believe they should share the ring among themselves, Lucy wants to give it to ‘Elvira Weeds’ (a popular local girl) in the hopes that it will make her be her friend. She does so without the others consent. George, ‘An Inexperienced Burglar’, tries to get the ring back, but gets caught. ‘George Goes to Jail’. The creature comes to Ivy in a warning dream. ‘Elvira Uses the Ring’ in a way that backfires on her, and the status quo is restored. The visit ends, Lucy realizes she now has friends (albeit long distance ones) and they all promise to write and try for more visits in the future.

“The Dark, Hard Winter” starts with Paul Longway, who has recently moved into the Fellowfeels’ town and is feeling pretty isolated as he begins classes that fall. Ivy is feeling lonely, too. George has been advanced to a different school. The transition engages all his attention and she is on her own. ‘Paul and Ivy’ strike up an unusual friendship that is mocked by their classmates. Their elderly school (though it is based on Briesemeister) has some unusual secrets, which are hinted at by ‘The Clue in the Library’. Ivy’s nemesis is Holly, a girl with naïve occult pretensions. Mysteries deepen on ‘All Hallow’s Eve’, and ‘A Chance Find’ (some sort of evidence of magic) awakens ‘Ivy’s Intuition’ about what Holly is up to. The days darken through ‘The End of November’ and Paul struggles with ‘P.E.’ and its embarrassments. Right before Christmas vacation, Holly and Ivy have a confrontation, that leads to a period of foul weather all the way past ‘New Year’s Day’, ruining the holiday. Paul and Ivy work together to break Holly’s plot, however, and there is a ‘Turning of the Tide’. ‘Spring’ brings the resolution of most of their problems, with Paul beginning to fit in, Holly rendered harmless, and Ivy feeling more self-confident apart from George, who now that he has found his own place in his new school, accepts Paul as part of their circle.

“The Place of Elder Days” happens that summer. The Fellowfeel family go to a ranch/camp in the Southwest (Texas?) for their vacation, and the visiting Lucy and Paul are their guests. Together they form ‘A New Fellowship’. The ranch is suffering from ‘A Dry Spell’, however, an unusually withering heat that is spoiling their time. Feeling rather the odd wheel, ‘Paul Strikes Out on His Own’. He accidentally overhears some uncomfortable news. Meanwhile, “The Three Are Lost” when George, Ivy and Lucy set out to find Paul. They are found again by Paul and the local Indian shaman he has met. He explains to the children about ‘The Old Man’s Wrath’ that has conjured up the dry spell to exact his revenge and drive the camp out of existence. The shaman himself is trying to get ‘A Storm Brewing’ to break the drought. ‘The Gray Man’ captures Lucy when she trespasses on his property. The others plan to rescue her, but to their surprise she has managed to convince him that he is mistaken. However, the curse is now too strong for the old man to break by himself, so he, the children, and the shaman must work ‘Some Complicated Alchemy’. ‘The Dry Spell Breaks’ and balance is restored. Paul and Lucy say ‘Goodbye to George and Ivy’ as the vacation ends and they all go home, Paul to the other side of their hometown and Lucy to visit the Fellowfeel uncle.

“The Sundering Flood” takes place later that same summer. Paul goes to a camp in the hills and finds (in a complete coincidence) that Ivy (still visiting with her uncle) is attending too, on the girl’s side. ‘Paul’s Project’ is patching up an old ruined flatboat that has been serving the camp as a storage cabin for many years. Paul is glad Ivy is near; he feels no connection with the other campers. In fact, he is using the excuse of working on the cabin to get off by himself. As the project progresses ‘The Ark Takes Shape’; not only does he restore it as a shed, he finds that with a bit of effort he can make it ‘sea-worthy’ again. And a good thing too, because when they (and a few other campmates?) are left behind from going on a hike into the hills, a sudden storm floods the area, causing ‘Anxiety’ and ‘Rising Waters’. They move supplies and stuff into the Ark, which stands at the highest spot of the camp. The camp is cut off by the waters; they can neither leave nor get word out. The other campers on the hike are trapped in the hills but safe enough from the flood. The flood launches the Ark and they have no choice but to ride it out. The rest of the story is just our old Charlie Brown playing, as adapted in Elf and Bear, Chapter 7: “The Flood”.  They face ‘Navigational Hazards’, rescue animals and stuff from the flood, and are carried ‘Ten Miles Up the River’ while they are ‘Weathering the Storm’. They come to rest among ‘The Wrack and Rubble’ and ‘Lucy Makes Tea While the Sun Shines’.  They realize that they are not far away from town, so they make a controlled launch this time and finally make ‘Safe Harbor’, where they are hailed as heroes of survival.

“The Badge of Bravery” opens with a new character, Arthur Ingeld. Arthur is a timid, almost neurotic little boy who is afraid to do anything. He can’t face even trying to learn to ride a bike or make a friend. He runs into Mrs. Kettle, ‘The Retired Witch’ (at a garage sale? she moves into the neighborhood?), who divines his problems and offers him ‘The Badge of Bravery’. This is an amulet that will give him courage (of a sort). Ironically, first he must perform a deed for her which requires him to get out of his comfort zone before she will give it to him. Once he has the Badge, however, he finds he has become self-confident. In fact, to his unease, he grows arrogant and overbold, doing actions over which he has no control. But he supposes that’s just how ‘brave’ people act. Enter the Fellowship of George, Ivy, Lucy, and Paul. They divine something is going on with their classmate Arthur and investigate. ‘Ivy Makes Friends’ with Arthur and discovers ‘Further Information’. When they confront her, ‘Mrs. Kettle Sneers’ and informs them that Arthur is now under her control through the Badge, her puppet to carry out evil deeds that she’s too old to do herself anymore. She tells them “I Pull the Strings,” and that she’s planning one last big act that will never be traced back to her. Arthur will take the fall. Ivy makes one final appeal to Arthur to break away from the power of the Badge, but Arthur is now ironically unwilling and afraid to take it off, lest he revert to his old weak self. In ‘A Paradox of Power’, however, the Badge enables him to bravely accept who he really is, and he destroys the Badge and Mrs. Kettle’s power. The witch collapses and is hauled off by an ambulance, never to be seen again. Arthur joins the Fellowship, and with the support of his new friends begins building up and building on the seeds of the real courage he had all along.

“The Fellowfeels” (which was always only a placeholder name) appear in my short story “Come Together”, where various of my characters gather to sit shiva on my corpse. It comes to me, in a rare double-twisted time loop, that Bazzell Butzehauser from “Brother Silas” enjoys the seven-book series, which exists in his continuum.