"There are no dryads, no wild men, no fairy kings, and no monsters. Isn’t that right, Mr Finch?"
"Certainly haven’t seen a fairy king yet," said Tobias. [loc. 341]
This utterly charming and gently terrifying novella tells the story of Tobias Finch, who's lived in Greenhollow Wood for a very long time. The villagers say there's a wild man in the wood, a criminal or a lunatic or a pagan: but Henry Silver, the new owner of Greenhollow Hall, is not deterred by these rumours. The two men strike up a friendship (perhaps they both want it to be more): but then Silver is stolen away, and Toby despairs.
Enter Mrs Silver, Henry's mother, a practical folklorist ("vampires eliminated, ghouls laid to rest, fairies discouraged, and so on") who knows more than she should about Toby Finch. She would like her son back, and instructs Toby in how she believes this can be accomplished. (This part was truly harrowing.)
It doesn't work. Toby, much changed -- diminished? -- leaves the wood with Mrs Silver. She offers him useful work, and he finds that he is becoming fond of the human world, and human things. But still, something draws him back to the green shade where he once lived.
I would happily read a novel-length version of this novella -- perhaps with more about Toby's life outside the wood -- but it is wholly satisfactory as it stands. The sense of menace is subtle and, at first, easily dismissed: the weirdness of the wood reminded me of Rob Holdstock's Mythago Wood, without as much burden of myth. Toby is a splendid viewpoint character, a man of few words who does not feel the need to speculate upon his own nature or the changes he undergoes. Also, there is an adorable cat.
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