The Chrishanger
The Official Website of Christopher G. Nuttall
The Schooled In Magic Universe
TL:DR - stories set in the world of Schooled in Magic.
Book One - The Princess Exile
Trilogy - The Cunning Man
If you have been following my work for some time, this book needs
no introduction. If not …
Over a decade ago, I conceived a universe that would be a cross
between the Harry Potter (teenager goes to wizarding school) and
Lest Darkness Falls (cross-time traveller introduces semi-modern
technology to the past, creating a whole new world) concepts. My
heroine – Emily - was accidentally yanked into the Nameless World,
sent to Whitehall School, and over the next few years, found herself
introducing modern concepts and technologies (everything from the
bra to steam engines, the printing press and gunpowder weapons) that
changed her new world beyond any hope of repair. This sparked off a
series of social reforms and revolutions, with some kingdoms within
the Allied Lands (an alliance dominating the northern continent)
trying to adapt to the pace of change, with varying degrees of
success, and others trying to keep the lid on, only to discover the
demand for change led directly to violent revolution. By ‘now,’
Emily has defeated both of the major threats confronting the Allied
Lands and the kingdoms, free states, magicians and others are facing
an uncertain future as the pace of change is only accelerating.
Magic now coexists with science, fuelling the growth of a
steampunk-style world where the two interact and compete in odd,
often unprecedented, ways.
For me, this posed an interesting problem. There were storylines
that were simply unsuited to Emily. Others required a very different
lead character, one who lacked her otherworldly insights and
concepts (and sentimentalities); one in particular - the development
of magitech, tools that allow anyone to use magic - required a
character who lacked any inherent magic of his own. Accordingly, I
found myself experimenting with different points of view, from a
handful of Tales of the Nameless World novellas to The Cunning Man
trilogy. It allowed me to fill out the background of the universe –
the road to the Zangarian Civil War, the backstory of Emily’s first
opponent - and also explore issues that Emily couldn’t or wouldn’t
touch, while also playing with characters who were very different
from the main character. This did mean I had to keep Emily sidelined
as much as possible, but that was no bad thing. If she entered those
stories in any major way, she would rapidly take over.
The Princess Exile is the first of a set of novels featuring
different viewpoint characters. Unlike the earlier Cunning Man
trilogy, the novels will each feature a different lead character,
from the high to the low, and will be as stand-alone as I can make
them. You don’t need to know much more than what I have written
above, I think, to enjoy these books. Of course, if you do like this
book, please feel free to check out the rest of the series. Please
also leave a positive review.
And if there are other aspects of this universe you wish me to
explore, please feel free to let me know.
