Contents
Chapter 1
Overview
Owen Mallory, a war-scarred lecturer, receives a legendary manuscript long believed not to exist. He conceals it from his ambitious rival, confirms its Middle Mothertongue title, and realizes its career-defining value. This discovery sets the scholarly and personal stakes for his translation and the dangers of exposure.
Summary
After the war, Owen Mallory spends a dreary afternoon at Cantford College dreaming of abandoning his manuscript when a parcel arrives. Unlike the usual academic mail, it contains a book that scholars insist does not exist. Mallory, torn between awe and caution, restrains himself from touching it with unwashed hands.
Jeremy Harrison, his well-born rival for the single endowed post, appears. Fearing theft of credit, Mallory hurriedly hides the book under his shirt and escapes, driven by ambition and insecurity. He reflects on Harrison’s taunts, his own dubious war honor, and the professional stakes of such a discovery.
On the train, Mallory unwraps the volume: red heartwood boards with bronze hinges and a scorched circular emblem. He confirms its archaic script’s legibility to him alone and engages a young factory-scarred boy, who sees the symbol as a dragon eating its tail.
Weighing the moment’s significance, Mallory finally reads the title in Middle Mothertongue—The Death of Una Everlasting—recognizing the find that could transform his obscurity into renown. Before disembarking, he flips the boy a coin, already committed to the secret and the perilous promise of what comes next.
Who Appears
- Owen MalloryWar veteran and lecturer who receives the legendary Una manuscript and secretly claims first access.
- Jeremy HarrisonMallory’s privileged rival; nearly discovers the book, embodying the professional threat to Mallory.
- Unnamed boy on the trainCurious, factory-scarred child who observes the book and prompts Mallory to voice its title.
- College archivistFeared guardian of proper handling, whose imagined censure restrains Mallory’s impulse to touch the pages.