The new edition of The Silver Trumpet has now been published!
It is a delight for the Barfield Press to publish this tale, the first work of fantasy by the group of writers that came to be known as the Inklings, on the centenary of its first publication in 1925.
The blurb is as follows:
The Silver Trumpet was the first children’s fantasy story to be published by one of the Inklings. Its early success with the children of Barfield’s friend and fellow Inkling, J.R.R. Tolkien, inspired The Hobbit and C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.The fable is at once whimsical, dark and Grimmsian: a märchen and high romance featuring twin princesses, lofty castles, questing princes, a dwarven jester, and giant mechanical toads — all with a final twist in the tale.Running throughout are Barfield’s lifelong themes of the power of words and meanings, of truth and the imagination, of love, redemption and transformation.The silver trumpet of the story calls us to our higher selves, reminding us of that singular truth in the darkest of times. A century after its first appearance, Barfield’s charming — yet quietly subversive — allegory will continue to win generations of new readers.
The Silver Trumpet in the wild, and newly available for everyone to read
To get some idea of the story, consider the following:
When Prince Courtesy arrives one day at Mountainy Castle, sounding his silver trumpet, the quiet lives of its two princesses, kind-natured Violet and selfish Gamboy, are turned upside down. Violet opens her heart to the Prince, as she does with all she meets. In response, Gamboy pursues a series of plots and schemes, with the help of her book of spells, so that she can control the kingdom.
Many years later, it is left to Violet’s and Courtesy’s daughter, Princess Lily, with the help of another adventuring prince, Peerio, to overcome Gamboy and restore happiness at Mountainy Castle and in the kingdom. But to succeed, Lily has to muster more courage than she ever knew she had.
A new set of illustrations by Fredy Jaramillo Serna, many in colour and others in black-and-white, accompanies the text of this edition. There is also a short foreword by Owen Barfield’s grandson, which notes that
Grandfather wrote The Silver Trumpet mostly because he wanted to write a good story. But, as he also later said, he had chosen “to bring out… the importance of the feeling element in life”.
It is an exciting read, and will stir readers to exhibit the courage that its characters exhibit.
You can find The Silver Trumpet at online bookshops, and the Barfield Press seeks to distribute this book of wide potential popular appeal to as many real-life bookshops as possible.
Please find it at the following online pages:
