Simon Snow (GTL Series)

*This article is about the fictional book series written by Gemma T. Leslie. You may be looking for **the character** or the real-life series.*The ***Simon Snow Series*** is a fictional series of books featured in *Fangirl*, written by the author Gemma T. Leslie. They are the basis for Cath Avery's fanfiction *Carry On, Simon*, which itself is the basis for the real *Simon Snow* trilogy written by Rainbow Rowell.

## In *Fangirl*

The *Simon Snow* series is a significant element in *Fangirl*. They are the basis for *Carry On, Simon*, and direct excerpts from the series are included at the end of most chapters.

The impending publication of the final installment of the series, *Simon Snow and the Eight Dance*, creates a self-imposed race by Cath Avery against Gemma T. Leslie to finish her fanfiction, and the series the way she imagines it, before canon supersedes her and officially renders her work non-canon.

The books have all been adapted into films that differ in some ways from the books, likely including modifying and omitting parts of their canon. Levi Stewart has watched (and memorized) them all in lieu of reading the books due to his learning disability. Wren Avery's roommate, Courtney, has only seen the movies, and thus has a different perception of the series' canon and story than Cath does, much to her annoyance.

## In-Universe Description

The following description is taken from the fictional Encyclowikia article written at the beginning of *Fangirl*:

*Simon Snow* is a series of seven fantasy books written by English philologist Gemma T. Leslie. The books tell the story of Simon Snow, an 11-year-old orphan from Lancashire who is recruited to attend Watford School of Magicks to become a magician. As he grows older, Simon joins a group of magicians - the Mages - who are fighting the Insidious Humdrum, an evil being trying to rid the world of magic.

Since the publication of *Simon Snow and the Mage's Heir* in 2001, the books have been translated into 53 languages and, as of August 2011, have sold more than 380 million copies. Each novel has also been adapted into film.

Leslie has been criticized for the violence in the series and for creating a protagonist who is sometimes selfish and bad tempered. But the books are widely considered modern classics, and in 2010, *Time* magazine called Simon "the greatest children's literary character since Huckleberry Finn."

### List of Books

* *Simon Snow and the Mage's Heir* (2001)
* *Simon Snow and the Second Serpent* (2003)
* *Simon Snow and the Third Gate* (2004)
* *Simon Snow and the Selkies Four* (2007)
* *Simon Snow and the Five Blades* (2008)
* *Simon Snow and the Six White Hares* (2009)
* *Simon Snow and the Seventh Oak* (2010)
* *Simon Snow and the Eight Dance* (May 1, 2012)

## The Series

### Simon Snow and the Mage's Heir

This book introduces the characters of the series and its setting, the World of Mages.

Simon Snow is an 11-year-old orphan living in Lancashire who gets invited to attend Watford School of Magicks for his first year.

In Chapter 3, Simon has since arrived at Watford and meets Tyrannus "Baz"/"Basil" Basilton Grimm-Pitch for the first time in their shared dorm room. Basil is spinning around holding a female student's cat away from her. Upon seeing Simon, who he recognizes as the Mage's Heir, Basil drops the cat, which runs away with the girl in tow, and introduces himself to Simon with an offer to shake hands. Simon, angered by Basil's bullying, ignores his hand and admonishes him.

In Chapter 5, Simon is attending Magic Words class taught by Miss Possibelf. Possibelf explains the nature of spells, how words and phrases repeated in the same ways with the same meaning gives them their power. She demonstrates by casting *Up, up, and away* and then *Hold your horses* on Simon's desk, causing it to hover in the air while Basil laughs. She explains that to successfully cast a spell, a magician must do more than just say the words, but summon the meaning behind them. She has the class open their textbooks, and returns Simon's desk to the ground with *Settle down there, Please*.

In Chapter 8, Simon is unsuccessfully attempting to cast *Fly away home* on a two-pence coin when Penelope Bunce sits down at his table. She casts the spell with her magical instrument, her amethyst ring, and successfully turns the coin into an insect that she then puts into a jar. When Simon asks how she did it, she explains that magicians don't *do* magic, they *are* magic. She and Simon introduce themselves and shake hands.

In Chapter 23, Simon has since encountered the Insidious Humdrum for the first time, and asks David Cadwallader about it. David is unsure of what the Humdrum is, specifically, but is certain it is not a magician. The Humdrum, he explains, is the enemy of magic: it destroys it, perhaps feeds on it, and erases magic wherever it appears. David believes that Simon is too young to know of the situation, but also that it would be unfair to keep him in the dark. He explains that Simon was invited to Watford because it is believed the Humdrum has taken a special interest in him, and that he must be protected - and that Simon must learn, as soon as possible, how to protect himself.

### Simon Snow and the Second Serpent

This book covers Simon's second year at Watford.

In Chapter 3, Simon is complaining about Basil being his assigned roommate to David. David explains that, as the Crucible cast them together, they are destined to be roommates and to look out for each other.

In Chapter 4, Simon and Penelope are dancing together. Simon repeatedly steps on Penelope's toes and apologizes, which she admonishes him for; she says that if they waste time apologizing to each other for every time they hurt each other, they won't have time to be friends.

### Simon Snow and the Third Gate

This book covers Simon's third year at Watford.

In Chapter 11, Penelope and Simon are in the school courtyard facing a flaming gate. Simon intends to walk straight through it, but Penelope holds him back, insisting there must be another, safer and smarter way to get through it.

In Chapter 21, Simon is frustrated at his inability to successfully cast magic with his wand and wonders if he's meant to have a different magical instrument. Penelope soothes him by saying that using magical instruments is usually easier for magicians because they're passed down in families through generations. Simon insists his parents *must* have been magicians because magic is also passed down in families, which Penelope argues against. She believes that magic is too precious in the World of Mages for parents to ever abandon their children. She then comments that she thinks a fellow student (Elspeth, daughter of the canine-like Witch King of Canus) has pretty fur, to which Simon retorts that she just wants a puppy.

### Simon Snow and the Selkies Four

This book covers Simon's fourth year at Watford.

In Chapter 1, Simon is recounting everything he misses about Watford: the delicious food, his friends, his uniform, and the sports.

In Chapter 15, Agatha Wellbelove is described as being the loveliest witch at Watford, which everyone knows, including herself. She knows how lovely she was and how everyone else knew it, and rather than hold that over others to their detriment, she shared her charm and beauty with everyone like a genuine gift.

This book includes an exorcism scene, which triggered boycotts among American Christian groups in 2008, a year after it was published.

### Simon Snow and the Five Blades

This book covers Simon's fifth year at Watford.

In this book, he finds five blades of some significance.

In Chapter 3, Simon had followed him around the school's catacombs for three hours the previous night, but still has no clue as to what Basil has been up to lately, which he feels is bigger than his usual mischief. He is suspicious of Basil because he's been sneaking around Watford, staying out all night, and returning in the morning disheveled. He knows he needs proof to properly accuse him of something, but Penelope and Agatha don't take his suspicions seriously; they've heard similar accusations from Simon before and think this is nothing new.

In Chapter 4, Basil has done something to provoke Simon, and Simon climbs over the dinner table to attack him. Basil casts *Good fences make good neighbors*, creating a solid barrier between them that Simon runs into. Basil's friends, Dev and Niall, laugh while Basil derisively asks if running straight at the Insidious Humdrum is how he intends to defeat it before walking away.

In Chapter 11, Simon is bemoaning that the most disappointing thing about being a magician is that they'd have learned a way to fly by now. Penelope tells him that any magician can fly if they have a friend, and casts *Up, up, and away* on him before Simon does the same to her.

### Simon Snow and the Six White Hares

This book covers Simon's sixth year at Watford.

In this book, he is given an anonymous letter instructing him to find images of six white hares across Watford's campus. He is advised that this quest is too dangerous to do alone, and that he will need the help of his friends; however, it is precisely because of this danger that, for a time, he avoided telling his friends about the quest at al.

In Chapter 15, Simon has since realized the necessity of his friends' help in looking for the hares, and intends to invite Agatha to look for the sixth one in the Veiled Forest. Penelope asks if Agatha knows this is intended to be a date or just another night questing with Simon, to which Simon tells her that she said she'll be wearing her favorite dress, a typical night with Agatha. Simon asks Penelope if she thinks Agatha really likes him, to which she says Agatha would have to be an idiot not to - and thus that they'll have to wait and see.

#### The Fifth Hare Fanfiction

Cath wrote a canon-divergent fanfiction based on this novel where Simon and Basil search for an alternate version of the fifth hare in a fanfiction-original location, the school nursery.

### Simon Snow and the Seventh Oak

This book covers Simon's seventh year at Watford.

In Chapter 18, Simon had previously found Agatha in the forest at night, holding hands with Basil. Simon, greatly upset, asks her to explain herself. Agatha doesn't know how to explain herself; Simon is a good person, but Basil is different. Simon says Basil is a monster, to which Agatha says he might be.

In Chapter 23, Simon meets the Insidious Humdrum in person for the first time. The Humdrum is in fact neither a man nor a monster, but an identical copy of Simon as an 11-year-old boy. Simon angrily believes the Humdrum is disguising itself out of cowardice, to which it just laughs. The Humdrum explains to Simon that an incredibly powerful mage like himself could not exist, could not be so powerful, without an equivalent loss left behind. As the Humdrum bounces a small red ball, one Simon had at the orphanage until he first came to Watford and lost it, it tells him that it is what is left of Simon.

In Chapter 24, Simon intends to tell David what he saw of the Humdrum, its form as a copy of him. He wonders what it meant by being what he left behind.

### Simon Snow and the Eight Dance

This book covers Simon's eight and final year at Watford. It is the final installment in the series and was published May 1st, 2012. It is approximately 719 pages long.

In an unknown chapter (by page 319), the Insidious Humdrum had turned the merwolves that usually reside in the moat surrounding Watford to protect it against the school. As they crawled on land attempting to attack students, Basil cast a spell that made it rain silver. While the rain killed the merwolves, Penelope lead the younger students back into the school for safety. Basil approaches Simon, not even hiding his fangs, who raises the Sword of Mages as a warning. Basil denies wanting to kill Simon now, which Simon questions. Basil acknowledges that the World of Mages is at war and their side is losing, and says he wants to help Simon. Simon brings up his repeated attempts to kill him, to which Basil retorts that he only wanted to make his life miserable, and steal Agatha from him. Basil says that while he may prefer a world without Simon and David in it, he still wants a world with magic, and pleads for Simon to let him help. Simon lowers his sword and wondered if there was just too much animosity between them to ever work together - but the two shake hands, sharing a moment of understanding. A moment later, Simon asks about Agatha, to which Basil responds that he will never give up on getting Agatha as he walks away.

In Chapter 27, Simon confronts the Insidious Humdrum, finally knowing what exactly the Humdrum is, how it was created and how it relates to him. He had spent the last eight years trying to become stronger, to live up to his destiny and become the kind of, if not only, magician capable of defeating the Humdrum, which only served to make the Humdrum hungrier for more magic to consume. Simon steps toward the Humdrum and tells him that he is no longer hungry for more power.

#### *Carry On, Simon*

Cath's fanfiction, *Carry On, Simon*, is a canon-divergent/alternate take on Simon's eighth year at Watford, with the intention of wrapping up all its loose ends and providing a satisfying ending for all characters, including Simon and Basil ending up together romantically. She began writing it in 2011, and it was completed after *Eighth Dance* was published.