Misplaced Pages

Earthsea: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 13:39, 21 November 2007 editGed UK (talk | contribs)Administrators37,253 editsmNo edit summary← Previous edit Latest revision as of 16:07, 23 October 2024 edit undoJontesta (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,470 editsNo edit summary 
(795 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Fantasy fiction series by Ursula K. Le Guin 1968–2001}}
] ] ] edition of ''A Wizard of Earthsea'', illustrated by ] ]]
{{about|the books|other uses}}
'''Earthsea''' is a ] created by ] for her short story "]", published in ], but that became more famous in her novel '']'', first published in ]. The books that follow '']'' are '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']''. All are set in the world of Earthsea, as are (to date) seven short stories by Le Guin two of which are not collected in any of these books.
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox book series
| name = Earthsea
| books = {{plainlist|
* '']''
* '']''
* '']''
* '']''
* '']'' (collection)
* '']''
}}
| image = The Books of Earthsea.jpg
| caption = Cover of ''The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition'', with art by Charles Vess.
| author = ]
| illustrator = Pauline Ellison<br />Ruth Robbins<br />]<br />Gail Garraty<br />Margaret Chodos-Irvine<br />Kelly Nelson<br />Marion Wood Kolisch<br />]<br />]
| country = United States
| genre = ], ] (first three books)
| publisher = Parnassus Press, ], ], ] (US)
| pub_date = 1964–2018 <!-- span of Earthsea publications --> (novels, 1968–2001)
| media_type = Print (] and ]), ]
}}


'''''The Earthsea Cycle''''', also known as '''''Earthsea''''', is a series of ] books written by the American author ]. Beginning with '']'' (1968), '']'', (1970) and '']'' (1972), the series was continued in '']'' (1990), and '']'' and '']'' (both 2001). In 2018, all the novels and short stories were published in a single volume, ''The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition'', with artwork by ].
==Geography==
]
The world of Earthsea is one of sea and islands: a vast ] of hundreds of islands surrounded by uncharted ocean. It is uncertain whether or not there are other landmasses, though reference is made to lands "beyond the west" where the ] have their realm.


== Setting ==
The term "archipelago" is used to refer only to the central grouping of islands around Havnor and the ''Inmost Sea''. The outlying islands are loosely grouped into four "Reaches" (West, North, South and East), and the ''Kargad Lands'', four large islands to the north-east inhabited by the war-like nation of ]s. Some of the islands described in the stories include ''Havnor'' and ''Roke'' in the Inner Sea; ''Gont'' in the northeastern Archipelago, and ''Atuan'', one of the Kargad lands.
{{Main|Earthsea (universe)}}
{{See also|List of characters in Earthsea}}


The ] is one of sea and islands: a vast archipelago of hundreds of islands surrounded by mostly uncharted ocean. Earthsea contains no large continents. The largest island, Havnor, at approximately {{convert|380|mi|km}} across, is about the size of ]. The cultures of Earthsea are literate non-industrial civilizations and not direct analogues of the real world. The overall climate of Earthsea is temperate, comparable to the mid-latitudes (over a distance of about {{convert|1800|mi|km|disp=or}}) of the northern hemisphere of the Earth. There is a yearly transition from warm summers to cold and snowy winters, especially on northern islands like Gont and Osskil. In the southern regions of Earthsea, it can be much warmer.
==Peoples and cultures==
The cultures of Earthsea do not directly resemble those of our world, except insofar as there are general resemblances to any literate pre-industrial civilization. Technologically, Earthsea appears to be an early ] society, with bronze still much used in places where iron is scarce. (]'s father was a bronze-smith.)


Most of the people of Earthsea are described as having brown skin.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chronicles of Earthsea|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/feb/09/sciencefictionfantasyandhorror.ursulakleguin|newspaper=]|access-date=12 September 2016|date=9 February 2004}}</ref> In the Archipelago, "red-brown" skin is typical; however, the people of the East Reach have darker "black-brown" complexions.{{sfnp|Le Guin|1968|loc=chapter 3, ''The School for Wizards''|ps=: "He had the accent of the East Reach, and was very dark of skin, not red-brown like Ged and Jasper and most folk of the Archipelago, but black-brown."}} The people of Osskil in the north are described as having lighter, sallow complexions,{{sfnp|Le Guin|1968|loc=chapter 2, ''The Shadow''|ps=: "She was a tall girl of about his own age, very sallow, almost white-skinned; her mother, they said in the village, was from Osskil or some such foreign land. Her hair fell long and straight like a fall of black water."}} while the ]s of the Kargad Lands are "white-skinned" and often "yellow-haired".{{sfnp|Le Guin|1968|loc=chapter 1, ''Warriors in the Mist''|ps=: "...they are a savage people, white-skinned, yellow-haired, and fierce, liking the sight of blood and the smell of burning towns."}} Le Guin has criticized what she described as the general assumption in fantasy that characters should be white and the society should resemble the European ].<ref name=harcourt/>
Otherwise, individual cultural elements in Earthsea can be compared with Earth cultures, without permitting any complete identification. Like the peoples of the ] islands or the ] basin, they have a way of life based on contact with the sea. However, on many of the larger islands like ], ], and ], people can live a totally inland life. No ] on Earth has the mix of ] sizes, close grouping, and distance from continental landmasses that Earthsea does; its largest island, ], which measures about 380 miles N-S and E-W is only slightly larger than ], and the other islands are smaller. However, they are usually larger and much more closely grouped than the atolls of the Pacific.


Magic is a central part of life in most of Earthsea; the exception being the Kargish lands, where it is forbidden. There are weather workers on ships, fixers who repair boats and buildings, entertainers, and court sorcerers. Magic is an inborn talent which can be refined with training. The most gifted are sent to the school on Roke, where, if their skill and discipline prove sufficient, they can become staff-carrying wizards.
The overall climate of Earthsea is ], comparable to the mid-latitudes (over a distance of about 1800 miles) of the Northern hemisphere. There is a yearly transition from warm summers to cold and snowy winters, especially in northern islands like Gont and Osskil. In the southern regions of Earthsea it can be much warmer.


The Dry Land is where most people go after they die, with the exception of the Kargs. It is a realm of shadow and dust, of eternal night where the stars are fixed in the sky, and nothing changes. The souls who reside there have an empty, dreary existence, and even "lovers pass each other in silence". Le Guin has stated that the idea of the Dry Land came from the "Greco-Roman idea of ]' ], from certain images in ]'s work, and from one of ]'s Elegies".<ref name=guardian/> In the fifth and last novel of the series, '']'', it is revealed that the Dry Land is a part of the dragons' domain that was stolen from them by the earliest mages in an attempt gone awry to obtain immortality. The Dry Land is restored to the dragons at the end of ''The Other Wind''.
Earthsea, with the exception of the Kargad lands, is a literate society using a writing system called the "Hardic runes"; the nature of the writing system is uncertain. The name suggests the Germanic ], but there are supposed to be at least several thousand runes in use, suggesting a ] system similar to Chinese.


===Ethnic Groups=== == Series ==
=== Books ===


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; min-height: 18em"
The people of Earthsea, are for the most part "red-brown" in coloring, like ]; in the South and East Reach and on Way they are much darker brown, but with straight black hair, like some South ]; in Osskil they have a more central or eastern ]an look, and the ]s resemble predominantly blond northern Europeans (a possible allusion to the historical ]). In other respects the Kargs seem to resemble the ]s{{Fact|date=March 2007}}.
! style="min-width: 10em" | Book !! style="min-width: 3em" | Year !! Publisher
|-
| '']'' || 1968 || Parnassus
|-
| '']'' || 1971{{efn|''The Tombs of Atuan'' previously appeared in the Winter 1970 issue of '']'' with illustrations and the magazine cover picture by ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?151901|title=ISFDB: Worlds of Fantasy, Winter 1970}}</ref>}} || rowspan=3 | ]
|-
| '']'' || 1972
|-
| '']'' || 1990
|-
| '']'' || 2001 || rowspan=2 | ]
|-
| '']'' || 2001
|}


Le Guin originally intended for '']'' to be a standalone novel, but she wrote '']'' as a sequel after considering the loose ends in the first book; '']'' followed after further consideration. These three books were written in quick succession, from 1968 to 1972, and are sometimes seen as the "original trilogy".{{sfnp|Cadden|2005|pp=80–81}}{{sfnp|Bernardo|Murphy|2006|p=95}} Nearly twenty years later, Le Guin wrote a fourth book, '']'' (1990), and followed it with '']'' and '']'' in 2001. The latter three books are sometimes referred to as the "second trilogy".{{sfnp|Bernardo|Murphy|2006|p=95}}{{sfnp|Cadden|2005|pp=6, 7, 89, 96}} The series as a whole is known as the ''Earthsea Cycle'', and was published in a single volume in 2018 as ''The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition'', with art by Charles Vess.<ref>{{isfdb contents |id=678150 |title=The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition}}.</ref>
Le Guin has criticised what she describes as the general assumption in fantasy, that characters should be white and the society should resemble the Middle Ages (for example in ).
In ], Archipelagan men wonder if ] is "white all over" - an ironic inversion of the kind of sexual/racial curiosity often exhibited by white men at black women.


=== Short stories ===
==History==
Le Guin published nine short stories of Earthsea.
''The Creation of ]'' is a 31-stanza poem, the oldest part of Earthsea's oral tradition. It describes how ] raised the islands of Earthsea from the Ocean by naming them in the true speech.
Seven appear in two collections of her work (and some have been reissued elsewhere). Two early stories were originally published in 1964, and were collected in '']'' (], 1975). These helped to define the setting of Earthsea. Five much later stories were collected in '']'' (Harcourt, 2001), where three were original.<ref name=isfdb /> In October 2014, a new novella set in Earthsea was published as a stand-alone, "The Daughter of Odren".<ref name=Odren-hmhco>{{cite web |title=The Daughter of Odren |url=http://www.hmhco.com/shop/books/The-Daughter-of-Odren/9780544358386 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |via=hmco.com |access-date=2015-08-12 |location=Boston |quote=42 pages |archive-date=May 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509210656/https://www.hmhco.com/shop/books/The-Daughter-of-Odren/9780544358386 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2015-08-13. Quote: "Master storyteller Ursula LeGuin takes readers back to Earthsea"; 31 pages; age level 12 and up.</ref> A final 12-page short story, "Firelight", was published in June 2018, covering the last days of Ged.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781473223554|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180514010101/https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn%3D9781473223554|title= The Books of Earthsea| publisher= Orion Books |access-date=May 14, 2018|archive-date=May 14, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>


] also includes about 30 pages of fictional reference material titled "A Description of Earthsea" (2001).<ref name=isfdb>{{cite web| url= http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?4220 |title= Earthsea Cycle – Series Bibliography| work= ]| via= isfdb.org| access-date= 2012-04-09}}</ref>
Little is known of the original inhabitants of Earthsea, but scattered legends suggest that humans and dragons were once one race. The ancient Pelnish lore and Kargad legends describe an agreement between them (called the Vedurnan or Verw Nadan) to separate because of their differing temperaments and goals.


* "]", '']'', January 1964 <sup>]</sup>
Early in the history of humans on Earthsea, the largest and most powerful realm was centered on the islands of Enlad and Éa although this realm did not rule all of Earthsea, and it is unclear whether other realms existed. Later, as more of Earthsea came under the dominion of the Kings of Enlad, the center of the Kingdom moved from Enlad to the largest island, the more central Havnor. This dynasty of Great Kings ruled all or almost all of Earthsea but ended soon after the death of ], and the kingdom fragmented into many separate principalities and domains. By the time of Ged and the beginning of the series, this state of affairs had persisted for millennia, though the emergence of a new King had been prophesied.
* "]", ''Fantastic Stories of Imagination'', April 1964<sup> ]</sup>
* "Dragonfly", '']'', ], 1998 <sup>]</sup>
* "Darkrose and Diamond", '']'', Oct-Nov 1999 <sup>]</sup>
* "The Bones of the Earth" (2001) <sup>]</sup>
* "The Finder" (2001) <sup>]</sup>
* "On The High Marsh" (2001) <sup>]</sup>
* "The Daughter of Odren" (2014) <ref name=Odren-hmhco /> <sup>]</sup>
* "Firelight", '']'', Summer 2018, issue 225<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hachette.com.au/ursula-k-le-guin/the-books-of-earthsea|title=50th anniversary of the timeless and beloved A Wizard of Earthsea|publisher=Hachette Australia|access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref>
:'''Notes:'''
:{{anchor|+Q}}<sup>'''+Q'''</sup> Collected in ''The Wind's Twelve Quarters''
:{{anchor|+T}}<sup>'''+T'''</sup> Collected in ''Tales from Earthsea''
:{{anchor|T}}<sup>'''T'''</sup> &nbsp; Original to ''Tales from Earthsea''
:{{anchor|T}}<sup>'''EB'''</sup> &nbsp; Originally released as a stand-alone eBook<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ursulakleguin.com/the-daughter-of-odren | title=Ursula K. Le Guin — the Daughter of Odren }}</ref>
:All of the stories are included in ''The Books of Earthsea''.


=== Unsubmitted story ===
Some approximate dates in the history of Earthsea are<ref></ref>:
After "The Rule of Names" and before "A Wizard of Earthsea", Le Guin wrote a long story about a prince in search of the Ultimate. He travels south-west from Havnor through the archipelago into the open sea. There he finds a raft-colony and sea-people, whom he joins in the sea. The prince wears out, sinks and finds the Ultimate. This story was never submitted for publication because "it never worked out itself well".<ref>"Dreams Must Explain Themselves" by Ursula Le Guin in '']'' 21, Tenth Anniversary Issue, (November 1973; p. 8)</ref> However, the theme of a raft-colony and sea-people was later taken up as an important ingredient in the plot of '']''.


== Awards ==
{| class="wikitable"
Each book in the series has received a literary award:
! Year !! Event
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
! style="min-width: 10em" | Book !! Awards{{sfnp|Bernardo|Murphy|2006|ps=, p. }}<ref name="SFADB">{{Cite web |title=Ursula K. Le Guin |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Ursula_K_Le_Guin |access-date=February 26, 2019 |website=] |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |archive-date=July 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721004427/http://www.sfadb.com/Ursula_K_Le_Guin |url-status=live }}</ref>
|- |-
| unknown || '''The Making''':Segoy raise the islands of Earthsea | '']''
| ] (1969)<ref>{{cite web|title=Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards – List of past winners |url=http://archive.hbook.com/bghb/past/past.asp |access-date=10 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019092012/http://archive.hbook.com/bghb/past/past.asp |archive-date=19 October 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><br /> ] (1979)
|- |-
| '']''|| ] (1972)
| unknown || '''Vedurnan''',The separation of dragons and men: the dragons gave up everything they own except the old speech and move to the west of the west; Men remain on Earthsea but lost their old speech.
|- |-
| '']'' || ] (1973)
| -1250 || Rune Makers invent runes to capture the old speech and the art of naming, and set up the dry land in the land of west, where the dragon lives. They build a wall to stop the dragons or living men from going in. The Rune maker are exiled in Karglands.
|- |-
| '']'' || ] (1990)<br /> ] (1991)
| 1 || Morred came to throne.
|- |-
| '']'' || ] (2002)
| 3 || Morred marries Elfarran the fair
|- |-
| '']'' || ] (2002)
| 8 || Waste of Enlad. Isle of Soléa (the first land Segoy raised) sinks by spell of the Enemy of Morred (name unknown). Death of Morred and Elfarran the Fair.
|- |}
| 150 || Akambar moves the King's court to Havnor.
|-
| 350-450 || Raids from Dragons and Kargs increase. Ath writes ''the book of names''. Ath killed by the dragon Orm
|-
| 430 || Maharion comes to the throne.
|-
| 430-40 || Maharion and Erreth-Akbe (Hero-mage and Companion) defeated the invading Kargs led by King Thoreg of Hupun.
|-
| 440 || Maharion went fighting the Dragons. Erreth-Akbe goes to Hupun on Karego-At, carrying the Morred's ring (later Ring of Erreth-Akbe), to establish peace with King Thoreg. High Priest Intathin of the House of Tarb opposes treaty and challenges Erreth-Akbe to duel, defeating him and breaking the Ring and keeping both.
|-
| 448 || Erreth-Akbe killed by Dragon Orm, who was also killed.
|-
| 448 || Death of Maharion in battle against Lord Gehis of the Havens. The line of Morred lost. The beginning of the Dark Age, where warlords rule Earthsea.
|-
| 600 || The creation of ''the hand'', a group of mages and witches on Roke and the inmost Isles. ''(The Finder)''
|-
| 650 || Founding of School of magic on Roke ''(The Finder)''
|-
| 665 || Roke attack by the Warlord Losen of Havnor's mages lead by mage Early(Terial). Death of Losen and the end of his kingdom. ''(The Finder)''
|-
| 730 || First Archmage elected; females forbidden to teach on Roke .
|-
| 840 || One of the Priest-Kings declares himself Godking in Awabath and rules over the four lands of Kargad. Rebellion From the House of Thoreg.
|-
| 961 || Birth of ''']''', on Gont. Ogion is later apprenticed to mage Heleth.
|-
| 975-85 || The Godking defeated the rebelling House of Thoreg, putting its last two descendants on an island, with a half of Erreth-Akbe's ring.
|-
| 1000 || Birth of Duny, later named Ged, in Ten Alders, Gont. His mother dies one year later.
|-
| 1004 || Heleth and Ogion stop an earthquake on Gont. ''(The Bones of the Earth)''
|-
| 1007 || Duny started learning the old speech and spells with his witch aunt.
|-
| 1010 || Birth of Tenar in hamlet west of Entat, fifth child of an apple orchard worker, on the day of death of Arha, First Priestess of the Nameless Ones.
|-
| 1012 || Kargish attack on East Port and the east of Gont. Duny foils raid and defeat them on Ten Alders by calling a thick fog over the village; news of his deed spreads over Gont. Five days later, Ogion visits him.
|-
| 1013 || Duny named by Ogion as ''']''' and is apprenticed to him. They travel backto Ogion's hut in Re Albi. Ged use Sparrowhawk as his usename.
|-
| 1014 || Ged left Ogion to study Roke (''Spring''). He made friends with Vetch, a student there. Vetch and Jasper (another student) becomes sorcerers (''Autumn''). He spend a year in the Isolate Tower learning the old speech (''Winter'').
|-
| 1015 || Ged acquired a pet Otak (''Spring''). Ged tries to summon the spirit of Elfarran in a bet with Jasper and release a shadow beast. The Archmage Nemmele died spending all his power saving Ged and driving the shadow beast out of Roke. Gensher of Way chosen as new Archmage (''Summer''). Tenar bought to the tombs of atuan to become Arha, first priestess.
|-
| 1016 || Ged leaves healing chamber. His fealty was refused by Gensher but he still let him study in Roke. Vetch earns his staff and leaves Roke to the East Reaches. Jasper didn't earn his staff and leaves Roke.
|-
| 1017 || Ged is made sorcerer and Gensher accepted his fealty.
|-
| 1018 || Ged earns his mage staff and leaves Roke to be mage of Low Torning of the Ninety Isles.
|-
| 1019 || Ged defeated the Dragons of Pendor (''Autumn''). Roke masters summon mage wind to stop him from returning to Roke with the shadow. Travel to Osskil, encounters a human possessed by the shadow (a gebbeth), who killed the pet otak. Ged escape to the Court of the Terrenon. Was offered to read the Terrenon stone to find ways of defeating the Shadow. Ged refused and escaped in the form of a falcon when the masters of Terrenon trapped him. Ged flies to Re Albi and was saved by Ogion. Recovered and set sail to chase the Shadow. Shipwrecked near Karego-At. Washed to an Island where the last descendant of the house of Thoreg were exiled. Given a half of Erreth-Akbe's ring (unknown of what it actually is to him then). Build boat ''Lookfar''. Travelled to the East Reaches and met up with Vetch on Iffish, sails with him past the furthest Island in search of the Shadow. Defeat the Shadow by naming it by his own name (''Winter'').
|-
| 1019 - 1026 || Ged travels to the Dragon's run and becomes a dragonlord. Dragon Orm Embar identifies Erreth-Akbe's ring to him. Ged went in search for the other half of the ring.
|-
| 1024 || Tenar past womenhood and become One priestess of the Tomb and Atuan.
|-
| 1025 || Tenar enters the Labyrinth of the tomb for the first time.
|-
| 1026 || Ged travels to the tombs of Atuan and enters the Labyrinth. Tenar discover him trapped there. Ged discovered the other half of Erreth-Akbe's ring. Tenar and Ged escaped Atuan. The ring is made whole and brought to Havnor. Tenar went to Gont to live with Ogion.
|-
| 1029 || Marriage of Tenar and Flint, a farmer.
|-
| 1034 || Birth of Lebannen (Arren) on Enlad
|-
| ''between'' 1034-1045|| Ged defeated the sorcerer Cob.
|-
| 1043|| Therru (Tehanu) born.
|-
| 1045 || Archmage Gensher died. Ged chosen as the new archmage. Ged and master patterner of Roke, Thorion defeated mad mage Irioth.
|-
| 1049 || Death of Flint, Tenar's husband.
|-
| 1050 || Attack on Therru, she is badly burned and was taken by Tenar.
|-
| 1051 || Ged and Arren set out from Roke seeking the cause of the failure of magic in the Reaches (''early spring''). They found that a mysterious mage figure who summons the dead and the living is causing the failure of magic. Wandering along the South and West Reaches to find the mage. They meet raft people in the West (''summer''). Meanwhile spells begin to fail everywhere, even on Roke, and both people and dragons lose their sense. Ged and Arren are guided to Selidor by the dragon Orm Embar; there Orm Embar is killed by the mage Cob. Ged defeats Cob in the Dry Land, healing the breach between the death & life, but spending his mage power in the process. The dragon ] carries the two back to Roke, where Arren is revealed as the King Lebannen. Ged retires to Gont, where he reunites with Tenar and they marry. Death of Ogion the Silent. No new archmage is chosen; Azver the Patterner makes a prophecy made relating to 'a woman on Gont'. (''Autumn'') Coronation of Lebannen, first king of All the Isles in Havnor since the year ''448''.
|-
| 1052 || Kalessin flies to Gont and defeats Erisen, one of Cob's protégés, who had tried to kill Ged and Tenar. Naming of Therru by Kalessin, who named her '''Tehanu''' and call her his daughter.
|-
| 1058 || Dragon Irian went to Roke as a woman. She killed Thorion.
|-
| 1061 || Thol, a warlord from Hur-at-Hur, declares himself High King of the Four Kargad Lands; the Kargish people rise against the Godking who flees to Atuan and is killed.
|-
| 1061 || Dragons began invading the Archipelago. Alder(Hara) went to Ged for help on dreaming about the dry land. He was sent to Havnor by Ged. The dragon council held with Irian and Tehanu. The wall surrounding the dry land destroyed. Marriage of Labennon and Seserakh, daughter of Thol, High King of the Kargs.
|}


On November 5, 2019, the '']'' listed ''The Earthsea Trilogy'' on its list of the ].<ref name=Bbc2019-11-05/>
==Magic in Earthsea==
One of the most distinctive aspects of the Earthsea universe is Le Guin's ] system. Magic is a central part of life, and magic appears in all parts of Archipelago civilization, from weather workers on ships, fixers who repair boats and buildings, entertainers and court sorcerers, and most important of all, the staff-carrying ]s who are trained on ]. In general, magic is usually the result of inborn talent, and with the exception of witches, mostly restricted to men.


==Adaptations==
Le Guin imagined the magicians of Earthsea as purveyors of an unknown science, and a strong theme of the stories is the connection of power and responsibility. There is often a ] message: 'good' wizardry tries to be in harmony with the world and to right wrongs, while 'bad' wizardry, such as ], is unbalanced and must be resolved or lead to catastrophe.
===Audiobooks===
There have been a number of audiobook readings by different narrators and publishers.<ref name=bibliog>{{cite web |url=http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Biblio-Short.html |title=Ursula K. Le Guin: Short Bibliography |publisher=Ursula K. Le Guin |date=May 2010 |access-date=2014-08-13 |archive-date=June 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606114836/http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Biblio-Short.html |url-status=dead }} "(Major works only, principal U.S. editions only)".</ref> In the early 1990s, ] narrated the first three books of the series for ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.recordedbooks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=rb.search_books&show_by=series&series_id=8 |title=Earthsea Cycle |publisher=] (recordedbooks.com) |access-date=2014-08-13 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} "Displaying 1-4 of 4 books in Earthsea Cycle". No dates.</ref>


===Radio===
Magic on Earthsea is verbal: All objects have a true name, in an old language still spoken by the dragons which is known simply as the Old Speech. By using this language, it is possible to have power over an object or living thing. To protect themselves from this, most characters have two names: one for everyday use and one, the true name, known only to select close friends and family members – sometimes no-one. For example, Sparrowhawk (use name) is known as ] (true name) only to those closest to him. However, spells that works in the archipelago change in the Reaches
A ]-produced two-hour radio dramatization of ''A Wizard of Earthsea'' was originally broadcast on ] on December 26, 1996. This adaptation was narrated by Dame ], with ] as ], and used a wide range of actors with different regional and social accents to emphasize the origins of the Earthsea characters (for instance, Estarriol and others from the East Reach were played by actors with ] accents).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pfpcm |title=BBC Radio 7 – A Wizard of Earthsea |work=BBC iPlayer Radio |publisher=BBC (bbc.co.uk) |access-date=2011-07-10}} Broadcast January 5, 2011, on BBC Radio 7.</ref> The adaptation was subsequently released on audio cassette.


In April and May 2015, ] aired a new, six-part dramatization of the ''Earthsea'' works, encompassing the storylines and motifs of the novels ''A Wizard of Earthsea'', ''The Tombs of Atuan'' and ''The Farthest Shore''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Adapting Ursula Le Guin's 'Earthsea' and 'The Left Hand of Darkness' for Radio |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/a8a7b23c-a12e-463c-be7e-a741fc9967d0 |work=BBC Blogs – BBC Writersroom |publisher=BBC |access-date=2015-05-15 |author=Adams, Judith |date=April 14, 2015}}</ref> The first of the six 30 minute-long episodes premiered on April 27 and the last on May 5. The characters of Ged and Tenar were portrayed by three actors at different stages in their lives (Kasper Hilton-Hille, ] and ] as Ged; Nishi Malde, ] and ] as Tenar). The radio drama was adapted by Judith Adams, directed by ] and featured original music composed by Jon Nicholls. Following the premiere radio broadcast, each of the episodes were made available for online streaming on ] for a month, via the ] service.<ref>{{cite web |title=Episodes |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pktp7/episodes/guide |work=BBC Radio 4 Extra: Earthsea |publisher=BBC |access-date=2015-05-15 }}</ref> The adaptation was created and aired as part of a thematic month centered on the life and works of Ursula Le Guin, in commemoration of her then-recent 85th birthday.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ursula K. Le Guin on BBC Radio 4 and 4 Extra |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02npj4b |website=BBC Radio 4 |publisher=BBC |access-date=2015-05-15 |date=April 8, 2015}} "A preview of our Le&nbsp;Guin celebration."</ref> In addition to the ''Earthsea'' radio drama, the thematic month included the airing of a two-part radio adaptation of '']'' earlier in April, as well as exclusive interviews with Le Guin and some of the writers she inspired.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Left Hand of Darkness |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pkpgg |work=BBC Radio 4: The Left Hand of Darkness |publisher=BBC |access-date=2015-05-15 }} Broadcast April 18, 2015; episode 2 broadcast April 25.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ursula Le Guin at 85 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pkmyg |website=BBC Radio 4 |publisher=BBC |access-date=2015-05-15 }} Audio interview broadcast April 9, 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Le Guin Effect: 7 Bestselling Authors Influenced by Ursula Le Guin |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/NvYCd6pbQ0wCvvY1PFZdtX/7-bestselling-authors-influenced-by-ursula-le-guin |work=BBC Radio 4: The Left Hand of Darkness |publisher=BBC |access-date=2015-05-15 }}</ref>
One vital aspect of magic is that it is impossible to lie in the old language, so that magic works by forcing the universe to conform to the words spoken by the mage. For example, to say "I am an eagle" in the old language means that the speaker becomes an eagle, so that the statement is no longer false. The consequences of this are dealt with in the most recent Earthsea novel, '']''.


===Television===
Examples of magic in the Earthsea series include:
* Quelling an earthquake or opening the earth
* Calling and commanding animals. Living or dead people may also be called or controlled
* Transforming yourself or another into an animal or spirit
* Preventing an individual from moving
* Walking in the land of the dead
* Controlling the weather in a vicinity
* Making highly realistic illusions
* Finding hidden or lost things or uncovering knowledge previously unknown
* Turning invisible and walking through walls
* Moving objects with the mind
* Controlling the elements (earth, water, air and fire) and secondary elements (ice, electricity, stone and tempurature)
* Out of body experiences
* Telepathy


====Miniseries, 2004====
==The School of Magic on Roke Island==
{{Main|Earthsea (miniseries)}}
Roke Island is the magical heart of Earthsea and is protected by potent spells and a magical wind and fog that ward off evil. It contains several places of power, such as ] and the ].
In December 2004, the U.S.-based ] broadcast a three-hour loose adaptation of ''A Wizard of Earthsea'' and ''The Tombs of Atuan'' for television, entitled '']'' (later, simply ''Earthsea''). It was broadcast in two parts on ] in the UK at Easter 2005. Sci Fi Channel had angered Le Guin<ref>Le Guin (December 16, 2004). . '']''. Retrieved 2007-05-06.</ref> and fans of the Earthsea novels with its announcement that Ged and the vast majority of the other characters would be played by ] and with the ] posted on an official website.<!-- 2015-08-13 at Internet Archive: evidently multiple pages; top page as archived 2004 to 2013 not useful --> The latter revealed several original characters – such as "The Archmagus" and "King Tygath", "Diana", "Penelope", and "Marion" – and it referred to "Kargide" characters rather than Kargad, Karg, or Kargish. The religious practices of Atuan were portrayed differently in the adaptation, and the celibacy of Earthsea wizards overlooked as Ged and Tenar become sexually involved.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} Referring to the writers of the show, Le Guin said "I have blasted them for ] Earthsea, and do not forgive them for it."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ursula K. Le Guin — Tales of Earthsea or Gedo Senki |url=https://www.ursulakleguin.com/adaptation-tales-of-earthsea |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Ursula K. Le Guin |language=en-US}}</ref>


One month before the U.S. broadcast, Le Guin posted on her website "A Reply to Some Statements Made by the Film-Makers" published in the December 2004 issue of ''Sci Fi Magazine''. She opened with the observation, "I've tried very hard to keep from saying anything at all about this production, being well aware that movies must differ in many ways from the books they're based on, and feeling that I really had no business talking about it, since I was not included in planning it and was given no part in discussions or decisions." (Director ], too, had stated that she was not involved.)<ref name=reply/>
The school of Roke was set up by ] and ] of Roke, and ] of Havnor, as a center of learning against feuding ]s who used magicians to do harm. The school rapidly grew in power and influence, until it effectively acted as a central government for the Archipelago. By gathering young people with magical potential and teaching them magic, the school controlled and guided their powers. With the new king, Lebannen, the school has waned in strength.


"That makes it particularly galling of the director to put words in my mouth."<ref name=reply/> Le Guin disavowed some specific interpretations both by Lieberman and by executive director ], and concluded (quoting Lieberman):
Teaching in the school is carried out by a variety of Masters, each with a specialty:
{{blockquote|I wonder if the people who made the ] had ended it with Frodo putting on the Ring and ruling happily ever after, and then claimed that that was what ] "intended{{nbsp}}..." would people think they'd been "very, very honest to the books"?<ref name=reply>Le Guin (November 13, 2004). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041127070008/http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Earthsea.html |date=2004-11-27 }}. Ursula K. Le Guin. Retrieved 2015-08-13. "Updated Sunday July 13, 2008".<br />One of several Earthsea Miniseries Notes ( {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907182414/http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Index-EarthseaMiniseries.html |date=2015-09-07 }}) – linked notes by Le Guin and by others.</ref>}}
* Master Windkey, who teaches weather control
* Master Hand, who teaches illusions
* Master Herbal, who teaches healing
* Master Changer, who teaches transformation
* Master Summoner, who teaches calling
* Master Namer, who teaches the True Speech
* Master Patterner, who teaches meaning and intent
* Master Finder, who teaches seeking and returning
* Master Doorkeeper, who watches the gates and protects the school
* Archmage, who leads the school


====Planned TV series====
The position of Finder was abolished by the first Archmage, Halkel, and replaced with that of Chanter, who teaches music and chanted spells. Halkel also banned women from the school.
In May 2018, it was announced that the series had been opted for a film adaptation by producer ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/jennifer-fox-film-earthsea-novel-1202397673/|title=Oscar Nominated Producer Jennifer Fox Nabs Film Rights To 'Earthsea' Book Series|last=N'Duka|first=Amanda|publisher=]|date=May 24, 2018|access-date=June 6, 2018|website=Deadline}}</ref> In 2019, it was decided to produce a TV series instead.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/09/earthsea-based-fantasy-book-series-television-a24-jennifer-fox-1202709659/|title='Earthsea' TV Series Based On Fantasy Books In The Works By A24 & Jennifer Fox|author=Andreeva, Nellie|date=September 3, 2019|publisher=]|website=Deadline}}</ref>


Nothing has been heard of this proposed series since.
The internal structure of the Roke school seems to be modeled on that of a Medieval monastery, while in its social and political influence, the Archmage is roughly equivalent to a ] (and on his death, a successor is chosen in a ]).


===Animated film, 2006===
==The world of the dead==
{{Main|Tales from Earthsea (film)}}
The world of the dead – "The Dry Land" – A realm of shadow, dust, where nothing changes and "lovers pass each other in silence". It was a place where it was always ] and no wind blows within the land. Although the sky was filled with ]s, they were small, cold, and did not move. The ]s in the sky were not the ones that the people of Earthsea recognise from the living world. People crossed over from the land of the living to the land of the dead by stepping over a low stone wall on the crest of a hilltop. On the other side the souls of the dead wandered, never recognizing or caring for one another. At the bottom of the valley of the dead (known as the dry land) was the dry river, and beyond that lay the mountains of Pain, the only way back to the land of the living once one went too far from the wall.


]'s 2006 film '']'' is loosely based in the Earthsea mythology. It was directed by ], the son of ]. Le Guin granted Studio Ghibli the rights due to her love of Hayao Miyazaki's films.<ref name=reply2/> Le Guin called the adaptation "disappointing" and "entirely different" from her creation.<ref name=reply2>{{cite web|url=https://www.ursulakleguin.com/gedo-senki-1 |title=Gedo Senki: A First Response |last=Le Guin |year=2006 |publisher=Ursula K. Le Guin |access-date=2022-01-16 }} With linked "Response from a correspondent in Japan". <br />&nbsp; Complete subtitles: A First Response to "Gedo Senki", the Earthsea film made by Goro Miyazaki for Studio Ghibli. Written for my fans in Japan who are writing me about the movie, and for fans elsewhere who may be curious about it.</ref>
It is revealed in '']'' that the world of the dead was a failed attempt by mages to achieve ] for the Hardic peoples. The mages stole half of the land "] of west" from the ]s as a ] in which their ]s would dwell. When they walled off the land, however, its beauty vanished, it fell under eternal night, the wind cease blowing, and the immortal souls that went there existed without any meaning. In one of the final scenes of the cycle, the wall around the world of the dead is destroyed, freeing the lost souls to rejoin the cycle of death and rebirth.


== Explanatory notes ==
In a ] with Ursula Le. Guin, she stated that the idea of the dry land came from the "Greco-Roman idea of ]' realm, from certain images in ], and from one of ]'s Elegies."<ref></ref>
{{notelist}}


== References ==
==]s and dragonlords==
=== Citations ===
The dragons usually keep to themselves far to the West of Earthsea, but they sometimes attack inhabited islands in search of food or treasure and must be driven back by wizards. In '']'', the young Ged guesses a dragon's true name and forces him to promise not to attack people again.
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=guardian>
. Edited transcript of online Q&A. Arts: Books. '']'' (London). February 9, 2004. Retrieved 2011-09.</ref>
<ref name=harcourt>
. ] (hartcourtbooks.com; 2004). Archived from the original on 2007-08-17.</ref>


<ref name=Bbc2019-11-05>
Dragons in Earthsea are neither good nor evil by human standards, but always extremely dangerous. There are several references to the dire consequences of looking a dragon in the ] and Ged avoids doing so on several occasions. Most dragons in the books are of positive, though not benevolent, nature. Legends tell that dragons were once of the same race as man, in the end them choosing the sky while man chose land.
{{cite news
| url = https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50302788
| title = 100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts
| publisher = ]
| date = 2019-11-05
| access-date = 2019-11-10
| quote = The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature.
}}
</ref>
}}


=== General and cited references ===
They consider men to be uninteresting, short-lived mayflies and view all but a select few in that manner. In '']'', the ] Tenar asks Ged what a dragonlord is; Ged replies that to be a dragonlord one does not need mastery of dragons, but to be "one the dragons will speak with". A dragon will do one of two things with men – eat them or talk to them. The former is far more common. Dragons are very rarely ridden by men, though Kalessin allows Ged and Lebannen to ride him after they emerge from the Dry Land, when both are extremely weakened.
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book | title=The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin | last=Attebery | first=Brian | author-link=Brian Attebery | publisher=University of Indiana Press | location=Bloomington, IN | edition=1st | year=1980 | isbn=978-0-253-35665-9 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/fantasytradition00atte }}
* {{cite book |title=Ursula K. Le Guin: A Critical Companion |last1=Bernardo |first1=Susan M.|publisher=Greenwood Press |last2=Murphy |first2=Graham J. | location=Westport, CT |edition=1st |year=2006 |isbn =978-0-313-33225-8}}
* {{cite book | title=Ursula K. Le Guin Beyond Genre: Fiction for Children and Adults| last=Cadden | first =Mike| publisher=Routledge| location=New York | edition =1st | year=2005| isbn=978-0-415-97218-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Cummins |first=Elizabeth |title=Understanding Ursula K. Le Guin |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-87249-687-3 |location=Columbia, South Carolina, US |url=https://archive.org/details/understandingurs0000cumm}}
* {{cite book | title=A Wizard of Earthsea| last=Le Guin | first =Ursula | publisher=Parnassus Press| location=Berkeley, CA | edition =1st | year=1968 | isbn=978-0-395-27653-2
}}
* {{cite book | title=The Tombs of Atuan| last=Le Guin | first =Ursula | publisher=Atheneum Books | location=New York | edition =1st | year=1971 | isbn=978-0-689-20680-1}}
* {{cite book | title=The Farthest Shore| last=Le Guin | first =Ursula | publisher=Atheneum Books | location=New York | edition =1st | year=1972 | isbn=978-0-689-30054-7}}
* {{cite book | title=The Wind's Twelve Quarters | last=Le Guin | first =Ursula | publisher=Harper and Row | location=New York | edition =1st | year=1975| isbn=978-0-06-012562-2}}
* {{cite book | title=Tehanu | last=Le Guin | first =Ursula | publisher=Atheneum Books | location=New York | edition =1st | year=1990 | isbn=978-0-689-31595-4}}
* {{cite book | title=Earthsea Revisioned | last=Le Guin | first=Ursula | publisher=Green Bay Publications | year=1993 | isbn=978-0-948845-03-1 | oclc=29598010}}
* {{cite book | title=Tales from Earthsea| last=Le Guin | first =Ursula | publisher=Harcourt Brace & Company| location=New York | edition =1st | year=2001 | isbn=978-0-15-100561-1}}
* {{cite book | title=The Other Wind| last=Le Guin | first =Ursula | publisher=Harcourt Brace & Company| location=New York | edition =1st | year=2001 | isbn=978-0-15-100684-7}}
* {{cite book | title=A Guide to Fantasy Literature: Thoughts on Stories of Wonder & Enchantment | last=Martin | first=Philip | publisher=Crickhollow Books | location=Milwaukee, WI | edition=1st | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-933987-04-0 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/guidetofantasyli0000mart }}
* {{cite book | title=Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea: A Critical Companion | last=Miller | first=Timothy S. | series=Palgrave Science Fiction and Fantasy: A New Canon | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | location=], Switzerland | edition=1st | year=2023 | doi=10.1007/978-3-031-24640-1 | isbn=978-3-031-24639-5 | s2cid=257293086 | url-access=registration | url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-24640-1 }}
* {{cite book | title=Dragons of Fantasy: The Scaly Villains & Heroes of Tolkien, Rowling, McCaffrey, Pratchett & Other Fantasy Greats | last=Petty | first=Anne C. | publisher=Cold Spring Press | location=Cold Spring Harbor, New York | edition=1st | year=2004 | isbn=978-1-59360-010-5}}
{{refend}}


== External links ==
When dragons do speak, they are worth listening to, as they have long lifespans and the opportunity to gain great wisdom. Dragons speak only in the Language of the Making, from which the language of wizardry is derived. Though they cannot lie, they are able to mislead the unwary because it is their native tongue and while no wizard can live long enough to fully master it, they can twist it to their will. Indeed, much of the true speech remains unknown to humans. Dragons have a strange connection to the true tongue; one wizard described it by saying they live in it as a fish lives in water. In '']'', Ged says that perhaps dragons do not learn the old speech. Rather, it seems to be inherent in them and they simply 'are' the language. Dragons being powerfully magical creatures, this is possible. Men are incapable of lying while speaking in the old speech.
* – her own map of Earthsea, truncated<!--at all four margins-->

* {{isfdb series|id=4220|title=Earthsea}}
Only wizards are capable of defeating dragons. The most famous example is the duel between Erreth-Akbe and the dragon Orm, in which each slew the other, their bones laying centuries after on the western most shore of Earthsea. Many centuries later in the same place on the Selidor there was another duel between the dragon Orm-Embar and Cob.
* – with Le Guin's own map<!--complete--> and published illustrations including maps

* by Jan M. Griffin, ''The ALAN Review'' 23.2 (Spring 1996)
{{sect-stub}}
* – fan encyclopedia or companion book

* – fan encyclopedia or companion book
==Religion in Earthsea==
The people of the Archipelago do not worship any gods, but there are many references to the "Old Powers" of the Earth, which are beings that have existed since before Segoy raised up the lands. It is revealed in '']'' that once, the women of power (mages) spoke with and learned from the Old Powers, but in Ged's age, they are considered evil. Most of these powers exist in another plane of existence. In '']'', ] accidentally releases a creature of ] from that realm, while attempting to summon a ] from the dead. Some of the Old Powers that are present on Earthsea include "The Nameless Ones" in Atuan and the Terrenon in Osskil.

Gods are worshipped in the Kargad Lands. The oldest gods are "The Nameless Ones", who are worshipped at "the Place" in Atuan. They watch over a labyrinth beneath "the Place" where no one can safely walk besides the First Priestess and her eunuch. The First Priestess is chosen to serve them when she is five years old. When the girl turns six, she is 'eaten' by the Nameless Ones and becomes Arha, which literally means "The Eaten One". When Arha dies, the other priestesses of "the place" search the land to find a girl who was born the night Arha died. If that baby lives until she is five years old without being blemished by any major illness, she is deemed to be Arha-Reborn and is taken to "the Place" to be the new First Priestess.

The Twin-Gods Wuluah and Atwah are said to be sons of the Old Powers. They are warrior-gods and their symbol is a double arrow. Their original place of worship was at the Kargad city of Awabath before it became the seat of the God-Kings. There is a Temple of the God-Brothers at "the place".

The God-Kings are actually mortals who rule the Kargad Lands from Awabath. The dynasty began with "priest-kings", but they now consider themselves gods. There is a temple to the God-King at "the Place". It is the most opulent temple there. The last God-King was overthrown in a civil war by Thol of Hur-at-Hur and fled to "the Place" in Atuan, where he was killed by a priest-eunuch.

==The Earthsea canon==
===Short stories===
* "]" (]) (in '']'')
* "]" (]) (in ''The Wind's Twelve Quarters'', and in ''A Treasury Of Fantasy'' anthology)
* "Dragonfly" (]) (in ''Legends'' anthology, later in '']'')
* "Darkrose and Diamond" (]) (first published in '']'', later in ''Tales from Earthsea'')
* "The Finder" (]) (in ''Tales from Earthsea'')
* "The Bones of the Earth" (]) (in ''Tales from Earthsea'')
* "On The High Marsh" (]) (in ''Tales from Earthsea'')

===Novels===
* '']'' (])
* '']'' (])
* '']'' (])
* '']'' (])
* '']'' (])

===Chronology===
The internal chronology of the stories is different from the publication order. It is, with some uncertainties:
* "The Word of Unbinding" (uncertain)
* "The Finder"
* "Darkrose and Diamond"
* "The Rule of Names" (uncertain)
* "The Bones of the Earth"
* ''A Wizard of Earthsea''
* ''The Tombs of Atuan''
* "On the High Marsh"
* ''The Farthest Shore''
* ''Tehanu''
* "Dragonfly"
* ''The Other Wind''

The stories "The Word of Unbinding" and "The Rule of Names" have no clear place in the chronology, and are not entirely consistent with the other stories. Nothing absolutely prevents "The Word of Unbinding" from taking place at any time before ''The Other Wind'', but the differences in magical terminology, the presence of the otherwise unknown "trolls" (whom Le Guin notes "became extinct in Earthsea at some point"), and the character of the evil wizard Voll the Fell suggest that it might be appropriately placed either before the time of Morred, or later, in the Dark Times after the death of Maharion and before the founding of the school on Roke; in either case before "The Finder". "The Rule of Names" can also be considered, in a way, an early draft of ''The Farthest Shore'', dealing with some of the themes which stand at the center of the later book.

"The Rule of Names" apparently takes place some time in (about) the century before ''A Wizard of Earthsea''; Le Guin writes that the main character "must have been on Sattins Island some decades or centuries ''before'' Ged found him.... on the Isle of Pendor". But that could place the story before or after "Darkrose and Diamond," which is "at any time during the last couple of hundred years in Earthsea". "The Rule of Names" has some plot links to ''A Wizard of Earthsea'', while "Darkrose and Diamond" is an entirely independent story, so it may make more sense to read "The Rule of Names" second.

"The Bones of the Earth" takes place early in Ged's lifetime, ten years before his apprenticeship to Ogion, and is closely linked to ''A Wizard of Earthsea''.

The events in ''Tehanu'' partially overlap those in ''The Farthest Shore'', but nothing would be gained by reading them in reverse order; some parts of ''Tehanu'' assume, or are illuminated by information from ''The Farthest Shore''.

==Awards==
The series has won numerous literary awards, including the 1990 ] for ''Tehanu'', the 1972 ] for ''The Tombs of Atuan'', the 1972 ] for ''The Farthest Shore'', and the 1979 ] for ''A Wizard of Earthsea''.

==Earthsea in other media==
===Radio===
A ]-produced two-hour radio dramatisation of ''A Wizard of Earthsea'' was originally broadcast
on ] on ] ]. This adaptation was narrated by Dame ], with ] as Ged, and used a wide range of actors with different regional and social accents to emphasize the origins of the Earthsea characters (for instance, Estarriol and others from the East Reach were played by actors with ] accents). The adaptation was highly praised and was subsequently released on audio cassette.

===Television===
The U.S.-based ] broadcast a three-hour loose adaptation for television of ''A Wizard of Earthsea'' and ''The Tombs of Atuan'' in ], and was broadcast on ] in the UK in Easter 2005 in two parts. Titled '']'', even before its transmission it angered Earthsea purists – not to mention the author herself <ref>LeGuin, Ursula, "A Whitewashed Earthsea", web page at , retrieved 2007-05-06</ref> – with the announcement that Ged (and the vast majority of the other characters) would be played by a ] and with the ] posted on the official website (see ]), which featured non-canon characters called "The Archmagus" and "King Tygath", "Diana", "Penelope", and "Marion", and several references to "Kargide" (not Kargad, Karg, or Kargish) characters. The religious practices of Atuan were misportrayed, and the celibacy of Earthsea wizards overlooked as Ged and Tenar become sexually involved.

Le Guin was not involved in the production in any way. She did, however, publish the following remarks on her website:

{{cquote|I can only admire Mr <nowiki></nowiki> Halmi's imagination, but I wish he'd left mine alone... I wonder if the people who made the film of ''The Lord of the Rings'' had ended it with Frodo putting on the Ring and ruling happily ever after, and then claimed that that was what Tolkien "intended..." Would people think they'd been "very, very honest to the books?" <ref></ref>}}

===Anime===
{{main|Tales from Earthsea (film)}}
]
]'s 2006 film, '']'', is loosely based in the Earthsea mythology. It was directed by ], the son of ]. In the past, Le Guin had rejected Hayao Miyazaki's offer to create a film based on the series, but due to her love of his films, Le Guin granted Studio Ghibli the rights. The story is based mainly on elements of the third and fourth novels of Earthsea.

==See also==
* ]
* ]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* has a map of Earthsea drawn by Le Guin herself

* offers more Earthsea maps
* by Jon Griffin
* Features a Glossary of names and places, a dictionary on the Old Speech, and a Timeline of Earthsea
* An ebook which features original fan artwork and an encyclopedia of the relevant places, events, and people of Earthsea.
* Le Guin's reaction to Gedo Senki - Tales from Earthsea:
* Trailers to the film:
* {{imdb title|id=0407384|title=Legend of Earthsea}}
* for the ] hosted by the ]
* {{isfdb series | id=Earthsea_Cycle | title=Earthsea}}


{{Ursula K. Le Guin}} {{Ursula K. Le Guin}}
{{Fantasy fiction}}


] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
] ]
] ]
]

]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 16:07, 23 October 2024

Fantasy fiction series by Ursula K. Le Guin 1968–2001 This article is about the books. For other uses, see Earthsea (disambiguation).

Earthsea
Cover of The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, with art by Charles Vess.
AuthorUrsula K. Le Guin
IllustratorPauline Ellison
Ruth Robbins
Anne Yvonne Gilbert
Gail Garraty
Margaret Chodos-Irvine
Kelly Nelson
Marion Wood Kolisch
Charles Vess
Cliff Nielsen
CountryUnited States
GenreFantasy, young adult fiction (first three books)
PublisherParnassus Press, Atheneum Books, Harcourt, Saga Press (US)
Published1964–2018 (novels, 1968–2001)
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback), audiobook

The Earthsea Cycle, also known as Earthsea, is a series of high fantasy books written by the American author Ursula K. Le Guin. Beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), The Tombs of Atuan, (1970) and The Farthest Shore (1972), the series was continued in Tehanu (1990), and Tales from Earthsea and The Other Wind (both 2001). In 2018, all the novels and short stories were published in a single volume, The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, with artwork by Charles Vess.

Setting

Main article: Earthsea (universe) See also: List of characters in Earthsea

The world of Earthsea is one of sea and islands: a vast archipelago of hundreds of islands surrounded by mostly uncharted ocean. Earthsea contains no large continents. The largest island, Havnor, at approximately 380 miles (610 km) across, is about the size of Great Britain. The cultures of Earthsea are literate non-industrial civilizations and not direct analogues of the real world. The overall climate of Earthsea is temperate, comparable to the mid-latitudes (over a distance of about 1,800 miles or 2,900 kilometres) of the northern hemisphere of the Earth. There is a yearly transition from warm summers to cold and snowy winters, especially on northern islands like Gont and Osskil. In the southern regions of Earthsea, it can be much warmer.

Most of the people of Earthsea are described as having brown skin. In the Archipelago, "red-brown" skin is typical; however, the people of the East Reach have darker "black-brown" complexions. The people of Osskil in the north are described as having lighter, sallow complexions, while the Kargs of the Kargad Lands are "white-skinned" and often "yellow-haired". Le Guin has criticized what she described as the general assumption in fantasy that characters should be white and the society should resemble the European Middle Ages.

Magic is a central part of life in most of Earthsea; the exception being the Kargish lands, where it is forbidden. There are weather workers on ships, fixers who repair boats and buildings, entertainers, and court sorcerers. Magic is an inborn talent which can be refined with training. The most gifted are sent to the school on Roke, where, if their skill and discipline prove sufficient, they can become staff-carrying wizards.

The Dry Land is where most people go after they die, with the exception of the Kargs. It is a realm of shadow and dust, of eternal night where the stars are fixed in the sky, and nothing changes. The souls who reside there have an empty, dreary existence, and even "lovers pass each other in silence". Le Guin has stated that the idea of the Dry Land came from the "Greco-Roman idea of Hades' realm, from certain images in Dante Alighieri's work, and from one of Rainer Maria Rilke's Elegies". In the fifth and last novel of the series, The Other Wind, it is revealed that the Dry Land is a part of the dragons' domain that was stolen from them by the earliest mages in an attempt gone awry to obtain immortality. The Dry Land is restored to the dragons at the end of The Other Wind.

Series

Books

Book Year Publisher
A Wizard of Earthsea 1968 Parnassus
The Tombs of Atuan 1971 Atheneum
The Farthest Shore 1972
Tehanu 1990
Tales from Earthsea 2001 Harcourt
The Other Wind 2001

Le Guin originally intended for A Wizard of Earthsea to be a standalone novel, but she wrote The Tombs of Atuan as a sequel after considering the loose ends in the first book; The Farthest Shore followed after further consideration. These three books were written in quick succession, from 1968 to 1972, and are sometimes seen as the "original trilogy". Nearly twenty years later, Le Guin wrote a fourth book, Tehanu (1990), and followed it with Tales from Earthsea and The Other Wind in 2001. The latter three books are sometimes referred to as the "second trilogy". The series as a whole is known as the Earthsea Cycle, and was published in a single volume in 2018 as The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, with art by Charles Vess.

Short stories

Le Guin published nine short stories of Earthsea. Seven appear in two collections of her work (and some have been reissued elsewhere). Two early stories were originally published in 1964, and were collected in The Wind's Twelve Quarters (Harper & Row, 1975). These helped to define the setting of Earthsea. Five much later stories were collected in Tales from Earthsea (Harcourt, 2001), where three were original. In October 2014, a new novella set in Earthsea was published as a stand-alone, "The Daughter of Odren". A final 12-page short story, "Firelight", was published in June 2018, covering the last days of Ged.

Tales from Earthsea also includes about 30 pages of fictional reference material titled "A Description of Earthsea" (2001).

Notes:
Collected in The Wind's Twelve Quarters
Collected in Tales from Earthsea
  Original to Tales from Earthsea
  Originally released as a stand-alone eBook
All of the stories are included in The Books of Earthsea.

Unsubmitted story

After "The Rule of Names" and before "A Wizard of Earthsea", Le Guin wrote a long story about a prince in search of the Ultimate. He travels south-west from Havnor through the archipelago into the open sea. There he finds a raft-colony and sea-people, whom he joins in the sea. The prince wears out, sinks and finds the Ultimate. This story was never submitted for publication because "it never worked out itself well". However, the theme of a raft-colony and sea-people was later taken up as an important ingredient in the plot of The Farthest Shore.

Awards

Each book in the series has received a literary award:

Book Awards
A Wizard of Earthsea Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (1969)
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (1979)
The Tombs of Atuan Newbery Honor (1972)
The Farthest Shore National Book Award for Children's Books (1973)
Tehanu Nebula Award for Best Novel (1990)
Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (1991)
Tales from Earthsea Locus Award for Best Collection (2002)
The Other Wind World Fantasy Award for Best Novel (2002)

On November 5, 2019, the BBC News listed The Earthsea Trilogy on its list of the 100 most influential novels.

Adaptations

Audiobooks

There have been a number of audiobook readings by different narrators and publishers. In the early 1990s, Robert Inglis narrated the first three books of the series for Recorded Books.

Radio

A BBC-produced two-hour radio dramatization of A Wizard of Earthsea was originally broadcast on Radio 4 on December 26, 1996. This adaptation was narrated by Dame Judi Dench, with Michael Maloney as Ged, and used a wide range of actors with different regional and social accents to emphasize the origins of the Earthsea characters (for instance, Estarriol and others from the East Reach were played by actors with Southern Welsh accents). The adaptation was subsequently released on audio cassette.

In April and May 2015, BBC Radio 4 aired a new, six-part dramatization of the Earthsea works, encompassing the storylines and motifs of the novels A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore. The first of the six 30 minute-long episodes premiered on April 27 and the last on May 5. The characters of Ged and Tenar were portrayed by three actors at different stages in their lives (Kasper Hilton-Hille, James McArdle and Shaun Dooley as Ged; Nishi Malde, Aysha Kala and Vineeta Rishi as Tenar). The radio drama was adapted by Judith Adams, directed by Sasha Yevtushenko and featured original music composed by Jon Nicholls. Following the premiere radio broadcast, each of the episodes were made available for online streaming on BBC Radio 4 Extra for a month, via the BBC iPlayer service. The adaptation was created and aired as part of a thematic month centered on the life and works of Ursula Le Guin, in commemoration of her then-recent 85th birthday. In addition to the Earthsea radio drama, the thematic month included the airing of a two-part radio adaptation of The Left Hand of Darkness earlier in April, as well as exclusive interviews with Le Guin and some of the writers she inspired.

Television

Miniseries, 2004

Main article: Earthsea (miniseries)

In December 2004, the U.S.-based Sci Fi Channel broadcast a three-hour loose adaptation of A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan for television, entitled Legend of Earthsea (later, simply Earthsea). It was broadcast in two parts on Channel 4 in the UK at Easter 2005. Sci Fi Channel had angered Le Guin and fans of the Earthsea novels with its announcement that Ged and the vast majority of the other characters would be played by Caucasians and with the dramatis personæ posted on an official website. The latter revealed several original characters – such as "The Archmagus" and "King Tygath", "Diana", "Penelope", and "Marion" – and it referred to "Kargide" characters rather than Kargad, Karg, or Kargish. The religious practices of Atuan were portrayed differently in the adaptation, and the celibacy of Earthsea wizards overlooked as Ged and Tenar become sexually involved. Referring to the writers of the show, Le Guin said "I have blasted them for whitewashing Earthsea, and do not forgive them for it."

One month before the U.S. broadcast, Le Guin posted on her website "A Reply to Some Statements Made by the Film-Makers" published in the December 2004 issue of Sci Fi Magazine. She opened with the observation, "I've tried very hard to keep from saying anything at all about this production, being well aware that movies must differ in many ways from the books they're based on, and feeling that I really had no business talking about it, since I was not included in planning it and was given no part in discussions or decisions." (Director Robert Lieberman, too, had stated that she was not involved.)

"That makes it particularly galling of the director to put words in my mouth." Le Guin disavowed some specific interpretations both by Lieberman and by executive director Robert Halmi Sr., and concluded (quoting Lieberman):

I wonder if the people who made the film of The Lord of the Rings had ended it with Frodo putting on the Ring and ruling happily ever after, and then claimed that that was what Tolkien "intended ..." would people think they'd been "very, very honest to the books"?

Planned TV series

In May 2018, it was announced that the series had been opted for a film adaptation by producer Jennifer Fox. In 2019, it was decided to produce a TV series instead.

Nothing has been heard of this proposed series since.

Animated film, 2006

Main article: Tales from Earthsea (film)

Studio Ghibli's 2006 film Tales from Earthsea is loosely based in the Earthsea mythology. It was directed by Gorō Miyazaki, the son of Hayao Miyazaki. Le Guin granted Studio Ghibli the rights due to her love of Hayao Miyazaki's films. Le Guin called the adaptation "disappointing" and "entirely different" from her creation.

Explanatory notes

  1. The Tombs of Atuan previously appeared in the Winter 1970 issue of Worlds of Fantasy with illustrations and the magazine cover picture by Jack Gaughan.

References

Citations

  1. "Chronicles of Earthsea". The Guardian. February 9, 2004. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  2. Le Guin (1968), chapter 3, The School for Wizards: "He had the accent of the East Reach, and was very dark of skin, not red-brown like Ged and Jasper and most folk of the Archipelago, but black-brown."
  3. Le Guin (1968), chapter 2, The Shadow: "She was a tall girl of about his own age, very sallow, almost white-skinned; her mother, they said in the village, was from Osskil or some such foreign land. Her hair fell long and straight like a fall of black water."
  4. Le Guin (1968), chapter 1, Warriors in the Mist: "...they are a savage people, white-skinned, yellow-haired, and fierce, liking the sight of blood and the smell of burning towns."
  5. "Ursula K. Le Guin's BookExpo America Speech: Some Assumptions About Fantasy". Harcourt Books (hartcourtbooks.com; 2004). Archived from the original on 2007-08-17.
  6. "Chronicles of Earthsea". Edited transcript of online Q&A. Arts: Books. The Guardian (London). February 9, 2004. Retrieved 2011-09.
  7. "ISFDB: Worlds of Fantasy, Winter 1970".
  8. Cadden (2005), pp. 80–81.
  9. ^ Bernardo & Murphy (2006), p. 95.
  10. Cadden (2005), pp. 6, 7, 89, 96.
  11. The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition publication contents at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
  12. ^ "Earthsea Cycle – Series Bibliography". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved April 9, 2012 – via isfdb.org.
  13. ^ "The Daughter of Odren". Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2015 – via hmco.com. 42 pages
  14. "The Daughter of Odren (Kindle Single)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2015-08-13. Quote: "Master storyteller Ursula LeGuin takes readers back to Earthsea"; 31 pages; age level 12 and up.
  15. "The Books of Earthsea". Orion Books. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  16. "50th anniversary of the timeless and beloved A Wizard of Earthsea". Hachette Australia. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  17. "Ursula K. Le Guin — the Daughter of Odren".
  18. "Dreams Must Explain Themselves" by Ursula Le Guin in Algol 21, Tenth Anniversary Issue, (November 1973; p. 8)
  19. Bernardo & Murphy (2006), p. 5
  20. "Ursula K. Le Guin". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  21. "Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards – List of past winners". Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  22. "100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts". BBC News. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019. The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature.
  23. "Ursula K. Le Guin: Short Bibliography". Ursula K. Le Guin. May 2010. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014. "(Major works only, principal U.S. editions only)".
  24. "Earthsea Cycle". Recorded Books (recordedbooks.com). Retrieved August 13, 2014. "Displaying 1-4 of 4 books in Earthsea Cycle". No dates.
  25. "BBC Radio 7 – A Wizard of Earthsea". BBC iPlayer Radio. BBC (bbc.co.uk). Retrieved July 10, 2011. Broadcast January 5, 2011, on BBC Radio 7.
  26. Adams, Judith (April 14, 2015). "Adapting Ursula Le Guin's 'Earthsea' and 'The Left Hand of Darkness' for Radio". BBC Blogs – BBC Writersroom. BBC. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  27. "Episodes". BBC Radio 4 Extra: Earthsea. BBC. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  28. "Ursula K. Le Guin on BBC Radio 4 and 4 Extra". BBC Radio 4. BBC. April 8, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015. "A preview of our Le Guin celebration."
  29. "The Left Hand of Darkness [Episode 1 of 2]". BBC Radio 4: The Left Hand of Darkness. BBC. Retrieved May 15, 2015. Broadcast April 18, 2015; episode 2 broadcast April 25.
  30. "Ursula Le Guin at 85". BBC Radio 4. BBC. Retrieved May 15, 2015. Audio interview broadcast April 9, 2015.
  31. "The Le Guin Effect: 7 Bestselling Authors Influenced by Ursula Le Guin". BBC Radio 4: The Left Hand of Darkness. BBC. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  32. Le Guin (December 16, 2004). "A Whitewashed Earthsea: How the Sci Fi Channel wrecked my books". Slate. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
  33. "Ursula K. Le Guin — Tales of Earthsea or Gedo Senki". Ursula K. Le Guin. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  34. ^ Le Guin (November 13, 2004). "Earthsea Miniseries: A Reply to Some Statements Made by the Film-Makers of the Earthsea Miniseries Before it was Shown" Archived 2004-11-27 at the Wayback Machine. Ursula K. Le Guin. Retrieved 2015-08-13. "Updated Sunday July 13, 2008".
    One of several Earthsea Miniseries Notes (index by Le Guin Archived 2015-09-07 at the Wayback Machine) – linked notes by Le Guin and by others.
  35. N'Duka, Amanda (May 24, 2018). "Oscar Nominated Producer Jennifer Fox Nabs Film Rights To 'Earthsea' Book Series". Deadline. Deadline. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  36. Andreeva, Nellie (September 3, 2019). "'Earthsea' TV Series Based On Fantasy Books In The Works By A24 & Jennifer Fox". Deadline. Deadline.
  37. ^ Le Guin (2006). "Gedo Senki: A First Response". Ursula K. Le Guin. Retrieved January 16, 2022. With linked "Response from a correspondent in Japan".
      Complete subtitles: A First Response to "Gedo Senki", the Earthsea film made by Goro Miyazaki for Studio Ghibli. Written for my fans in Japan who are writing me about the movie, and for fans elsewhere who may be curious about it.

General and cited references

External links

Works by Ursula K. Le Guin
Bibliography
Earthsea
Novels
Short stories
Collections
Adaptations
Related
Hainish
Cycle
Novels
Short stories
Related
Annals of the Western Shore
Novels
Other
fiction
Novels
Short stories
Collections
Children's books
Non-fiction
Fantasy fiction
Subgenres
Media
Film and television
Literature
Magazines
Other
Awards
Fandom
Tropes
Creatures
Characters
Magic system
Fantasy races
Places and events
Related
Categories: