Conrad's Fate

Conrad's Fate
Cover from the American hardcover edition.
Author(s)	Diana Wynne Jones
Country	England
Language	English
Series	The Chrestomanci Series
Genre(s)	Fantasy, Children's novels
Publisher	Harper Collins
Publication date	2005
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)

Conrad's Fate is a novel by Diana Wynne Jones published in 2005. It is the fifth book of the Chrestomanci series. It tells the story of Conrad Tesdinic, a boy from Series Seven who is sent on a mission to fix his bad karma.

Plot summary

Conrad Tesdinic lives in Stallery, a small town in his world's version of the English Alps, formed as in Series Seven worlds the British Isles are still connected to the European mainland. In the mountains high above Stallery lies Stallery Mansion, a possibilities mansion, grand and imposing house, home to the Count and his family. Conrad's father is dead; his sister Anthea left home to go to university; his mother, Franconia, is a rather eccentric feminist author, and her books are sold exclusively in her brother's bookshop, where she and Conrad also live.

Conrad's uncle tells him that someone up at Stallery Mansion is pulling the possibilities – that is, changing the details of the world. Judging from the affluence of Stallery, this person is making a great deal of money by doing so, perhaps by playing the stock market; but this is adversely affecting the rest of the world. At first only small details change – the colour of the postboxes, the titles of books – but the changes keep getting bigger and bigger.

Conrad is going to die. According to his uncle, this is because of his bad karma, which, if he does not kill the person pulling the probabilities, will result in he himself being killed within a year. Conrad's uncle and his group of magician friends work a strange spell on a cork, giving it, and Conrad, who has possession of it, the power to summon a Walker at will. A Walker is a being who will give him what he needs to defeat the person he should have eliminated in a past life. Conrad needs to be sure who this person is before he summons the Walker, however, so instead of moving forward in school with his friends, he is sent to work at Stallery and study its inhabitants, one of which is the person Conrad needs to defeat.

Conrad soon finds that he is not the only one snooping around the mansion. He befriends his fellow servant-in-training, Christopher "Smith" (really Christopher Chant), who is searching for his friend Millie. Together, they discover that she is trapped in one of the possibilities. Conrad and Christopher must stop the person behind all the mischief, rescue Millie, and fix Conrad's fate, all without spilling soup on the Countess although Conrad's bad Karma isn't helping along the way.

Characters

Conrad Tesdinic: Conrad decides to take an alias at Stallery, and calls himself "Conrad Grant". His uncle Alfred's surname. Christopher suspects this is false, and so calls him "Grant" in a superior and often sarcastic way all throughout the book. Conrad's uncle runs the bookshop in town, and so he has a great love of books––which makes the pulling of the possibilities very irritating for him, as the book titles and minor details within the books change overnight. He brings his camera with him to Stallery and makes great use of it.

Christopher Chant: Christopher also has an alias: "Christopher Smith". The character we see here is around fifteen, older than in The Lives of Christopher Chant, but younger than in the other Chrestomanci books. He is witty, confident, charming, he also seems to have a very soft spot for Millie. Christopher can often talk his way out of a situation, even though he goes rather vague at times...

Millie: Christopher's friend. She becomes lost in the possibilities at Stallery while running away from boarding school. Christopher's chief reason for coming to Stallery is to find her. When found by Conrad she becomes a maid for a while.

Mr. Amos: The pear-shaped, severe butler of Stallery. He insists on discipline and impeccable dress at all times. But even through his reiteration of and insistence on a servant's place, Conrad and Christopher cannot help but feel that there is more to his place than he is letting on.

Anthea Tesdinic: Conrad's sister, who left home a few years before the bulk of the story. Appears again in a sticky mess she cant see.

Count Robert: The supposed owner of Stallery who marries Anthea. His real name is Robert Brown.

This article about a 2000s fantasy novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: 2005 novels Novels by Diana Wynne Jones British fantasy novels Children's fantasy novels British children's novels 2000s fantasy novels 2000s fantasy novel stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу Jimmy McNulty Firewalker (film) Look at other dictionaries: Conrad Ferdinand Meyer — (11 October 1825 – 28 November 1898) was a Swiss poet and historical novelist, a master of realism chiefly remembered for stirring narrative ballads like Die Füße im Feuer (The Feet in the Fire). Contents …   Wikipedia Conrad Anker — Born 1962 Occupation Rock Climber Conrad Anker (born 1962) is an American rock climber, mountaineer, and author famous for his challenging ascents in the high Himalaya and Antarctica. He is a member of The North Face climbing team and also works… …   Wikipedia Conrad Wiene — ca. 1915 Conrad Wiene (born February 3, 1878; d. after 1933, exact date of death unknown) was an actor, screenwriter, film producer and director of Austrian and German silent film. He was a younger brother of the famous German film director… …   Wikipedia Conrad Letzkau — (in Polish: Konrad Leczkow) (birthplace unknown, second half of 14th century died, 1412 in Danzig (Gdańsk)) was a Councilman and later a Mayor of Danzig who, together with Arnold Hecht, was assassinated [1][2][3] by the Teutonic Knights. Contents …   Wikipedia fate — fate, destiny, lot, portion, doom are comparable when they denote the state, condition, or end which is decreed for one by a higher power. Fate presupposes such a determining agent or agency as one of the ancient goddesses called Fates, the… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms Le Destin de Conrad — (Conrad s Fate) est un roman de la saga Chrestomanci de Diana Wynne Jones. Résumé L année de ses douze ans, Conrad apprend par son oncle, un magicien qu un destin funeste l attend. Pour conjurer ce sort atroce, il existe bien une solution... mais …   Wikipédia en Français Driven by Fate — Directed by John G. Adolfi Starring William Garwood Violet Mersereau Florence Crawford Tammany Young Conrad Cantzel Distributed by Unive …   Wikipedia Diana Wynne Jones — Born 16 August 1934(1934 08 16) London, England Died 26 March 2011(2011 03 26) (aged 76) Bristol, England …   Wikipedia Chrestomanci — The Chrestomanci (pronounced /ˈkrɛstəmænsi/) series is a children s fantasy series by Diana Wynne Jones. The word Chrestomanci may be derived from the Greek khrestos, meaning useful, and mancy, divination. Chrestomanci is the title of a powerful… …   Wikipedia Джонс, Диана Уинн — В Википедии есть статьи о других людях с такой фамилией, см. Джонс. Диана Уинн Джонс Diana Wynne Jones Дата рождения: 16 августа 1934(1934 08 16) Место рождения: Лондон, Великобритания …   Википедия 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”