Lord Darcy

Lord Darcy is a fictional character used in a number of stories by Randall Garrett.

Related Topics:
Fictional character - Randall Garrett

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Darcy is a detective in an alternate history. The world was contemporary, to date of first publishing, but very different. Magic is an accepted, regulated and scientifically codified part of society, a talented few by the use of words, rituals and materials can achieve a wide range of effects. Magical healing, by the laying of hands, is effective. The Church is powerful and a central component of everyone's lives. The society is stratified — nobles and commoners, all important positions are held by nobles — they dispense justice, still maintain private soldiers etc. Technology and science has suffered with the rise of magic, many elements are early Victorian — horse-drawn carriages, gas jets for lighting. An electric torch, with magical parts, is "a fantastic device, a secret of His Majesty's Government." Magic has not come to replace much technology, there are few magical equivalents for the missing mechanical devices.

Related Topics:
Detective - Alternate history - Victorian

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The cause of the ossification is the Plantagenets. Richard I, returned to England after being wounded, but recovered and ruled well, John Lackland never had power and died in exile. Richard died in 1219 was succeeded by his nephew Arthur, and 750 years later the current king is "John IV, by the Grace of God, King and Emperor of England, France, Scotland, Ireland , New England , and New France ; Defender of the Faith, et cetera", he is also Holy Roman Emperor over the fragmented duchies of Germany and Italy.

Related Topics:
Plantagenets - Richard I - John Lackland - 1219 - Arthur - Holy Roman Emperor

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Darcy is Chief Criminal Investigator for Prince Richard, Duke of Normandy — the brother of the king. An Englishman, he lives in Rouen, but spends very little time there. His assistant is Master Sean O'Lochlainn, a sorcerer who undertakes magical forensic work.

Related Topics:
Rouen - Sean O'Lochlainn

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As in many of Garrett's other writings, he takes every opportunity to insert subtle, or otherwise, allusions to other fiction — in these stories there are many echoes of other classic, or otherwise, detectives. For example, in Too Many Magicians there is a cameo appearance by the Marquis de London, who looks and talks like Nero Wolfe, an identification reinforced by his sidekick Lord Bontriomphe (whose name is a literal French translation of "Goodwin") and his cook Frederique Bruleur (corresponding to Wolfe's cook Fritz Brenner). More subtly, the murder victim, a famous Master Sorcerer named Sir James Zwinge, shares his name with The Amazing Randi. Darcy himself resembles Sherlock Holmes in a number of ways, though O'Lochlainn is by no means a Watson.

Related Topics:
Nero Wolfe - "Goodwin" - The Amazing Randi - Watson

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Despite the magical trappings, the Lord Darcy stories play fair as whodunnits; magic is never used to "cheat" a solution.

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Too Many Magicians is the only Lord Darcy novel: it first appeared in Analog magazine from August to November 1966 and was issued in book form by Doubleday in 1967. This was followed by two short story collections: Murder and Magic (1979), and Lord Darcy Investigates (1981), containing stories that had appeared in Analog, Fantastic and other magazines. Garrett's extended illness and death prevented him from writing more Lord Darcy tales as he had intended.

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Two more Lord Darcy novels, Ten Little Wizards (1988), and A Study In Sorcery (1989), were written by Garrett's friend Michael Kurland after Garrett's death.

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In 1999, Randall Garrett won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History Special Achievement Award for the Lord Darcy series.

Related Topics:
1999 - Sidewise Award for Alternate History

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