History Literature / PuckOfPooksHill

* AmbiguousDisorder: Hobden's son is described as "not quite right in the head", but able to do anything with bees. [[spoiler: A disguised Puck implies his condition is a family [[BlessedWithSuck blessing]] from the fairies, after one of his maternal ancestors helped the FairFolk leave England. Specifically, "that no Trouble 'ud lie on, no Maid 'ud sigh on, no Night could frighten, no Fright could harm, no Harm could make sin, an' no Woman could make a fool of."]]

* SocietyMarchesOn: In-universe; Kadmiel is surprised to find out that a Jewish man who accidentally shot a Christian during a pheasant hunt wasn't punished beyond (voluntarily) paying his victim a pound.

* [[AWizardDidIt Puck Did It]]: The logistics of how Puck enables various historical figures to manifest in modern times is never mentioned.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: A common trick [[{{in-universe}} of Kipling's]] was to follow up a short story with a poem looking at it from the point of view of a secondary character or villain. The results can be startlingly different -- compare "The Knife and the Naked Chalk" to "The Song of the Men's Side".

The book proceeds in a series of short stories, in a variety of genres and styles, about events at various points in history. (Mostly England's history, as each story has some connection with Dan and Una's local area, but there are also stories about local people visiting foreign lands and foreign people who settled locally.)) Some are narrated by Puck himself, others by figures he produces out of history by mysterious means, such as a Roman legionary and a knight who fought with William the Conqueror. Each story has a prologue and epilogue in which Dan and Una come to hear the story and then reflect on what they've heard; as usual for Kipling, there are also poems reflecting themes from the stories.

The book proceeds in a series of short stories, in a variety of genres and styles, about events at various points in England's history. Some are narrated by Puck himself, others by figures he produces out of history by mysterious means, such as a Roman legionary and a knight who fought with William the Conqueror. Each story has a prologue and epilogue in which Dan and Una come to hear the story and then reflect on what they've heard; as usual for Kipling, there are also poems reflecting themes from the stories.

The book proceeds in a series of short stories, in a variety of genres and styles, about events at various points in history. Some are narrated by Puck himself, others by figures he produces out of history by mysterious means, such as a Roman legionary and a knight who fought with William the Conqueror. Each story has a prologue and epilogue in which Dan and Una come to hear the story and then reflect on what they've heard; as usual for Kipling, there are also poems reflecting themes from the stories.

* MeaningfulName: Una shares her name with a heroine from ''Literature/TheFaerieQueen'', a famous allegorical poem about the history and culture of England.

* ChekovsGun: The gold Sir Richard hides in the well during "Old Men at Pevensey" [[spoiler: reappears in "The Treasure and the Law", when Kadmiel's associate Elias finds it and plans on giving it to King John, who needs funding to keep up his war against the barons. Kadmiel takes the gold and throws it into the ocean in the hopes that without said funding, John will surrender and sign the Magna Carta, promising a new age of equality and freedom in England.]]

* MeaningfulName: Una shares her name with a heroine from ''TheFaerieQueen'', a famous allegorical poem about the history and culture of England.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Hobden's son is described as "not quite right in the head", but able to do anything with bees. [[A disguised Puck implies his condition is a family [[BlessedWithSuck blessing]] from the fairies, after one of his maternal ancestors helped the FairFolk leave England. Specifically, "that no Trouble 'ud lie on, no Maid 'ud sigh on, no Night could frighten, no Fright could harm, no Harm could make sin, an' no Woman could make a fool of."]]

* RightForTheWrongReasons: Nicholas Culpeper examines the alchemical and astrological causes of bubonic plague, and reasons that it is caused by conflict between Mars and the Moon, and hence can be countered by eradicating the creatures of the Moon. The town has plenty of these, and killing them -- []spoiler: rats]] -- does indeed get rid of the plague.

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: "Marklake Witches" plays with the trope by having it narrated by the character who's locked out of the loop -- and who, at the close of the story, still hasn't realised there's a secret being kept from her, let alone learned what it is. Recognising that her various moments of bemusement are connected, and figuring out the nature of the connection, is left as an exercise for the reader, and if achieved alters the tone of the story significantly.