Line #7 Literature/TheSecretOfCastleCant


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pimg_759069163197111.jpg]]
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3	The barony of [[{{Ruritania}} Cant]] is a tiny place, not often found on maps. (It's often ''printed'' on them, it's just not often ''found.'' It's that small.) Its residents live a simple existence, and tend to distrust anything from outside their tiny, moutain-cloistered kingdom. (They consider such places the "outlands"--so anything from them is definitely "outlandish.") It is presided over by a noble Baron named Adolphus. Adolphus has a daughter, named Pauline, who has a maidservant, named Lucy. And that is where the story begins.
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5	Lucy and Pauline are going about their business at the castle one day, planning a prank that will launch underwear into the castle walls, but, in the process, they accidentally put a halt to an execution. They wouldn't think much about it, until an accident leads to them being mistaken for friends of the prisoner. Lucy, who takes the blame for all of Pauline's schemes, is roped into being a spy for the Cause, a [[LaResistance secret rebel sect]] within Cant. But that's only the beginning of the trouble, as Lucy finds herself dragged into a web of intrigue that involves trade wars, a succession crisis, printing manifestos, and the horrible truth of what ''really'' happened to Lucy's parents.
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7	Everyone has some different design for Lucy, be it as a spy or a servant. But Lucy just wants to keep her mistress Pauline safe. What will become of the two girls, when they learn the truth of Castle Cant?
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9	This piece of ChildrensLiterature was written by K. P. Bath and published in 2004.
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11	----
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13	!!This book contains examples of:
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15	* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: The author's note swears up and down Cant is a real place, and [[InsistentTerminology takes great offense at the idea that he's making it up.]]
16	* BolivianArmyEnding: [[spoiler: The book ends with Lucy and Pauline on the road, heading towards Pauline's grandfather's house. Their future is uncertain, but they don't mind, because they've just realized they're sisters, and that makes them happy.]]
17	* BlandNameProduct: The Gizmobots, which Lucy has a T-shirt of, are a takeoff of the Franchise/{{Transformers}}. One of them is even named Cybertron.
18	* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Lucy was orphaned when she was very young. Not long after, the castle needed a maidservant to look after the young Pauline, and there was an orphan girl about her age, ready to serve! [[spoiler: All part of a plot cooked up by Orloff to keep Lucy under watch.]]
19	* DeathByChildbirth: [[spoiler: Lucy's biological mother.]]
20	* EvilChancellor: Orloff. Not surprisingly, he cheated his way to the position.
21	* ExtraDigits: Lucy has six toes on both feet, [[spoiler:which indicates her royal ancestry.]]
22	* {{Fauxreigner}}: Lu Mingshu the printer was born in Cant, but he associated more with Chinese culture, so he decided to become Chinese.
23	* HeroicBastard: [[spoiler: Lucy is Baron Adolphus' first, illegitimate, child. This makes Pauline her half-sister.]]
24	* InsistentTerminology: The author's note ''swears'' he is not a novelist, or a fabulist, or anything of the sort.
25	* KidHero: Lucy, on the grounds of no one would expect a little girl of spying.
26	* MayContainEvil: [[spoiler:The gum given to the Baron and his closest companions was drugged.]]
27	* RagsToRoyalty: [[spoiler: Lucy is really the Baron's first child.]]
28	* RegentForLife: What Orloff wants to become.
29	* {{Ruritania}}: Cant. The author's note {{Hand Wave}}s this by claiming that Cant is surrounded by high mountains that make it difficult to enter or leave, and that the people of Cant are very distrustful of outsiders and their customs.
30	* ShownTheirWork: The information on heraldry and coats of arms in the book. There's even a small segment at the bat, explaining some heraldry terms and how to interpret the heraldic descriptions.
31	%% * SpoiledBrat: Pauline.
32	* SuccessionCrisis: Those of the Cause challenge Pauline's right to the barony, and within the castle itself, there's debate over who will become the regent if the Baron suffers an untimely death.
33	* TheTalk: The Baron gives a remarkably frank one [[spoiler: on his deathbead, to Lucy and Pauline, to explain why Lucy is his true eldest daughter.]]
34	* WritersSuck: "They accused me of trying to perpetrate a hoax, or worse, writing a novel."

Context Literature / TheSecretOfCastleCant