First Look at The Running Grave Preview (Spoilers for the chapters released on August 9th, 2023).

 Hello, I'm back!  I apologize for the lengthy absence and the delays in the Strike Read-A-Long posts. I am fine, but I have been dealing with health, family and employment issues since my return from India on August 2. I very much appreciate all who expressed their concern.  In a short time, I feel like we have already created a community here, and I hope that will only grow with the release of The Running Grave. 

My hope is to get some catch-up posts on the Troubled Blood read-along up this week and be ready to start The Ink Black Heart on August 28th, as planned. But, for me, a higher priority is going through the 53-page preview that became available on August 9th, and then mysteriously vanished a day or two later.  I am fortunate enough to have it saved in a PDF.  I realize not everyone got hold of it during the brief interval it was available. so I will be careful to label any spoilers. For the months of August, September and October, any posts that reference events in The Running Grave will be typed in BLUE TEXT 

Onward, and beware, spoilers below. 

OK, here we go!  First question, why the unexpected release and withdrawal?  Just a guess, but August 9th would be written as 8/9/23 in the US, but 9/8/23 in the UK. Since the preview seems to have appeared on the US Amazon page. could it be that it was intended for a September 8th release?

Whatever the case, we've got it so I'm going to talk about it.  This is your final chance to avoid spoilers. 

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First, the epigraph:

All individuals are not equally fitted to consult the oracle. It requires a clear and tranquil mind, receptive to the cosmic influences hidden in the humble divining stalks.

Richard Wilhelm

Introduction to The I Ching or Book of Changes

Immediately, this would seem to refer to young Will's apparent attitude towards his parents,  Through the letters they exchange, it is clear that he believes he has found a spiritual understanding through the Universal Humanitarian Church that his parents are unwilling or unable to understand. More broadly, the book may see Strike's "Team Rational" mind become a bit more receptive to spiritual truths. We saw hints of that in IBH when Strike said Jesus "was definitely on our side" during the bombing and later offered promises to "a God in which he was not altogether sure he believed." 

The Prologue is written as an epistolary text, with letters exchanged, over a 4 year period, between student-turned-UHC-devotee Will Edensor, his parents Sir Colin and Sally Edensor, ex-UHC member Kevin Pirbright and assorted celebrities and attorneys. I agree with what others have said: this beginning is most similar to the start of Cuckoo's Calling, with an objective look at what the tarot readers might call "the nature of the problem" before we pick up the story of Strike and Robin. It is also notable that both openings include a death (Lula Landry's and Sally Edensor's). 

I am going to examine this chapter, and the rest of the preview, with the toolkit I always use with Strike texts:

1. Name meanings
2. Timelines
3. Harry Potter echoes
4. Literary alchemy
5. Ring structure 

Names

We are introduced to a lot of characters in these letters, so there are a lot of first- and surnames to look up.

First, the Edensor family.

Colin: “People of victory” This seems appropriate for a person who, as we will learn in Chapter 4, worked his way from working-class to great wealth and a knighthood. 

Sally: “Princess” or “Noblewoman”:  As she is the wealthy woman Colin married, this seems to fit her position. 

Will: William is derived from Wilhelm, the combination of "will" and "helment" and therefore has the meaning of “resolute protector.” However,  the fact that the “helm” part of the name is dropped suggests someone more willful than protective.  And, of course, the family seems at least as worried about the money Will’s grandfather “willed” him as his welfare. 

Serious Strikers will also note that Will could well join a list of other "William"-related names as someone with psychological issues:  Billy Knight, Bill Talbot and Gwilherm Athorn*. Given that Will is autistic and his parents believe he is more vulnerable to coercion because of it, I wonder if Ilsa's expert witness from TIBH could be helpful. Remember, she was at Bob Bob Ricards celebrating winning a case she had expected to lose, because her expert witness convinced the jury her client with autism had been manipulated into participating in a bombing plot.

*The jury is still out on young William Cunliffe, but with the Flobberworm and Shagsalot for parents I don't have high hopes for him either.

Edensor: This is one of the more interesting names, as referenced here. 

This uncommon name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname deriving from the place called Edensor in Derbyshire, near Bakewell. The placename has long been pronounced "Ensor". In the Domesday Book of 1086, the place is recorded as "Ednesovre", and in the 1196 Feet of Fines of the county as "Ednesofre". The name means "Eden's ridge", derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Eadhun", composed of the elements "ead", prosperity, wealth, and "hun", bear cub, with "ofer", ridge, bank.”  

Prosperity and wealth fit the family well, and Mama Sally, it seems, is a “mama bear,” fiercely protective of her "cub," and certainly wiser in her approach than dad.  As for “ridge,” I’m not sure what that would mean, except that it seems the opposite of a seaside farm, the place they don’t want their son to be. 

In the letter from the UHC's lawyers to Kevin Pirbright, we learn a bit about the history of the church, its leaders, the Wace family, and the UHC's predecessor, the "notorious Norfolk commune" known as the Aylmerton Community, led by a family called Crowther and shut down in 1986 following allegations of pedophilia. This is almost certainly the "mystical commune" that has come up in book after book as the worst place Leda ever took Strike and Lucy, most likely in late 1982 to early 1983. How many notorious communes could there be in Norfolk in the mid-80's?

Kevin: “handsome.” I don’t think we’ve been told what he looks like in the preview, so it’s hard to say how well this fits him. 

Pirbright: “Clearing with a pear tree.” Perhaps we should look for a pear tree at or near his final resting place on Chapman Farm?

Phoneme-wise, it could mean 

“peer bright” (Kevin was the smart one among his peers to get out of the cult.)

“pier bright” (a reference to the Cromer Pier pictured on the cover?) or 

“pure bright” (an appropriate name for a character in an albedo story)

Chapman: “Peddler” Chapman Farm is the original site and largest recruiting center of the UHC. Leader Jonathan Wace has certainly been successful at “selling” his religion to others. 

Crowther: “Fiddler” This can be slang for child molestation, as Holly Brockbank told her brother:  “all these little girls keep sayin’ you’ve fiddled with ’em.”

Wace: another interesting surname, as seen here. 

It can be English, Scottish or German, and a development of the personal name of the pre 7th century a.d. 'Wazo'. This name itself is derived from the ancient word 'wada', meaning "to go", and also the name of a legendary sea-giant! The second possible origin is locational, and a development of 'wase' plus (with some surnames) 'mer', meaning water. In this case the meaning is 'reclaimed land surrounded by water'. The third possible source is Ancient Welsh or Olde English, and a development of "gwas", a term of endearment equivalent to 'young man’.

The "sea giant" and "land surrounded by water" meanings are of most interest here, particularly once we look at the other names in the Wace family.

Mazu:  She shares a name with a Chinese sea goddess! Unfortunately, her protective power  did not extend to her drowned daughter. 

Revered after her death as a tutelary deity of seafarers, including fishermen and sailors, her worship spread throughout China's coastal regions and overseas Chinese communities throughout Southeast Asia. She was thought to roam the seas, protecting her believers through miraculous interventions.

Jonathan: “God has given” "PapaJ" has founded his own religion, and therefore presumably believes he has some special gifts from God. Serious Strikers will also note he has the same name as Strike’s Deadbeat Dad. 

Taio: “peach” “long life” or “large waves.” The "large waves" meaning seems to fit best with this family, though "long life" could refer to him outliving his sister, and "peach" certainly fits for a farm-dweller. 

Daiyu: The drowned daughter of Mazu and Jonathan (or maybe not, see Timeline), now considered a prophet of the UHC. This is another name with irony, given the circumstances. 

Daiyu is a girl’s name of Chinese origin, meaning “black jade.” Jade was one of the most highly prized gems in ancient China, with rare black jade used to symbolize the north. The philosopher Confucius associated jade with heaven, earth, kindness, wisdom, virtue, justice, and sincerity. It was also symbolic of nobility and wealth. Today, black jade is considered to have strong protective qualities, guarding against negative energy. Therefore, giving baby this beautiful name could express your wish that they always remain protected as they go through life.  

Jennifer: a variation of Guinevere, it means “fair one." We'll need to learn more about Jonathan's unfortunate first wife, but Guinevere does not suggest a successful marriage or good intentions of the husband.

The next characters (Colin's lawyer, a wealthy donor and two celebrity UHC members: an actress and a writer) are probably too insignificant to have meaningful names, but, with a nod to Rattenbury the Norfolk terrier and a reminder that you never know what names will be significant, I'll include them for completeness. 

David: "Beloved."

Renton:  "Settlement of the roe deer. " It's not clear what either of these could mean for the lawyer. 

Margaret:  "Pearl."  A good albedo name, with sea connections. 

Cathcart: A land in Renfrewshire, near the river Cart. 

Bryce: "Spotted" or "freckled." Since Ms. Cathcart-Bryce willed her fortune to the UHC, she is presumably deceased, but look for freckles if C & R track down a picture of her. 

Noli: As described here, a variant of Nola. 

The name Nola is a feminine given name commonly used in the United States, Ireland, and Australia. It is derived from the Irish-Gaelic word “Fionnghuala,” which means “fair shouldered” or “white shoulders.” In Irish mythology, Fionnghuala was one of the four children of Lir, who were transformed into swans.

Seymour: “Marshy land near the sea” If any of these four characters turn out to have a more major role, it will probably be her, given the name connections to white, swans and the sea. 

Giles: Meaning “protection,” “kid,” or “young goat,” the name refers to the Aegis—the mythical shield of Zeus and Athena—crafted from goatskin. Could this guy possibly play the role of Aberforth?

Harmon: “Soldier.” Mythological connections are always interesting, but whether this one will be significant remains to be seen. Though, Aberforth turned soldier by the end....

Timeline

We are given some dates in the letter exchange that suggest there is something sinister about the UHC, and reason to be suspicious of deaths, as if the cover blurb hadn't already told us that. I'm going to put the relevant dates in reverse. 

• 19 July 1995:  Daiyu Wace drowns, age 7.
• 20-July 1987- 19 July 1988: Range of possible birthdates for Daiyu, given that she was 7 when she died. 
• October 1986-July 1987 to October 1987-July 1988: Range of dates during which Mazu could have been pregnant with Daiyu.
• May 1988, Jennifer Wace drowns.

Therefore, Mazu, the second wife, was either already pregnant with, or had already given birth to, her and PapaJ's “firstborn” when Jennifer, the first wife, drowned. Jonathan may have been "distraught by his first wife's untimely death" but he has already started family #2.

Also, if we believe the UHC, and the public records they cite:

1. Mazu was a 15-year-old Aylmerton community resident in 1986 (more precise date not given) when the organization was disbanded. 
1. She also would have been 11-12 at the time Strike and Lucy were there. 
2. She was sexually abused by the Crowthers.
3. She gave evidence against them in court when they were tried for sexual abuse. 

This means she was still a teen (15-16) when she was impregnated, and opens the door to many questions: 

• Was Mazu impregnated by the Crowthers or some other commune member, making the “Drowned Prophet” a Crowther, rather than a Wace?
• Was she either visibly pregnant or known to be a single mom at the time of her testimony? 
• If Mazu was impregnated by Wace, it was during a time he was still married to Jennifer. Moreover, it does not speak well of “PapaJ” if he had adulterous sexual relations with a young girl, legal age or not, when she had just been through the trauma of sexual abuse. Were the Crowthers the only pedophiles on the property?
• Was Jennifer Wace murdered so that Jonathan could marry Mazu?
• Was Daiyu murdered because someone had determined she was not Jonathan Wace’s biological daughter?

Harry Potter Echoes

Despite the monkey wrench thrown in the Parallel Series Theory by the expansion of the Strike series to ten rather than seven books, we will still be seeking out Deathly Hallows echoes in TRG. 

I can see a number of them, even from the prologue. 

Robin's infiltration of the UHC = the camping trip.  Like the trio in DH, Robin will leave her familiar environment (Denmark Street Office) for a much more rural locale (Chapman Farm) and be out of contact with her family, friends and co-workers for an extended period. 

Coming-of-age: Molly Weasley tried to stop the Trio from leaving school and going on their Horcrux Hunt, thinking they are too young, but given that they are (just barely!) legal adults, she can't stop them. This is similar to the situation Colin and Sally are in with Will: he has a right to join the church, and give them the money in his trust, because he is (barely) 18. 

UHC = Death Eaters: Cults typically involve an authoritarian leader and loyal followers who will stick with the leader even through acts of illogic and cruelty. UHC and the Death Eaters could both be considered cults following their prophet or lord. 

Brain-washing = Imperius Curse: Whether with wand-work or psychology, both "cults" seem to specialize in subverting the "Will" (intentional pun on the name) of their followers. 

Literary Alchemy

With the watery environment of Norfolk, the pier and ocean on the cover, the lighter cover compared to TB and IBH, the signs were pointing to albedo even before the preview. Given the references to water, the sea, white, pearls, a queen (Guinevere) and swans in so many of the new characters introduced in the prologue, it seems even more certain. 

Ring Structure

Here, of course, we expect connections to books one and four of the series. We have the aforementioned similarities between the openings of CC and TRG. We also see some similarities between Billy Knight and and Kevin Pirbright, in their references to being drugged as a child and not being able to fully remember and process their trauma. For both, we have the same question: is he mentally ill SO he thinks he saw horrors at the farm, or is he mentally ill AND he saw horrors at the farm? I haven't seen a lot of other connections in this prologue. But don't worry, there's plenty more of the preview still to come. I'll post more tomorrow!