Duncton Wood
The moles of Duncton Wood live in the shadow of Mandrake, a cruel tyrant corrupted by absolute power. A solitary young mole, Bracken, leads the fight to free them. Only by putting his trust in the ancient Stone, a forgotten symbol of a great spiritual past, can Bracken find the strength to challenge Mandrake’s darkness. When Bracken falls in love with Rebecca, Mandrake’s daughter, the moles must make life and death choices as their extraordinary search for freedom and truth begins. Together, Bracken and Rebecca will embark on moving journey that will challenge them in ways they could never have imagined. But can they save Duncton before it’s too late?
What you might want to know about Duncton Wood
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
In the small wood of Duncton, a quiet outcast mole named Bracken meets a brave female named Rebecca as the system that runs their burrow descends into a brutal religious cult. A long, devotional animal epic.
Duncton Wood was written by William Horwood and published in 1980. It is the first book in his six-novel Duncton Chronicles, an epic fantasy with mole protagonists in the tradition of Watership Down.
William Horwood wrote two Duncton trilogies: the original Duncton Chronicles (Duncton Wood, Duncton Quest, Duncton Found) and Duncton Tales (Duncton Tales, Duncton Rising, Duncton Stone). Six novels total.
Duncton Wood is 733 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Duncton Wood takes most readers 11 to 16 hours to finish.
Duncton Wood is a standalone novel by William Horwood, not part of a series.
Duncton Wood is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
