Lords and Ladies
- Author: Terry Pratchett
- Page count: 352
- Started on: 2026/09/05
- Finished on: 2026/10/02
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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Lords and Ladies is the fourth Discworld novel centered on the Lancre witches, and picks right up after Witches Abroad. In this book, young witch Magrat is preparing to marry King Verence, but Lancre is invaded by elves (the titular lords and ladies). It all reeks of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but with everything twisted 180° around in a way that only Pratchett can.
The elves in Discworld seem beautiful (due to magical glamour), but are inherently cruel and dangerous. They are pretty much the perfect opposite of Granny Weatherwax, who epitomizes being kind-but-not-nice. Combine that clash with Magrat growing from a “wet hen” (Granny’s words) into a confident warrior queen, and it has all the ingredients for a classic Pratchett story.
I loved this book, as it combines hilarious comedy bits (Magrat in her armor, the men of Lancre doing a play) with deep philosophical ideas (being beautiful is not the same as being good, being respected is not the same as being worthy, etc.) through interesting characters. By now I’ve really gotten used to Indira Varma’s narration, and especially enjoy the way she voices the three witches.
