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Description edit
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters edit
- Theresa "Tessa" Gray: The book's protagonist, Tessa has spent the first sixteen years of her life being overprotected by her aunt after the death of her parents in a carriage accident. She lives almost all her life in books, dreaming of having the kind of adventures the heroines she reads about do—until she is forced to travel from New York to London when her brother Nathaniel goes missing and only a pair of mysterious—and sinister—women called the Dark Sisters seem to know where he might have gone. The Shadowhunters of the London Institute may be Tessa's only hope of finding Nate, but their mysterious world of demons and Downworlders holds many dangers for her—especially when she realizes she might be more a part of it than she'd thought. Tessa is tall and has brown hair and gray eyes.
- William "Will" Herondale: Seventeen-year-old Will is the sort of young man nice Victorian girls were warned against. He drinks, gambles, and enjoys the company of ladies of questionable virtue—at least, as much as he enjoys anything. Will hates everyone and everything, with the possible exception of Jem, and even that's in some doubt. Charlotte despairs of keeping him alive past the age of nineteen. When he finds himself oddly drawn to Tessa, his friends begin to hope that the Downworlder girl will prove Will's unlikely salvation—but as Tessa grows closer to the bleak secret that makes his life a prison, danger threatens to destroy them both if she ever finds out the truth. He has black hair and blue eyes like Alec Lightwood in the Mortal Instruments series.
- James "Jem" Carstairs: Brought up in the Institute in Shanghai, Jem's parents were killed by a demon who allowed Jem to live—but with a terrible price to be paid. Frail and silver-haired, Jem seems an unlikely demon-killer, but his skills and swift intelligence make him a formidable foe. He finds a kindred spirit in Tessa as both of them feel they are torn between two worlds, neither belonging completely to one or to the other. As Jem's affection for her grows, will Will have to hurt the only person in his life he's ever seemed to care about? He has silver hair and silver eyes because of the drug he must take.
- Jessamine Lovelace: Jessamine's parents, like Will's, were Shadowhunters who left the Clave. Their deaths in a fire orphaned her, leaving her to be brought up in the Institute by Charlotte and Henry. Jessamine hates everything about being a Shadowhunter, from the training to the danger to the existence of demons, which she deems "smelly and disgusting." Armed with a razor-edged parasol and an equally sharp tongue, Jessamine can be dangerous if she wants to be—to herself as much as to the supernatural creatures she's sometimes forced to encounter. She has pale blond hair and chocolate brown eyes.
- Charlotte Mary Branwell: Twenty-three year-old Charlotte runs the entire Institute with a capable hand. Kind and loving, she does her best to care for the orphaned Shadowhunters who live under her roof while hiding her loneliness from the absent-minded husband she loves. Charlotte's maiden name is 'Fairchild'
- Henry Jocelyn Branwell: Absent-minded and brilliant, Henry spends his waking hours in the crypt of the Institute, inventing fabulous machines and weapons out of cogs cams and gears. Unfortunately just as many of Henry's inventions don't work as the ones that do, and Henry is as likely to set himself on fire as he is to invent something new and amazing. When Tessa finds herself followed by a silent band of assassins who turn out to be automata—human beings made from clockwork parts—it is Henry who must decipher how they work in order to find the demonic mechanical genius at the heart of the most evil plan London's supernatural world has ever seen. Married to Charlotte Branwell and although he doesn't show it much he loves her deeply.
- Nathaniel "Nate" Gray: Tessa's charming, roguish, and handsome older brother, whom she has journeyed to London to live with following the death of their Aunt Harriet. Nate is mundane.
- Magnus Bane: A beautiful and mysterious warlock, enlisted by the Clave to help in their quest to uncover the truth behind Nathaniel Gray's disappearance. He was in a relationship with the vampire, Camille Belcourt.
- Gideon Arthur Lightwood: Son of Benedict lightwood. Older brother of Gabriel Lightwood and has recently returned from living at an institute in Madrid, Spain.
- Sophie Collins: A maid in the employment of the institution. She is said to be very pretty, but has a scar that disfigures part of her face. A personal maid and friend of Tessa in the Institute. Trained by Gideon Lightwood, and eventually becomes close to him.
- Ella Herondale: Will's older sister.
- Gabriel Lightwood: Second (and youngest) son of Benedict Lightwood. Heartily dislikes Will Herondale and is very loyal to his father. Trains Tessa in shadowhunter training.
- Camille Belacourt: A powerful, dangerous, and alluring vampire of London. She was in a relationship with Magnus Bane, but is now in hiding following the events of Clockwork Angel.
- Cecily Herondale: Will Herondale's younger sister. She has dark hair and blue eyes like Will.
- Brother Enoch: The silent brother that deals with many of the interactions with the London Institute during the book.
- Cyril Tanner: Thomas's brother and new servant at the Institute.
Quotes edit
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“Tessa was unmoved. "I won't know if I like it until I try it, will I?" "I've never swum naked in the Thames, but I know I wouldn't like it." "But think how entertaining for sightseers”
Tessa and Will -
“I shall charm him with such force that when I am done, he will be left lying limply on the ground, trying to remember his own name.”
Will Herondale -
“This," he said, "Is Will's room" “Gracious,” Tessa said. “I’ve never been in here. I was starting to imagine he slept upside down, like a bat.”
Jem and Tessa -
“Having your annual everyone-thinks-Will-is-a-lunatic meeting, are you?" "It's biannual.”
Will and Jem -
“"And doing nothing, I find, rarely accomplishes anything."”
Henry Branwell -
“"By the Angel, perhaps we do need a chaperone."”
Jem Carstairs -
“Don’t make it sound like that. Like some ordinary sort of grief. it’s not like that. They say time heals all wounds, but that presumes the source of grief is finite. Over. This is a fresh wound every day.”
Will, on his curse -
“It is what is left to him," said Will. "Do you recall what he says to Lucie? 'If it had been possible...that you could have returned the love of the man you see before yourself - flung away, wasted, drunken, poor creature of misuse as you know him to be - be would have been conscious this day and hour, in spite of happiness, that he would bring you to misery, bring you to sorrow and repentance, blight you, disgrace you, pull you down with him -”
Will quoting "A Tale of Two Cities" -
“"So it wasn't that you were so weary of my inepitude that you were going to hurl yourself off the roof? "”
Sophie -
“"I will die, and you know it, Tess. Probably within the next year. I am dying, and I have no family in the world, and the one person I trusted more than any other made sport of what is killing me."”
Jem
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Friendship is one mind in two bodies. —Meng-tzu
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The virtue of angels is that they cannot deteriorate; their flaw is that they cannot improve. Man’s flaw is that he can deteriorate; and his virtue is that he can improve.
Highlighted by 115 Kindle customers -
Will looked at him in puzzlement. “Is this a game? We just blurt out whatever word comes next to mind? In that case mine’s ‘genuphobia.’ It means an unreasonable fear of knees.”
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“I spoke,” said Will in sepulchral tones, “of the pitch-black inner depths of their souls.” Tessa snorted. “And what color do you suppose the inner depths of your soul are, Will Herondale?” “Mauve,” said Will.
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“Ah,” said a voice from the doorway, “having your annual everyone-thinks-Will-is-a-lunatic meeting, are you?” “It’s biannual,” said Jem. “And no, this is not that meeting.”
Highlighted by 93 Kindle customers -
I feel myself dissolving, vanishing into nothingness, for if there is no one in the world who cares for you, do you really exist at all?
Highlighted by 82 Kindle customers -
“I feel myself diminished, parts of me spiraling away into the darkness, that which is good and honest and true—If you hold it away from yourself long enough, do you lose it entirely? If no one cares for you at all, do you even really exist?”
Highlighted by 71 Kindle customers -
‘Very upset Shadowhunters refused to all die when I wanted them to. Demand recompense. Please mail cheque to A. Mortmain, 18 Kensington Road—’”
Highlighted by 67 Kindle customers -
“‘Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave,’” said Jem. “Song of Solomon.”
Highlighted by 67 Kindle customers -
“If I might make a suggestion,” said Will. “About twenty paces behind us, in the Council room, is Benedict. If you’d like to go back in there and try kicking him, I recommend aiming upward and a bit to the left—”
Highlighted by 63 Kindle customers
Setting & Locations edit
First Sentence edit
The fog was thick, muffling sound and sight.
Table of Contents edit
Chapter One: The Council Chamber
Chapter Two: Reparations
Chapter Three: Unjustifiable Death
Chapter Four: A Journey
Chapter Five: Shades of the Past
Chapter Six: In Silence Sealed
Chapter Seven: The Curse
Chapter Eight: The Purposes of Wrath
Chapter Nine: Fierce Midnight
Chapter Ten: The Virtue of Angels
Chapter Eleven: Wild Unrest
Chapter Twelve: The Ball
Chapter Thirteen: The Mortal Sword
Chapter Fourteen: The Silent City
Chapter Fifteen: Thousands More
Chapter Sixteen: Mortal Rage
Chapter Seventeen: In Dreams
Chapter Eighteen: Until I Die
Chapter Nineteen: If Treason Doth Prosper
Chapter Twenty: The Bitter Root
Chapter Twenty-One: Coals of Fire
Series & Lists edit
This is book 2 of 3 in The Infernal Devices. (standard series)
Preceded by Clockwork Angel, and followed by Clockwork Princess.
Authors & Contributors edit
- Cassandra Clare (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Country: USA
Publication Date: December 6, 2011
ISBN: 9781442334724
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Country: USA
Publication Date: December 6, 2011
ISBN: 9781442334724
Page Count: 528
Awards edit
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PZ7.C5265 Cp 2011
- Dewey: 813.54
Subjects edit
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