Over Sea, Under Stone

Over Sea, Under Stone (1965) is the first installment in Susan Cooper’s renowned The Dark Is Rising series, which comprises five books published between 1965 and 1977. The novel follows three siblings, Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew, as they uncover a long-lost Arthurian manuscript that leads them to a copy of the Holy Grail. Drawing on Anglo-Saxon folklore and mythology, the novel sets up the conflict between two supernatural forces, the Light and the Dark, examining themes such as Arthurian Legend as Living Myth in the Modern World, The Archetypal Battle of Good Versus Evil, and Landscape as a Vessel of Myth and Memory. 

Born in 1935, Susan Cooper is an English author best known for her work in science fiction and fantasy literature for both children and adults. Inspired by Arthurian legend and Welsh culture, her work on The Dark Is Rising series has earned critical acclaim and multiple literary distinctions over the years, including the 1976 Newbery Medal for The Grey King. Cooper has also received several lifetime achievement awards for her work in children’s and adolescent literature, such as the 2012 Margaret A. Edwards Award, a World Fantasy Award in 2013, and a nomination for the 2002 Hans Christian Andersen Award. 

This guide refers to the 2012 Kindle edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of racism. In particular, the text contains racist depictions of Indigenous and Arab peoples, which are discussed in this guide; these depictions reflect the Euro-centric attitudes of the era in which the novel was published.

Plot Summary

The Drew family (Barnabas “Barney” Drew, Jane Drew, Simon Drew, and their parents) arrives in the small Cornish village of Trewissick, where they are planning to spend the holidays. They are staying in a mysterious rental called the Grey House and will be sharing living space with their Great-Uncle Merry, an eccentric old man. When the children explore the old house, they find an ancient manuscript in the attic that dates back to Arthurian times. The three siblings are elated when they realize that the manuscript shows a map with coded clues indicating the location of a treasure.

One day, Mr. and Miss Withers, two siblings who are spending time on their yacht just off the coast, invite the Drews to spend a day on their boat. Although they appear friendly, Jane finds them suspicious and decides to stay home. While her brothers get to know the Withers siblings, Jane meets a local vicar named Mr. Hastings and tries to learn more about the village’s surroundings. However, Mr. Hastings is suspiciously interested in Jane’s map.

The next day, the Drews discover that the Grey House has been burgled during the night. Realizing that the thieves were looking for the old map, Simon, Jane, and Barney decide to talk to Great-Uncle Merry about it. The old man reveals that the map leads to a replica of the Holy Grail which was hidden by one of King Arthur’s loyal knights. He hints at a millennia-old war between the forces of good and evil and tells the children that they are now fated to go on a quest for the grail. 

Awed but excited, the three siblings start making plans to decode the map and evade their enemies: Mr. Hastings and the Witherses. Simon, Jane, and Barney deduce that the map is a drawing of the Trewissick coast and points to a series of locations. As they follow the trail, Mr. Hastings and his followers are in hot pursuit, but the children manage to evade their enemies every time. The map eventually leads the children to Kemare Head, a rocky cliff overlooking the sea. The grail is supposedly hidden in an underwater cave.

As they get ready to explore this final location and find the grail, the village is preparing for its annual carnival. Mrs. Palk, the cook who lives at the Grey House, is revealed to be an agent of the Dark who is working for Mr. Hastings. She lies to Great-Uncle Merry in order to prevent him from helping the children, who resolve to find the grail by themselves. 

When Barney is momentarily separated from his older siblings, the Withers siblings kidnap him and take him to Mr. Hastings. Barney discovers that Mr. Hastings was only pretending to be the vicar; the man reveals his evil intentions and tries to convince Barney to lead him to the grail. As Mr. Hastings takes the young boy to the cliff, Simon and Jane intervene and rescue their younger brother.

Together, the three children head to Kemare Head, where they are able to enter the cave from the base of the cliff, thanks to the retreating tide. While Jane stands guard outside, the boys search the dark tunnels, and Barney eventually finds the ancient relic. The grail contains a new manuscript containing further information to aid them on their quest. However, when they exit the cave, the children are faced with Mr. Hastings and his acolytes. A confrontation ensues, and thanks to Great-Uncle Merry’s timely arrival, the forces of the Dark are defeated. Unfortunately, although the children have managed to save the grail, they lose the metal case in which the manuscript was enclosed when it falls into the sea.

At the end of the story, the children are rewarded for finding the historical artifact, although the experts believe that it is actually connected to King Arthur. The grail is kept safely under glass in a museum, setting the stage for the next novel in The Dark Is Rising sequence, Greenwitch. As the children speculate on their enemies’ intentions, Great-Uncle Merry assures them that their adventure was not a failure, as they might still be able to recover the manuscript, sealed in its waterproof case. Barney suddenly realizes that his Great-Uncle Merry is actually Merlin, the legendary mage from the Arthurian legends.