Sorcery of Thorns

Published in 2019, Margaret Rogerson’s Sorcery of Thorns is a young adult fantasy novel. Sixteen-year-old Elisabeth Scrivener is an apprentice librarian in a magical library where books have the power to become dangerous creatures. Raised among these sentient grimoires, Elisabeth dreams of becoming a warden to protect the kingdom from their powers. However, her life is thrown into chaos when she’s implicated in a crime involving the release of one of the library’s most dangerous grimoires. Forced to ally with Nathaniel Thorn, a sorcerer with his own secrets, and his demonic servant, Silas, Elisabeth ventures to uncover a dark conspiracy that threatens their world. The New York Times bestseller won a Lincoln Award and explores themes of heroism, trust, and the power of knowledge.

This guide refers to the e-book edition released by Simon & Schuster in 2019.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss death, including that of family members.

Plot Summary

Sixteen-year-old Elisabeth Scrivener is an apprentice at the Great Library of Summershall. As an infant, she was found on the library’s steps by the Director, who took her in and raised her. The Great Library’s vault holds dangerous grimoires with the potential to shift into monsters called Malefict if not contained properly. Elisabeth enters the vault for the first time when the Director asks for her assistance with a new delivery, The Book of Eyes.

A week later, a sorcerer named Nathaniel Thorn arrives at the library. The curious Elisabeth breaks the rules to sneak a glimpse of him, and he helps her evade punishment. Months later, someone releases The Book of Eyes from the vault, and the grimoire turns into a Malefict, killing the Director. Elisabeth takes the Director’s sword, Demonslayer, and destroys the monster before it can attack the nearby town. The new Director blames Elisabeth for the grimoire’s escape and has her imprisoned.

After Elisabeth spends a week in the library’s dungeon, Nathaniel and his demonic servant, Silas, arrive to take her to the capital city of Brassbridge for a hearing. Nathaniel has already attained the high rank of magister even though he’s only 18 years old, and his ancestor is the notorious necromancer Balthasar Thorn. At first, Elisabeth remains convinced that Nathaniel murdered the Director and intends to kill her as well, but he brings her to the capital city unharmed. When they reach the city, Elisabeth and Nathaniel are attacked by a group of low-level demons called fiends, and they work together to defeat them. Elisabeth loses consciousness after the fight and awakens in Thorn Manor. Silas informs her that her heroic deeds have led the Chancellor of Magic to cancel her hearing.

Nathaniel leaves Elisabeth at Chancellor Oberon Ashcroft’s palatial manor, and she feels a pang of loss at the idea of never seeing him again. That night, Elisabeth learns that Ashcroft orchestrated the attacks on the Great Libraries. The next day, the Chancellor sends for a physician, who diagnoses Elisabeth with “hysteria” and recommends bedrest, effectively rendering her a prisoner in Ashcroft Manor. Ashcroft invades Elisabeth’s mind and searches her memories of the night of the Director’s death, but she successfully conceals her knowledge that a sorcerer is responsible. Ashcroft sends Elisabeth to a psychiatric hospital, but she escapes with the help of a kind, young nurse.

A few days after Elisabeth’s escape from the hospital, Silas finds her wandering the city’s streets in a feverish state and brings her back to Thorn Manor. Elisabeth tells Nathaniel everything she knows about Ashcroft’s foul deeds. Nathaniel believes her but urges her not to oppose the Chancellor for her own safety. The sorcerer reluctantly agrees to let her remain at Thorn Manor, but he refuses to directly participate in her efforts to stop Ashcroft. After Nathaniel has a night terror about his family, Silas explains to Elisabeth that Nathaniel’s father, Alistair, tried to bring his late wife, Charlotte, back from the dead with necromancy. The ritual would have killed Nathaniel if Silas hadn’t taken Alistair’s life. With Silas’s help, Elisabeth retrieves The Codex Daemonicus, a key element in Ashcroft’s plot, from the Royal Library.

The next day, Elisabeth discovers that Aldous Prendergast hid his consciousness inside the Codex. However, he refuses to tell her the secret that he’s been guarding for centuries. The Codex transforms into a Malefict, but Nathaniel manages to return the monster back to its grimoire form. Elisabeth convinces Nathaniel to join her fight against Ashcroft, and they publicly accuse him of perpetrating the attack on the Great Libraries at the Royal Ball. The Chancellor leaves after Nathaniel and Elisabeth succeed in raising the guests’ suspicions. Ashcroft lures Elisabeth and Nathaniel to a secluded section of the palace grounds, reveals that he has captured Silas, and offers to return the demon in exchange for Elisabeth. In the ensuing battle, Ashcroft gravely wounds Nathaniel, and Silas sacrifices himself to save his master. Weakened and stripped of his magic, Ashcroft flees.

Elisabeth helps Nathaniel summon Silas back to life even though participating in a demonic ritual breaks her oaths to the Great Library. Nathaniel and Elisabeth share a passionate kiss, but they’re interrupted by Silas, who reports that the Codex is in trouble. Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas enter the grimoire and see that Ashcroft has tortured Prendergast’s secret out of him. Prendergast reveals that the Great Libraries form a pentagram and that the destruction of the Maleficts is part of a ritual to summon the Archon, ruler of the Otherworld. Ashcroft believes that he can control the Archon and harness its power for the betterment of humanity, but the ritual would allow demons to overrun the mortal realm.

Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas use magic to transport themselves to the Great Library of Harrows. Elisabeth and Nathaniel tell Director Hyde about Ashcroft’s plans, but Hyde doesn’t believe them and has them thrown into the dungeon. Silas frees Nathaniel and Elisabeth and leads them to the vault. They discover that Ashcroft is controlling Hyde and that he possessed the other Directors to sabotage the rest of the Great Libraries as well. Ashcroft turns Balthasar Thorn’s Chronicles of the Dead into a Malefict. The monster urges Nathaniel to fulfill the dark destiny of his bloodline and kill the girl he loves to gain power. However, Elisabeth chooses to trust Nathaniel. The sorcerer uses magic to slay the Malefict and transport himself, Elisabeth, and Silas back to the capital.

The trio hurries to the Royal Library and frees the grimoires, which sacrifice themselves to defeat Ashcroft’s army of demons. Elisabeth subdues Ashcroft, but he has already summoned the Archon, which is too powerful for a human to banish. Elisabeth sets Silas free, and Nathaniel’s trust in him gives him the strength to overcome his insatiable hunger for humans’ life force. Silas asks Elisabeth to look after Nathaniel and then forces the Archon back into the Otherworld. Weeks later, Ashcroft is sentenced to life in prison. Elisabeth is invited to continue her apprenticeship at the Great Libraries, but she decides to take some time for herself and decide what she truly wants. Elisabeth and Nathaniel fear that their demonic friend Silas has perished in his struggle with the Archon, but Elisabeth succeeds in summoning him back.