Princezna a pan Whiffle jsou série obrázkových knih napsaných Patrichem Rothfussem a ilustrovanou Nate Taylorovou. Ačkoli se objevují jinak, nejsou vhodné pro děti. [1]
Rothfuss described the books as, "Calvin and Hobbes meets Coraline, with a healthy dose of Edward Gorey mixed in.”[2]
The books do not feature any reference to Temerant and are unlikely to even be set in the same world.
Background and Publication[]
The 2012 paperback of The Thing Beneath the Bed featured a new cover.
The Princess and Mr. Whiffle began in 2001. While attending graduate school, Rothfuss and his girlfriend Sarah had different sleep schedules. As a joke, Sarah asked Rothfuss for a bedtime story; Rothfuss responded by creating the most "saccharine" story he could think of, saying, "There was a princess who lived in a Marzapan castle…" Irritated by the story's overly-sweet nature, he began changing it, adding darker elements from traditional fairytales. The final version of what became the first book, The Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed, contains his third imagined ending.[3]
After a friend offered to illustrate the story, Rothfuss adapted it into a script. Nothing came of it for five years but, in the week following the release of The Name of the Wind, Subterranean Press's Bill Schafer contacted Rothfuss to see if he had anything to offer. Rothfuss suggested his abandoned script and tapped his friend Nate Taylor to do the illustrations.[4] The two collaborated by first designing the look of the Princess and settling on an art style. Following this, Taylor began illustrating the story and working on visual storytelling, with Rothfuss providing feedback.[5] As happens with The Kingkiller Chronicle, The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle went through a revision process, which included beta reader feedback.[6]
The working title of the series was The Princess and the Marzipan Castle.[7] Subterranean Press published the book with its final title on June 21st, 2010.
The cover of The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Dark of Deep Below, illustrated by Nate Taylor.
Following an incident where author John Scalzi's daughter Athena became upset after reading The Thing Beneath the Bed under the impression it was meant for children, Rothfuss and Taylor created a warning sticker for the book that read, "This shit is not meant for kids. Seriously."[8] The result's resemblance to the Caldecott Medal is supposedly unintentional.[9]
In 2012, Sea Lion Books released The Thing Beneath the Bed in paperback format with a new cover. A limited edition run of a colour version of the original hardback cover was published as well.[10]
Starting in 2012, Rothfuss spent "a couple of days" writing a second book; the result was twice as long as the first the original. Entitled The Dark of Deep Below, it introduced the Princess's younger brother, a baby named Gubby. Nate Taylor returned to do the illustrations.[2] In an interview, Taylor said that the trickiest part was making Gubby look like a toddler. Because Rothfuss and Taylor lived on different sides of the US, the two got together at a book signing in Seattle for more instantaneous feedback on the illustrations.[11] Following this, Taylor would send Rothfuss drawings, who would bind them for feedback from beta readers.[6]
The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Dark of Deep Below was announced on April 23rd, 2013. Subterranean Press published the book on November 1st, 2013, in hardback and in a limited-edition, colourised-cover leather cover.[12]
A colouring book based on the The Dark of Deep Below was released in 2014 as part of a Worldbuilders fundraising campaign.[13][14]
Plot Summary of The Thing Beneath the Bed[]
"Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived in a marzipan castle, and she lived there all alone..."
Patrick Rothfuss panel - PAX Prime 2014
Rothfuss reads "The Princess and Mr. Whiffle" (starting at 20:31).
The Princess lives alone in a castle...except for Mr. Whiffle, who "doesn't count," because he's a teddy bear. During the day, the two have many adventures, including a treasure hunt and a battle with the Black Duke. At night, the Princess lights a candle to keep away a thing that hides beneath her bed, where it stays because it "[doesn't] like the lights..." She has never really seen the thing; all she knows is that it has "great, wide eyes" that can see in the dark, "a great, wide mouth for tasting things," and "a wide, flat tongue."
One day, the Princess receives a kitten as a gift. She names the kitten Muttonchop because of how he smells; Mr. Whiffle suggests the name Muloch because of its pointy claws. The cat's eventual name is M.M., or "Emmy."
Emmy gets lost. The Princess and Mr. Whiffle search for him, but cannot find him by the river, in their cave, or at the site of their treasure hunt. The Princess can't sleep that night because her tummy hurts.
The candle wilts; in the dark, the Princess hears the sound of a muffled animal crying. She then hears the thing reach out from underneath the bed, its hand stretching out to her. A steady drip falls on the Princess's head...
The source is a piece of marzipan the Thing is eating. It wants to share and be friends. The Thing reveals that it has already befriended Emmy, who has been unable to call to the Princess because his mouth is gummed-up from the marzipan it's been eating. Realising that the Thing isn't scary, the Princess eats it and Emmy. She and Mr. Whiffle build a fort out of their bones and have tea.
Plot Summary of The Dark of Deep Below[]
The Dark of Deep Below takes place after The Thing Beneath the Bed.
The princess has a new baby brother, Gubby. Gubby is constantly damp and needy; he annoys the Princess.
The Princess beholds her father's working room door.
Gubby annoys the Princess, who goes around the castle, coming across her father's "working room" and her "mother's garden." The last draw—in which Gubby is responsible for a very wet and damaging assault on Mr. Whiffle—the Princess leaves him alone...
Only for him to be captured by goblins and taken into the dark of deep below...
And some things are just. Not. Done.
Gathering her lamp, matches, candles (and more matches and more candles), the Princess and Mr. Whiffle head into the uncharted depths to rescue him.
Following a series of harrowing adventures, the Princess vanquishes the goblins, massacring them. She notes that Gubby is surprisingly dry. However, as she bandages a wounded Mr. Whiffle, Gubby knocks over the lamp.
Armed with only her candles and matches, Princess, Mr. Whiffle, and newly promoted private third class Gubby (charged with carrying the wounded Mr. Whiffle) head back to the surface.
On the return journey, all is mostly well until the Princess slips during the crossing of an underground river, extinguishing the candle and ruining the rest. Surrounded by darkness with things encircling them, the Princess is faced with an impossible choice between the only two dry things to burn: Mr. Whiffle and Gubby. And she's terrified.
And, for Gubby, some things. Are. Just. Not. Done...
Gubby notices that the Princess is tired and beaten. He is surprised at her distress at the possibility of setting Mr. Whiffle on fire, as he considers her the most terrifying thing in the universe. So he rises into the air, revealing himself to be a magical being "full of daylight." He ignites, destroying the things.
The three make it back to the surface, with new appreciation for each other...and a new nightlight for the Princess.
Reception[]
The books have received critical acclaim.
Fables writer-creator Bill Willingham said, "Patrick Rothfuss and Nate Taylor seem determined [...] to bring back the lost but lovely tradition of bedtime stories that make children afraid to sleep. After my second outing with the Princess and Mr. Whiffle, I have one more comment to add: More, please."
The Windup Girl author Paolo Bacigalupi said, "It damaged my soul."
The first book is frequently read by Rothfuss at public Q&As due its size. Various recordings of his readings exist on YouTube.[15][16][17]
Importance to the Chronicle[]
Patrick Rothfuss explains the book "The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle" and its meaning
Patrick Rothfuss explains "The Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed."
The series is notable for its use of misdirection. By using the "props and imagery" of a children's picture book, The Thing Beneath the Bed obscures the visual clues (the presence of bones, a head on a spike in the background) that point at what's really happening. "It's really not my fault," says Rothfuss, "if you are not paying close attention to this story. Because [it contains] everything you need to read it the right way. But...what's really happened here is most [readers] end-up fooled by protective colouration. It looks like a kids' story, it has the rhythm of a kids' story, it has a teddy bear like a kids' story."[18]
"Please don't think that I'd do anything as cheap as write something with a twist ending," says Rothfuss. "Because narratively, that's some bullshit behaviour."[19] In other words, Rothfuss strives to make the "informed" second read different to the first "virginal" one, as the books are designed to obscure their narrative in plain sight. He has stated that he strives for this storytelling ideology in his other work.[18]
Because of this, Kingkiller Chronicle fans have discussed the "reality" of Kvothe's story, debating possible instances of misdirection.[20][21][22]
Other Media[]
The Princess and Mr. Whiffle were included as one of seven decks for the game Pairs.[23] A colouring book based on the series was released in 2014.[14][13]
References List[]
- ↑ Subterranean Press page on The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Dark of Deep Below on Subterranean Press
- ↑ Patrick Rothfuss's blog, "Coming Soon: The Adventures of The Princess and Mr. Whiffle."
- ↑ Patrick Rothfuss: "A Writer of Things" | Talks at Google: Rothfuss talks about The Princess and Mr. Whiffle at 5:02.
- ↑ Interview: Nathan Taylor, illustrator of The Princess and Mr. Whiffle: the Thing Beneath the Bed
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Patrick Rothfuss's blog, "Some Books from Patrick Rothfuss"
- ↑ YouTube, Suvudu - Comic Con Patrick Rothfuss Interview - Part IV
- ↑ Patrick Rothfuss's blog, "Protecting Our Nation’s Youth"
- ↑ Patrick Rothfuss's blog, "The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle."
- ↑ https://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2012/10/the-adventures-of-the-princess-and-mr-whiffle/
- ↑ Interview: Nathan Taylor, illustrator of The Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Dark of the Deep Below on King-Sheep.com
- ↑ Patrick Rothfuss's blog, "The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle - Part II"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 IndieGoGo: Geeks Doing Good
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Patrick Rothfuss's blog, "Geeks Doing Good: News, Final Additions, and Cuteness"
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey4ssyczeTs
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Q3N3XUj5M
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rlk1gVSzxU
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Patrick Rothfuss panel - PAX Prime 2014
- ↑ PAX West 2017 - An Evening with Pat Rothfuss: see 47:40.
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/KingkillerChronicle/comments/2a1nj6/lost_thumbs_spoilers_all/
- ↑ Reddit: "Not the sort of book we think it is? [Spoilers all + Princess and Mr. Whiffle"]
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/KingkillerChronicle/comments/70ez9g/spoilers_all_is_kvothe_a_tyler_durden/
- ↑ The Tinker's Packs, "Pairs"