Editing Alan Garner (section)

===''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'' and ''The Moon of Gomrath'': 1957–64===

Aged 22, Garner was out cycling when he came across a hand-painted sign announcing that an agricultural cottage in Toad Hall &ndash; a late medieval building situated in Blackden, seven miles from Alderley Edge &ndash; was on sale for £510. Although he personally could not afford it, he was lent the money by the local [[Oddfellow]] lodge, enabling him to purchase and move into the cottage in June 1957.{{sfnm|1a1=Blackden Trust|1y=2008|2a1=Pitts|2a2=Garner|2y=2014|2p=14}} In the late nineteenth century the Hall had been divided into two agricultural labourers' cottages, but Garner was able to purchase the second for £150 about a year later; he proceeded to knock down the dividing walls and convert both halves back into a single home.{{sfnm|1a1=Blackden Trust|1y=2008|2a1=Pitts|2a2=Garner|2y=2014|2p=14}}

[[File:Toad Hall at Blackden.JPG|thumb|left|In 1957, Garner purchased and began renovating Toad Hall at Blackden, Cheshire]]

Garner had begun writing his first novel, ''[[The Weirdstone of Brisingamen|The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley]]'', in September 1956.{{sfn|Philip|1981|p=12}} However it was while at Toad Hall that he finished the book. Set in Alderley Edge, it revolves around two children, Susan and Colin, who are sent to live in the area with their mother's old nursemaid, Bess, and her husband, Gowther Mossock. While exploring the Edge, they encounter a race of malevolent creatures, the ''[[Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar|svart alfar]]'', who dwell in the Edge's abandoned mines and who seem intent on capturing them.  They are rescued by the wizard Cadellin, who reveals that the forces of darkness are massing at the Edge in search of a powerful magical talisman, the eponymous "weirdstone of Brisingamen".{{sfn|Philip|1981|pp=12&ndash;13}}

Whilst writing in his spare time Garner attempted to gain employment as a teacher, but soon gave that up, believing that "I couldn't write and teach; the energies were too similar." Instead, he worked off and on as a general labourer for four years, remaining unemployed for much of that time.{{sfn|Thompson|Garner|1989}}

Garner sent his debut novel to the publishing company [[William Collins, Sons|Collins]], where it was picked up by the company's head, Sir William Collins, who was on the lookout for new fantasy novels following the recent commercial and critical success of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' (1954–55).{{sfn|Lake|2010|p=317}} Garner, who went on to become a personal friend of Collins, would later relate that "Billy Collins saw a title with funny-looking words in it on the stockpile, and he decided to publish it."{{sfn|Lake|2010|p=317}} On its release in 1960, ''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'' proved to be a critical and commercial success,{{sfnm|1a1=Philip|1y=1981|1p=12|2a1=Lake|2y=2010|2pp=316&ndash;317}} later being described as "a tour de force of the imagination, a novel that showed almost every writer who came afterwards what it was possible to achieve in novels ostensibly published for children."{{sfn|Lake|2010|pp=316–317}} Garner himself however would later denounce his first novel as "a fairly bad book" in 1968.{{sfn|Philip|1981|p=23}}

With his first book published, Garner abandoned his work as a labourer and gained a job as a freelance television reporter, living a "hand to mouth" lifestyle on a "shoestring" budget.{{sfn|Thompson|Garner|1989}} He also began a sequel to ''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'', which would be known as ''[[The Moon of Gomrath]]''. ''The Moon of Gomrath'' also revolves around the adventures of Colin and Susan, with the latter being possessed by a malevolent creature called the [[Brollachan]] who has recently re-entered the world, having been freed from its underground prison by workmen. With the help of the wizard Cadellin, the Brollachan is exorcised, but Susan's soul also leaves her body, being sent to another dimension, leaving Colin to find a way to bring it back.{{sfn|Philip|1981|p=13}} Critic Neil Philip characterised it as "an artistic advance" but "a less satisfying story".{{sfn|Philip|1981|p=13}} In a 1989 interview, Garner stated that he had left scope for a third book following the adventures of Colin and Susan, envisioning a trilogy, but that he had intentionally decided not to write it, instead moving on to write something different.{{sfn|Thompson|Garner|1989}} However ''[[Boneland]]'', the conclusion to the sequence, was belatedly published in August 2012.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/mar/15/alan-garner-weirdstone-brisingamen-trilogy-boneland "Alan Garner to conclude Weirdstone of Brisingamen trilogy"]. Alison Flood. ''The Guardian'' 15 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.</ref>