Margaret Rogerson Talks Mysteries of Thorn Manor and How the Pandemic Brought Her Back to the World of Sorcery of Thorns
(Photo: Margaret Rogerson)
It’s a rare gift when you get the chance as a reader to revisit the world of a story you loved, but that you thought was closed and finished forever. Novella Mysteries of Thorn Manor offers just such an unexpected delight to fans of Margaret Rogerson’s standalone fantasy Sorcery of Thorns—a basically perfect story that featured everything from sentient, angry books and warrior librarians to a deliciously slow-burn romance and a prissy demon familiar who sometimes happened to turn into a cat. And while the original novel’s ending does, in its way, feel completely right for the story Rogerson was telling, it’s also a bit more abrupt—and features a lot more loose ends—than some might have expected. (Or wanted.)
Not so much a sequel as an extension, Mysteries of Thorn Manor fixes all that, serving as a charming, utterly cozy coda to the original and as its own frothy, romantic romp tempered by moments of genuine depth and complexity as relationship dynamics are deepened and snippets of Thorn family history are revealed. (And if you somehow missed out on Sorcery of Thorns when it was first released in 2019, this is the perfect opportunity to fix your life. It’s truly something special and well worth your time!)
We got the chance to chat with Rogerson herself about returning to the world of Sorcery of Thorns, the demon Silas’ emergence as the world’s preeminent Nathaniel and Elisabeth shipper (we love to see it!), and whether she might ever be tempted to tell more stories in this universe. (Spoiler alert: The answer is yes!)
Paste Magazine: I was SO excited when I found out you were writing a companion piece/follow-up to Sorcery of Thorns! What made you want to come back to this universe?
Margaret Rogerson: Truth be told, I love the slightly open ending of Sorcery of Thorns despite the torture it has inflicted on countless readers (okay, that’s a lie, torturing readers is my favorite), so I never expected I would revisit the world, at least not as a continuation of Elisabeth and Nathaniel’s story. And then the pandemic struck! You can probably guess where this is going.
During lockdown, I found myself gravitating toward comfort reads and struggling to write anything with high stakes. I started fantasizing about how nice it would be to go back to Sorcery’s universe, with all its coziness and whimsy and humor, and check in with the characters like a group of old friends. I sure wasn’t seeing any of my real friends. And so the idea for Mysteries of Thorn Manor was born, beginning with the gobsmackingly original premise, “what if Nathaniel and Elisabeth were also stuck in their house, but in a fun way?”
Paste: I loved getting the chance to see Elisabeth forging her own path when it comes to the person she wants to be, both professionally and otherwise. What do you think that will ultimately look like for her as someone who sits so comfortably in the space between warden and scholar?
Rogerson: My vision for Elisabeth’s future is that she’s going to end up specializing in handling dangerous or uncooperative grimoires that the Collegium has deemed beyond hope, sort of like a book whisperer. Her life’s work will involve championing more humane treatment for grimoires since even though they can be extremely dangerous, they’re still sentient beings who feel emotion and pain. I feel like she has many adventures ahead of her.
Paste: How do you feel Elisabeth and Nathaniel have changed since when we last saw them? I know it’s technically only been a few months since Sorcery of Thorns ended but obviously, they’ve had a lot to process both separately and together. How has their relationship been impacted by transitioning to the real world?
Rogerson: Their relationship has been tested in some key ways since the end of Sorcery of Thorns—Nathaniel has faced a long recovery from an injury that’s left him permanently disabled, he lost his magic for a time, and most importantly, they both spent weeks believing Silas to be dead. In a lot of ways, Silas was central to their relationship, so they had to figure out who they were as a couple without him. (Thankfully, that part was only temporary. Nathaniel is now back to wearing a properly tied cravat. Everyone can relax.)
Meanwhile, Elisabeth has been trying to figure out her future career within the Great Libraries after casting aside her dream of becoming a warden. So they’ve supported each other through loss and frustrations more typical of adult relationships than starry-eyed young love, which has matured them to some degree. Possibly still not as much as Silas would like, especially after that incident with the blackberry jam…
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