Mundie Moms

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Clockwork Prince Read Along Day #23: Tessa's England & Clockwork Prince Extras



5 more days till Clockwork Princess is out!


Welcome to Day 23 of the Clockwork Prince Read Along. You can follow the entire read-a-long and find each of the day's posts here. Remember there's no right or wrong way to participate. Your comments can be as long or a short as you'd like them to be. You can answer 1 or each of the questions asked, it's totally up to you, BUT, in order to be entered into the CP giveaway (which you also had to sign up to win), you do need to be actively participating in the read-a-long. 

Today's discussion is about: Tessa's England & Clockwork Prince extras (i.e.. Will's letter to his family)
  • I LOVE, love, love the historical references and feel to Cassie's The Infernal Devices series. I loved reading her notes on Tessa's England. I'm always amazed at how much time and research goes into a book that relies on a real place / historical references. Cassie has done such an amazing job at bringing Tessa's England to life. For me everything about the setting is real, especially while I'm reading the book. While reading these notes I was fascinated to learn that some of these places weren't real, what places inspired certain things in Cassie's book, and what places you could find while in England. Have you read Cassie's notes on Tessa's England? Did anything particular stand out to you? What do you think of Cassie's historical references through out the series?
  • Will's Letter To His Family: This letter is a little heartbreaking and a bit reassuring at the same time. I liked getting to understand Will a bit more in this letter, but I wonder what his comment at the very end means when he says, "... perhaps I could have saved Ella's life. Perhaps I could have saved my own." What do you make of his comment? 
  • Extras: Varies stores had their own "extra" content with Clockwork Prince. Which content did you get and what did you like about it? I had Will's inscription to Tessa in A Tale of Two Cities. There's a part in this inscription that stood out to me on this read through, that gives me hope as to what Will might do in Clockwork Princess. He says, "I felt the most complete despair and envy of Sdney Carton. Yes, Sydney, for even if he had no hope that the women he loved would love him, at least he could tell her of his love. At least he could do something to prove his passion, even if that thing was to die." Then he signs the note, With hope at last. There's something about Will having hope that makes me believe he'll keep himself out of danger/trouble. I just hope he holds onto that hope in Clockwork Princess. 
Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS. There's some fans who are joining the read-a-long who are reading Clockwork Prince for the first time. 

16 comments:

  1. I hope this is ok.. I'd though i'd post the Inscription from Will to Tessa on Tale of Two Cities for those who dont have it and haven't read it.
    Ill post my thoughts later one when I get home from work :)

    "Tess, Tess, Tessa.
    Was there ever a more beautiful sound than your name? To speak it aloud makes my heart ring like a bell. Strange to imagine that, isn’t it – a heart ringing – but when you touch me that is what it is like: as if my heart is ringing in my chest and the sound shivers down my veins and splinters my bones with joy.
    Why have I written these words in this book? Because of you. You taught me to love this book where I had scorned it. When I read it for the second time, with an open mind and heart, I felt the most complete despair and envy of Sydney Carton. Yes, Sydney, for even if he had no hope that the woman he loved would love him, at least he could tell her of his love. At least he could do something to prove his passion, even if that thing was to die.
    I would have chosen death for a chance to tell you the truth, Tessa, if I could have been assured that death would be my own. And that is why I envied Sydney, for he was free.
    And now at last I am free, and I can finally tell you, without fear of danger to you, all that I feel in my heart.
    You are not the last dream of my soul.
    You are the first dream, the only dream I ever was unable to stop myself from dreaming. You are the first dream of my soul, and from that dream I hope will come all other dreams, a lifetime’s worth.
    With hope at last,
    Will Herondale"

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  2. Will's letter to his parents can be found in Cassie's site with the other extras and excerpts from from CP and the rest of the books:

    Here is a direct link :) My kindle version didnt have the letter though my audio versiion did.

    http://www.cassandraclare.com/my-writing/excerpts-extras/a-letter-will-wrote-to-his-parents-unsent-and-unfinished/

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  3. Sadly, I had the audio version of this book so I did not get to see any of the extras. It did include a letter to Will's family. I was heartbroken that he writes his family every year but doesn't sent it. Though the way he leaves off the letter talking about Tessa is so sweet and sad.

    That inscription is gorgeous. I do hope that Will stays out of trouble.

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  4. I absolutely was heartbroken reading the letter Will writes to his family. It shows us a side of him we really hadn't seen. I love Will so much.

    It is sad that not every book has the same extra content. It feels like we are missing out. Thank you for posting the inscription from the Tale of Two Cities. That is amazingly beautiful. OH WILL!

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  5. Cassie is such an amazing writer. No wonder she puts everything she has in making the places alive and feel very real eventhough some of 'em don't exist. It was very interesting to read the notes on Tessa's England - to know what inspired such places and some history about them.

    Will's letter is undeniably heartbreaking. I feel really sad for Will - there was so much he wanted to say but he chose to keep those things to himself believing that it's for the best.
    I think what Will meant was that he could have prevented everything that happened. If the demon wasn't released, Ella wouldn't have died and he wouldn't have been cursed and forced to stay away from everyone he loves. I do think it's very admirable of Will to want to protect the people he loves but sometimes he thinks too much that he bears everything alone.

    I didn't get Will's inscription to Tessa though I did read it from the internet. Will is very good with words. When he expresses what he really feels, he doesn't hold anything back. He would truly make you feel that he loves you and cares for you. I don't think he'll keep himself out of trouble though. Knowing Will, he'll always find the chance to be reckless and in tons of trouble.
    I cannot wait to read Clockwork Princess - FOUR (FOUR!) more days of torture! :D

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  6. I’ve been to England twice and thus London twice, so my mind knows what to picture and remembers what it was like to be on the Embankment, or staring up at Big Ben and the Parliament building. It’s all really fun for me to remember the different places, but see a different time with the characters walking down the streets. Or even imagining where Will is from in Wales, having been there too, I can see a clear picture of a sunny valley among the mountains, or even the clear waters of the sea. I know what the Gaelic language sounds like there, so I can hear Will speak his native tongue without thought. I can picture it because I’ve seen it and that just makes it all the more real. And I do love her historical references, as I’m very much a history nerd. I enjoy the setting of this series and all the cultural aspects that come with it.

    Will of course blames himself for Ella’s death and he thinks if he were trained he could have protected her. He probably thinks he could have killed the demon, saving both Ella and himself from his cursed fate and the years he wasted. Will feels like since he was cursed that he lost not just his sister’s life but his as well. All his dreams and plans—his life in all that he had—ended the night the demon cursed him. If he had fought off Marbas, I’m sure he thinks his life wouldn’t be the lie it turned out to be. He’s such a depressing character.

    My book didn’t have any extras. I got it for Christmas this year. That inscription is such a tease. I keep reading it, trying to make some sense of it. I’m not sure what Will is insinuating. If he has hope, that must mean he has hope that Tessa loves him and can have a future with her. So does that mean he plans to voice his hopes openly? That he is willing to fight for her in some way? Or is he saying that he cannot fight for Tessa, he cannot prove his passion like Sydney did despite having such hope that Sydney never had. The latter sounds morbid and depressing, which sounds like Will. But with his new outlook on life, perhaps he’s gotten less pessimistic about things? So maybe it could be the first theory. If he is hopeful that he can still have Tessa, then maybe things will work out. Whether he means to keep himself out of trouble, I don’t know. People do desperate things when they’re in love. I hope he doesn’t let this whole situation eat him alive. I don’t want Will to be as sad as he’s been in the last two books. I want him to be at least a bit happier, even if he’s still unsure where he stands with Tessa at the beginning of Clockwork Princess. Sometimes just being able to love someone is enough. That’s advice I’d give to both Will and Jem heading into this next book, because I don’t think things will work out with Tessa and Jem like I think they will for Tessa and Will. At least that’s my hope.

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  7. ~Reading about Tessa's England makes me want to visit London. It may be drab and rainy all the time, but how its described in the book is absolutely beautiful.
    ~I think Will meant that, had he actually done something, he could have gotten away from that without his curse.
    ~I got the extra of Will's inscription from A Tale of Two Cities. I loved it, and it made me want to read the book, but I can't really find it, because there are about a dozen different versions at my library, and I'm not sure which is the actual one.

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    1. A Tale of Two Cities was written by Charles Dickens and it's one of my very favorite books of all time, you should definitely pick it up :)

      Here is a link to where you can find one or at least you can compare to what's in your library:

      http://www.amazon.com/Charles-Dickens-Tale-Two-Cities/dp/1479182613/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1363312260&sr=8-10&keywords=A+Tale+of+Two+Cities+by+Charles+Dickens

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    2. Look for Dover books- original versions dirt cheap. A new release was put out last year when someone made new covers for some great classics.

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  8. I loved her historical references and her quotes. She is the only author that i know that does this. she writes beautiful and her quotes relate to her chapters. I love how much detail and effort she put into the references. Thank you Cassie.

    I think Will is referring to his life. how if nothing had happened with the curse . that maybe if he hadn't believed in the curse maybe then his life would be different. he wishes he could change the past but he cant.

    I hope Will hold s on to his hope!

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  9. Tessa's England makes me want to visit London :) I have watched many movies and read many books that depict England.. (I'm currently reading The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson also set in England, though modern England) but still I have imagined it so many times, that reading about what Cassie drew on for inspiration really really makes me want to take a vacation sometime soon and see it for myself :)

    Both the Letter to Will's parents and the inscription break my heart to pieces.
    In the letter you can clearly see the broken boy that had no other choice but to leave those who he loved so much behind and hadn't forgotten at all.
    In the letter it's also clear to me that regardless of the circumstances that took him to the Institute, Will was born to follow the path of the nephilim and be a shadowhunter.
    I really liked the way he spoke about Charlotte and Henry and even Jessamine, and of course the love he speaks about Jem with .. you can really see the good in him and then at the end of course, his love for Tessa...

    The inscription is one of my favorite extras if not my very favorite, first because Tale of Two Cites is one of my favorite classic novels and will always be, and also because I love how Will relies on books to explain himself, to show Tessa what he feels.
    The pain in his words when he talks about the time when he still thought he was cursed is almost palpable and then the relief and hope he felt knowing that he had a chance, to win Tessa back and have a life with her... every word in the last part of that inscription including the very end "with hope at last" make me happy and yet it pains me to no end :'(

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  10. Tessa's England is fantastic. I like Cassie's world. I haven't been in London yet but I hope I will go to the city and I will see the real places and I will imagine the others:) I see the hard work in this book. Cassie did a fantastic job.
    I love Will's letter. We see that he really loves Charlotte and the others. He miss his parents I see that. And when he talk about Tessa.....*heartbroken moment*.
    I admire Will's hope. I wish a happy end for him. I love all of the extras.

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  11. I was interested in some of the church references that Cassie noted. I want to Google them and see them for myself!

    I think that Will expected far too much for a 12 year old....I think he thinks that if he'd either not opened the Pyxis or killed the demon before his tai struck Ella and he was "cursed" by the demon, that he would have had a far different life. But Will must also understand that he would've never met Jem and Tessa.

    I also had the inscription from A Tale of Two Cities, and I had more worries about it than anything else....almost as if it was prophetic and not in a good way for Will. Poor Will! My heart does break for him.

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  12. I loved reading Tessa's England. I think it's amazing the research that goes into writing to make it really seem authentic.

    Will's letter to his parents was very heartbreaking, but I love getting to see the Will that no one else does. It's him in all of his raw honesty. I really just want to climb into the book and hug him.

    I have the edition with Will's inscription to Tessa and OMG did that make me cry!! I am so broken for him. I really do hope that he can hold onto the hope he has found. I really only want for Will to be happy. He has has such a lonely and sad life and sacrificed so much to keep others safe. It seems unfair for him to not find some type of happiness in life.

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  13. I love absolutely everything about these books. From Cassie's version of England, her references, the quotes she uses to the wonderful extras in each book. I've always had a fondness for all things British and still dream of visiting friends there. I'm from Oregon, so bring on the rain and fog. Ha!

    What an exciting and scary place Tessa's London would have been. And what a contrast to the country today. Wouldn't it be amazing to see some of those old buildings- especially the churches.

    I got the letter to Will's parents and his inscription to Tessa. Everything Will has written brings me to tears. He's so passionate for such a young man. I agree as much as he blames himself and regrets what he truly couldn't have prevented at a mere 12 years old, he never would have met the two most important people in his life.

    I don't really know what he's hoping for at this point. I just really can't stand to see him continue to be so broken and after he thought it was all changing for he and Tessa.

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