Thank you. I'm delighted you like Hild well enough to write all over it! I'm sorry your mum's having a hard time with it, though. If I'd had an extra year I would have created all kinds of spiffing extras, including a Dramatis Personae that would have made readers swoon: organised by dynasty and/or geographic region, complete with witty asides and representations of the family crest, for example the Yffing boar.From: Rio
For my 92-year old mother, who is well into Hild, which I’ve just finished and loved, could someone create a cast list or dramatis personae? She is flummoxed by all the names, so similar to one another, and the back material is too meager to support such an ample and abundant book. (I wrote all over the map, to amplify it.) I say, "Just read on, the context will make all clear," but she’s a bit discouraged. Yet reading is her life, and her father was from the area, so she wants so much to read it. And then I say, "It’s one of the rare books that actually surges in energy in the middle, and then keeps building. And how did the last chapter manage to be a surprise after all that?" Well done.
Instead, here's a PDF of about 150 characters from Hild, in alphabetical order, with a brief note about who/where each belongs. Enjoy.
If any kind soul feels like a) filling in the gaps and b) making the whole thing pretty, here's an Excel spreadsheet of the Hild characters to play with... (ETA: I changed the settings so anyone can view and comment.)
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