Charles de Lint, Promises to Keep (Subterranean Publications, 2007)
Jilly Coppercorn is perhaps the most beloved of the characters de Lint created for his Newford tales (Geordie Riddell, fiddler and friend of Jilly is certainly the other well-known and loved character.) Indeed she largely forms the tale of The Onion Girl and its sequel, Widdershins, the latter of which (sort of) concludes the story of Coppercorn as it has developed over the years. But little is known about how she came to be the talented if somewhat troubled artist in the Newford novels. Now it is certainly true Jilly and her present-day story are one of de Lint's best known creations, and one that our reviewers here know well. Michael Jones in his Dreams Underfoot review described her this way:
One of the best-known characters is Jilly Coppercorn. Artist, dreamer, and all-around good person, she's like a weirdness magnet, attracting fairies, goblins, ghosts, things that go bump in the night, and friends who've experienced the same. She's one of the keystones of Newford's magic, and it's a sure bet that she'll gravitate towards anything not quite normal, either through direct experience, or by being friends with someone else.
And Michael builds on his look at her in The Onion Girl review he did:
Anyone who's ever visited Charles de Lint's mythical North American city of Newford knows Jilly Coppercorn. Artist, visionary, friend, described by de Lint as "the heart and soul of Newford." She moves from story to story, book to book, the sort of person who knows and is known by just about everyone. From her first cameo appearance in the short story "Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair" (reprinted in de Lint's short story collection Dreams Underfoot), all the way to his most recent book, she's been a constant intertwining thread, a shining beacon of belief and friendship. For she sees magic, and believes, and in doing so, makes it just a little more real for the rest of us. For years, she's existed on the periphery of the stories, aiding and advising her friends, often acting as a witness to events the rest of us would never believe in.
Ahhh, but what do we really know about her? If you've read The Onion Girl, you do know how her story started in the bitterness of the ultimate betrayal a family can visit upon a young girl. But a little back story is oft times enough as, Robert Tilendis, who did the honors of reviewing that novel comments about de Lint's telling of her back story:
Jilly's story, which forms the core of the novel, is by the same token the least satisfying. It is a long working out of the scars left by childhood sexual abuse, which is a theme that has insinuated itself into speculative fiction more and more in recent years, although to my mind the best example so far is still Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy. If one is going to include a measure of introspection in a novel, it should provide strong illustration of character as well as moving the story along (unless, of course, one is James Joyce or William Faulkner, in which case it becomes the story). Especially in a story like this, in which the introspection -- in this case, a literal world inside Jilly's head -- is about something before which the hero is powerless, it is best handled succinctly. We don't need pages and pages of heroic helplessness. We all have our ghosts. I know they're there -- I don't need my nose rubbed in it...
This was a sentiment echoed by Tim Pratt (and which I fully agree with) when we discussed this novel:
I really liked all the stuff in the city of the dead. The bits about Jilly meeting Sophie, Wendy, Geordie, Professor Dapple etc. were a bit less interesting to me, as I'd basically read it all before in earlier stories, and this version didn't add much. I did hope we'd discover that the Jilly we know and love was the real Jilly's shadow-self, but I can see why he chose not to go that way! Overall I enjoyed it a lot. I thought he got back near the top of his game with Widdershins after a couple of less successful books, and he seems to be keeping it up!
(Tim's the author of Blood Engines, a forthcoming urban fantasy that he describes thusly: 'A snarky, ass-kicking sorceress named Marla Mason travels to San Francisco to find an artifact of great power, gets embroiled in local magical politics, and has to hunt down a supernatural serial killer. Poisonous frogs, Aztec gods, and other hijinks ensue.)
So why a Jilly origin story? Charles says
After Widdershins, I thought I wouldn't write at length about Jilly again. I'd promised one more short story about her for Bill at Subterranean Press, but that would be it. Having left her in a good place at the end of Widdershins, I didn't want to complicate her life yet again, so I planned to set the story earlier in her life, during her first year as a student at Butler University.
Except the story grew. I was having too much fun visiting with this younger Jilly, so I asked Bill if I could expand it and swap it for the “best of Newford” collection that he'd contracted with me. He agreed, so now I'm busily working away on this as-yet-untitled novella.
It takes place in 1972 and begins with Jilly getting a surprise visit from an old friend -- her only friend -- from her runaway days. Interspersed with the main story that leads off from that meeting are flashbacks to pivotal moments in her life: time spent in the Home for Wayward Girls, her life on the street, meeting and working with the Grasso Street Angel, the first time she meets various familiar faces (Geordie, Sophie, etc.), and chronicles how the messed-up street kid she was grew a social conscience, and became the cheerful character we know from later stories.
Although the book does deal with some serious subjects, the tone isn't all doom and gloom. And while I hope that those of you familiar with these characters will enjoy this visit with their younger selves, I'm also trying to make it a friendly entry into Newford for new readers.
Lastly, I'm delighted to say that Mike Dringenberg -- an artist I've wanted to work with for ages -- will be doing the cover.
Oh, that cover art which you can see here. When the ARC arrived a few weeks ago, I was absolutely stunned by how well it matched my conception of Jilly! Indeed knowing how quickly this edition will sell out, I ordered my copy that very afternoon.
Now you will notice that I haven't actually discussed the novel yet. At a fairly compact 173 pages, it's a quick and fascinating look at the time that Jilly got a chance to visit (and stay if she wished) in a place where the Dead, those we call ghosts, have everything they desire. (if there is a dark side, an evil if you will, this city inbetween, de Lint really doesn't show it in any meaningful detail except in a way that I'll not describe here.) In deciding if she wishes to stay, Jilly must examine where she is now and where she has come from. In the course of this tale, Jilly will indeed decide that living, no matter how imperfect it is at times, is just something she must do.
As always, de Lint has some very nice background touches, i.e., the Juvenile Hall friend of Jilly's is a bassist in a rockabilly band. I would've sworn that this musical genre developed much later as it was popular here decade ago but rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music to emerge during the 1950s! That same friend has, like Bradbury's Illustrated Man, tattoos all over her that tell her life story. Oh, and why Jilly is named what she is explained here as well.
Is Promises to Keep worth reading? Not if you haven't read The Onion Girl and its sequel, Widdershins which really are the story of Jilly Coppercorn. If you are a true fan of the Newford novels and stories, you will definitely want to reserve your copy now as I've no doubt this will indeed sell out fast. (Seven Wild Sisters, another Newford novel on Subterranean Publications which sold for a mere $35 now fetches upwards of $400 on the secondary book market.) I, for one, wouldn't want to not get Promises to Keep!
