The Land of Stories

The Land of Stories

Cover of the first book in the series
Original series The Wishing Spell (2012) The Enchantress Returns (2013) A Grimm Warning (2014) Beyond the Kingdoms (2015) An Author's Odyssey (2016) Worlds Collide (2017) Prequels The Mother Goose Diaries (2015) A Tale of Magic... (2019) A Tale of Witchcraft... (2020) A Tale of Sorcery... (2021)
Author	Chris Colfer
Illustrator	Brandon Dorman
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Children's fiction, adventure and fantasy
Publisher	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published	2012–present
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book
No. of books	10

The Land of Stories is a series of children's fiction, adventure, and fantasy books written by American author, actor, and singer Chris Colfer. The first book, The Wishing Spell, was released on July 17, 2012, with the sixth and final book published in July 2017. Colfer started plans for a prequel series in 2016, and has since published three books in this series, beginning with A Tale of Magic... in 2019.

Described by Colfer as a "modern-day fairy tale", the series follows twins Conner and Alex Bailey as they enter a world of fairy tales and discover that there is more to this world than meets the eye.

Books

The Wishing Spell

The first book in the series, The Wishing Spell, was published in July 2012.

It has been eleven months since twins Alex and Conner Bailey lost their father in a car accident, a month before their eleventh birthday. Since then, their mother has been trying to balance her job with caring for her family. On their twelfth birthday, their grandmother gives them an old book of fairy tales from her childhood, which Alex decides to keep despite Conner telling her to throw it away. After she accidentally enters the book, Conner also enters it to help her. Upon arriving in the fairy-tale world, they meet Froggy, a man turned into a frog who gives them a journal that tells of the Wishing Spell: a spell that can grant a person's wish if they have eight specific items. Hoping to return to the real world, Alex and Conner set out to find the items needed for the Wishing Spell. Along the way, they meet various fairy tale characters from stories that their father had told them, including the Huntress, the daughter of the Huntsman. She works for the Evil Queen, who also seeks to use the Wishing Spell, which they learn can only be used twice, and the man who wrote the journal already used it. They later conclude that their father is from the fairy-tale world.

After Alex and Conner get all the items needed for the Wishing Spell, the Evil Queen kidnaps them, takes the items, and goes to her lair, which is located north of the Sleeping Kingdom. There, Conner tries to prevent the Evil Queen from using the Wishing Spell by smashing the fairy tear bottle, one of the items needed for it. The Evil Queen reveals that she was once Evly, a kind and caring girl who fell in love with a young boy named Mira, but the Enchantress captured her and prevented her from meeting with him. Evly tried to send secret messages to Mira, but the Enchantress found out and imprisoned Mira in a mirror. Evly later killed the Enchantress, but was unable to bring Mira back until she found out about the Wishing Spell. The Evil Queen uses one of Alex's tears to replace the fairy tear bottle and activates the Wishing Spell. Mira is freed from the magic mirror, but soon after dies in her arms, and they are both sucked into her magic mirror as her lair collapses. In the ensuing battle, the Huntsman and his daughter are killed, and Alex and Conner are rescued. Froggy is revealed to be the long-lost Prince Charlie of the Charming Kingdom, and Alex and Conner learn that their grandmother is the Fairy Godmother, who can create portals between Earth, also known as the Otherworld, and the fairy-tale world, and that the journal was written by their father, making them part fairy. Alex and Conner return to the real world.

The Enchantress Returns

The Enchantress Returns is the second book in the series and was published in August 2013.

Alex comes home from school and finds that Conner is worried because Charlotte has not come home from work and because he found a romantic note from her co-worker, a surgeon named Dr. Bob. She later confirms that he is her boyfriend after she returns home from work. Dr. Bob later comes to their house and tells them that he plans to propose to her, which they agree to because it would make them happy. They decide to surprise Charlotte with a special dinner, but she does not show up on time despite another nurse at the hospital saying that she had left two hours ago. They then hear a knock at the door and several soldiers from the Charming Kingdom enter along with the Fairy Godmother, who informs them that Charlotte has been kidnapped. While she attends to her business, Xanthous, a member of the Fairy Council, and Sir Lampton, an old friend of their father, watch over them until Mother Goose, their grandmother's closest friend, takes over babysitting. Alex later gives her alcohol until she becomes drunk and asks her for information, which she unknowingly gives.

Alex discovers that Charlotte was captured by Ezmia, also known as the Enchantress, who cursed Sleeping Beauty when she was a baby, and that the Sleeping Kingdom has fallen into ruin. Since she cannot enter the Land of Stories through the book, she and Conner instead enter it through a glowing painting at their grandmother's house, which also functions as a portal. Upon returning to the Land of Stories, they reunite with Froggy, who has returned to his frog form as a disguise, and they travel to the Red Riding Hood Kingdom, where Ezmia has destroyed several historical landmarks. Alex and Conner then sneak into a meeting for kings and queens, where Ezmia captures their grandmother and reveals that she tried to capture Alex, but instead captured Charlotte after she pretended to be Alex. At Red's castle, Conner learns of the Wand of Wonderment, which makes its wielder invincible and can only be created from the most valuable possessions of the six most hated people in the world. To find the items, Red asks the villagers to help her build a flying ship out of her baskets.

After the ship is completed, Alex, Conner, Red, Froggy, Goldilocks, and Jack set out to obtain the six items, including the Snow Queen's ice scepter, Cinderella's stepmother's wedding ring, the giant's harp, the glass from the Evil Queen's mirror, and the Sea Witch's jewels, but they do not know what Ezmia's most prized possession is. After landing in troll and goblin territory, they discover that Trollbella, a female troll that likes Conner, is now queen and that Bob has also traveled to the Land of Stories. In the Eastern Kingdom, they meet the ghost of Old Queen Beauty, who tells them that Ezmia's most prized possession is her pride.

Ezmia uses vines to drag Conner, Red, Froggy, Goldilocks, and Jack into the coliseum, where Alex attempts to defeat her by stealing her pride, but is knocked off of the coliseum. The Wand of Wonderment saves her from dying, but she is knocked unconscious and meets Alice, Lucy, Dorothy, and Wendy in her dreams, where they give her advice. Upon awakening, she returns to the coliseum on a flying horse. Ezmia attempts to kill her, but Rumpelstiltskin sacrifices himself to save her out of guilt for what he has tried to do for Ezmia. Conner destroys the Wand, which drains the magic from Ezmia's body, and she dies. Afterwards, Bob proposes to Charlotte and they get married in Queen Cinderella's castle, where she thanks Charlotte for taking care of their baby. When it is time to leave, Alex claims that she is meant to stay in the Land of Stories and that Conner should share their stories in the real world. The twins believe that they will be separated forever after the fairies decide to seal all portals leading to and from The Land of Stories. Conner has Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters return him to the Otherworld, where he shares their stories.

A Grimm Warning

A Grimm Warning is the third book in the series and was published in July 2014.

Alex has been crowned Fairy Godmother, while Conner is at school and being questioned about her whereabouts. He goes on a school trip to Germany to hear previously unheard stories from the Brothers Grimm that were unearthed from a time capsule. While the girl he has a crush on, Bree Campbell, is going on the trip, four rude girls known as the Book Huggers are also going. Alex struggles to master spells and falls in love with farm boy Rook Robins. While their grandmother is dying, she has entrusted Alex with her duties and knows that the fairy tale world is in good hands.

Conner learns that one of the stories is a secret message and a warning for the Land of Stories. He sets out across Germany to crack a 200-year code, and with the help of Bree and Mother Goose's guidance, he eventually meets Emmerich Himmelsbach, a boy from a small village. Alex and Conner realize that time-displaced soldiers of the Grande Armée, led by General Jacques Du Marquis with help from the Masked Man, a prisoner whom he freed during a raid on the Pinocchio Prison, are attacking the Otherworld. After attacking some villagers, the army blackmails Alex's crush Rook into revealing the location of her and the royal families. Alex's grandmother, the Fairy Godmother, defeats the Masked Man's dragon with her fairy magic and "returns to magic". Alex, hurt by Rook's betrayal, decides to break up with him. She later encounters the Masked Man without his mask and becomes convinced that he is their deceased father, John Bailey.

Beyond the Kingdoms

Beyond the Kingdoms is the fourth book in the series and was published in July 2015.

The twins are pursuing the Masked Man, who Alex believes is their late father, John, but Conner is unconvinced. Alex has been struggling to control her emotions and powers, causing her to attack others, including her family and friends. She also insists to the Fairy Council that dealing with the Masked Man should be one of their highest priorities. As a result, she is removed from her position as Fairy Godmother and from the Fairy Council. After attacking the Fairy Council, Alex flees and arrives at the Giant's castle, where Mother Goose is staying.

Morina the witch, who cursed Froggy to become a frog, arrives at Red and Froggy's wedding claiming to be Froggy's first lover and threatens to curse Red if he does not leave with her. Meanwhile, Conner goes to the library to get the wedding rings for Red and Froggy, where the Masked Man attacks him while attempting to steal books. That night, Alex wishes to talk with her late grandmother, who sends an "angel moth from outer space" of memories from the stars to tell her the truth about the Masked Man: he is their uncle Lloyd.

Conner's friend, the fairy Trix, steals a book from his grandmother, from which they learn that what Lloyd attempted to steal was a Portal Potion, which can transport anyone into any work of fiction. The ingredients for the potion are a branch from the oldest tree in the woods, a feather from the finest pheasant in the sky, a liquefied lock and key from a loved one, two weeks of moonlight, and a spark of magic. Alex then explains to the others that the Masked Man is their uncle, and Mother Goose tells them that it was their grandmother's dying wish that she not tell them this. The group then travels into several works of literature to stop Lloyd before he recruits an army of literary villains. As they pursue him through the lands of Oz, Neverland, and Wonderland, in Wonderland Lloyd sends them into a trap and traps them in different stories: Alex in the world of King Arthur, and Conner in the world of Robin Hood. After escaping and reuniting in Oz, they realize that Lloyd has sent armies to destroy the kingdoms and decide to enter Conner's own short stories to recruit their own army.

An Author's Odyssey

An Author's Odyssey is the fifth installment in the series and was published in December 2015.

Conner, Alex, and their friends enter the worlds of Conner's short stories to recruit allies that can help them fight back against the Masked Man and his reign of terror, including worlds of pirates and pyramids. Meanwhile, the Sea Witch and the Snow Queen, along with the witches of Dead Man's Creek, plan to use dust made from a magic mirror that demons created. The dust caused the Enchantress's temper and heartache, and they believe it will also work on Alex. Morina attacks Alex as she heads for the bathroom and throws the dust in her face. Meanwhile, Lloyd attacks Conner and his friends and forces them to give him a blood transfusion from Emmerich, who is revealed to be his son. Conner defeats Lloyd by trapping him in one of Bree's stories, but then learns that Alex has disappeared.

Worlds Collide

The sixth and final book in the series, titled Worlds Collide, was released in July 2017.

Conner, now 80 years old, celebrates his birthday at a bookstore, but realizes that he does not know what happened to Alex. Alex, still under the witches' control, wreaks havoc at the New York Public Library; after learning of this, Conner heads to New York City along with Red, Jack, Goldilocks, and Bree. As Conner's group attempts to reach the library, a homeless man named Rusty, who had helped them earlier, leads them to a subway tunnel that was abandoned in the 1920s that runs underneath the library. While there, they hear from other homeless people and realize that a portal between the worlds will soon open in the library. They break into the library and see Alex, who is under Morina's control. While sleeping, Conner receives a message from Alex that she wants him to kill her so that she can "return to magic" and be free of the curse.

The Book Huggers rescue Conner and his friends, while the Fairy Council and other heroes battle the witches and villains, but Alex continues to wreak havoc. After the Literary Army is defeated, Conner writes a story in which he and Alex never entered the Land of Stories, Alex did not fall under the curse, their father is alive, and Alex's emotions cause the curse to break. They then repair New York with healing flames, and a week later meet with President Katherine Walker, telling her that the book that leads to the Land of Stories must be protected to prevent future catastrophes. The series ends 65 years later as Conner, now 80 years old, prepares to move into a retirement home. His granddaughter, Charlotte "Charlie" Black, visits him on his way to visit Alex and then to the Land of Stories. The series ends with Charlie hearing a noise and going to the attic where she sees the Land of Stories book glowing. After all that has happened, Alex and Conner are finally reunited.

Development

Colfer recorded his audiobook himself. The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell has been translated into several languages, including Albanian, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, Italian, French, Hebrew, Greek, Portuguese (Brazil), and Dutch.

Characters

Heroes

• Alexandra "Alex" Marie Bailey is a smart, curious girl, described as having bright blue eyes and short, strawberry-blond hair with a headband always in it. She is studious and pays close attention to every class, getting full marks. She is also considered the teacher's pet but doesn't have any friends. She is the twin sister to Conner Bailey. She is one of the most powerful fairies ever known. She is also the reason why the twins went into the Land of Stories in the first place.
• Conner Jonathan Bailey is a boy who looks much like his twin sister Alex Bailey. He falls asleep often in class and is a slacker. He is sociable but feels constantly overshadowed by his brainy sister. He holds a deep hatred for his teacher, Mrs. Peters, but she eventually inspires Conner to become a writer and in Book 5, Conner travels into his short stories. In the last book, it is revealed that Conner and Bree marry and have children together. Throughout his life, Conner becomes a famous and successful author.
• Charlie Carlton 'Froggy' Charming is a large, slightly humanoid frog. Formerly as a Prince Charlie Charming, a curse was placed upon him for being too vain. He was cursed by a witch named Morina, who cursed him so that he was ashamed of the way he looked, as she thought he ended their relationship because of her looks. He is wise and gives the twins advice and help throughout the story. In the beginning, he is embarrassed about being a frog and lives in a sort of house-hole in the dwarf forests. Later on, he is elected king of the Center Kingdom. In Beyond the Kingdoms, he is imprisoned in a magic mirror to protect Red. In the final book, he is freed from the mirror after performing a good deed. He then marries Red after being freed.
• Red Riding Hood is the queen of the Red Riding Hood Kingdom. She can be snarky, self-centered and clueless at times, but is compassionate and loyal at heart. She can also be surprisingly smart and courageous. Her lover used to be Jack, but he would always turn her away in favor of Goldilocks. Though she is initially repulsed by him due to him being a frog, Red eventually falls in love with Froggy after learning that he used to be a prince. Red also dislikes gross stuff. During A Grimm Warning, Little Bo Peep temporarily took over her throne, but Red got her throne back. In Beyond the Kingdoms, Red and Froggy's wedding is crashed by Morina, who threatens Red in order to kidnap Froggy. Froggy turns Red away and goes with Morina to protect Red. In Worlds Collide, she saves her friends from Morina, killing her with a hand mirror. She finally marries Froggy and adopts the Lost Boys from Neverland.
• Jack is now a grown man with the other Fairy Tale characters, who grew a famous beanstalk when he was younger. Despite Red's affection towards him, he rejects her and falls in love with Goldilocks. Because of his love for her, he decides to join Goldilocks on the run, no matter the consequences. He marries Goldilocks in the third book, and in the fifth book, they have a child and name him Hero.
• Goldilocks is a tough and fearless criminal who raids kingdoms. She was given her first sword to fight with by Hagetta, a kind witch who lives in the Dwarf Forests. She married Jack in the third book. In the fourth book, she became pregnant with his child. In the fifth book, she gave birth to a baby boy and named him Hero.
• Fairy Godmother (Brystal Lynn Evergreen) is Alex and Conner's grandmother and leads the Fairy Council through bad times and also is the only one who can create a portal between the fairy-tale world and the Otherworld. She is shown as a kind old woman with a nice hairdo. She dies in A Grimm Warning after slaying a dragon. It is revealed in A Tale of Magic... that her real name is Brystal Lynn Evergreen.
• Mother Goose (Lucy Goose) can travel between worlds (with the Fairy Godmother) and reads nursery rhymes around the world to children. She is part of the Fairy Council. She is first mentioned in The Wishing Spell, and appears in The Enchantress Returns, A Grimm Warning and Beyond the Kingdoms. She "retires" and joins Merlin in his story in Beyond the Kingdoms. She likes to gamble and travel with her pet gander, Lester. She is the main protagonist in The Mother Goose Diaries novel. It is revealed in A Tale of Magic... that her name is Lucy Goose.
• Breanne 'Bree' Campbell is an intelligent and determined girl. She was first introduced in A Grimm Warning as a classmate of Conner Bailey. She is a horror writer and is described as beautiful. She has blonde hair with a streak of pink and blue and always wears a purple beanie and an earbud in one ear. Conner has a huge crush on Bree, and at the end of A Grimm Warning, Bree reveals that she has a crush on him too. She becomes close friends with Emmerich, whom she meets during the trip to Europe. In the last book, it is revealed that Conner and Bree marry and have children together. After they marry, she changes her name to Breanne Campbell-Bailey.
• Emmerich Himmelsbach is a boy from Hohenschwangau, Germany, and approximately ten years old. He first appears in A Grimm Warning. He helps Conner and Bree get into Neuschwanstein castle and ends up joining Conner on his adventure to save the Land of Stories. In Beyond the Kingdoms, he turns out to be the son of Bo Peep and Lloyd Bailey, the Masked Man and the twins' uncle, therefore making Emmerich the twins' cousin.
• Rook Robins is a farmer's son and the love interest of Alex Bailey in A Grimm Warning, though they break up after he told the general about the secret path. He makes her understand that he did what he thought was right when he died in Worlds Collide to a sniper bullet saving her life.
• The Book Huggers are a group of intelligent girls who are on to Alex and Conner. Their names are Mindy McClowsky, Cindy Strutherbergers, Lindy Lenkins and Wendy Takahashi. Originally, they ran the book club at their school, but after Alex and Conner's suspicious disappearance, they abandon it in favor of a conspiracy club. Everybody thinks they hit their heads, but they know what they see. They are eccentric. Wendy is selectively mute and is sometimes ignored a bit because of that. In the last book, they followed Conner and his friends. When the Book Huggers find them trapped in the library, they interrogate Conner until he admits what has been going on in the last few years and apologises, only then they set Conner and his friends free. In one of the last chapters, it is mentioned that they are the Sister Grimm's new recruits.
• Auburn Sally is a character from "Starboardia", one of Conner's short stories. She is based on Goldilocks and is a pirate who sails with her crew aboard their ship the Dolly Llama. Conner barely manages to convince her to be part of his army. They are forced to battle Smoky Sails Sam when he attacks them. Auburn Sally appears in An Author's Odyssey, and Worlds Collide.
• King Arthur is the king of Camelot and love interest of Alex Bailey in Beyond the Kingdoms, but they have to end their relationship because Alex has to stop the Masked Man. She convinces him to fulfill his destiny, but he retains a romantic longing for Alex.
• Charlotte and John Bailey are the parents of Alex and Conner. John died in a car crash before the first book, leaving Charlotte on her own until the second book when she marries Bob. Charlotte and Bob are active in the Land of Stories in the second book.
• The Ziblings, The Cyborg Queen, Newters, Beau and other Blimp Boy Characters, the sailors from the Dolly Llama, Admiral Jacobson, and his men are heroes of Conner's imagination and are from his four short stories. He recruits them for his literary army, and they help Alex and Conner fight in the sixth book, Worlds Collide.
• Dr. Bob is the second husband of Charlotte Bailey and the stepfather of Alex and Conner Bailey. He is a doctor and a kind person. He bought a dog named Buster (who they didn't know was Sir Lampton) for the Baileys.

Royals

• Queen Cinderella is the Queen of the Charming Kingdom. Her first appearance in The Wishing Spell portrays her as heavily pregnant with King Chance Charming's child, later named Princess Hope.
• Queen Sleeping Beauty is the Queen of the Eastern Kingdom. Due to the century-long curse, she, along with the other women in her kingdom, is rendered unable to bear children, but she adopts a recently orphaned girl named Ash in A Grimm Warning from a ransacked and burnt town.
• Princess Hope is the daughter of Queen Cinderella and King Chance Charming, and a Princess of the Charming Kingdom.
• Princess Ash is the adopted daughter of Queen Sleeping Beauty and King Chase Charming, and a Princess of the Eastern Kingdom. Sleeping Beauty saves her life while the Royals are on the enchanted path. She adopts her because the sleeping curse has made her infertile, but she wishes for a child. Ash is found in a chest in the burning remains of an attacked town.
• Queen Rapunzel is the Queen of the Corner Kingdom.
• Queen Bo Peep is the Queen of the Bo Peep Republic. She was crowned Queen after she challenged Queen Red Riding Hood for the throne yet Bo Peep passed away from a broken heart in the third book by the Masked Man.
• Queen Snow White is the Queen of the Northern Kingdom. She is revealed to be the one who releases her stepmother from the dungeon out of genuine sympathy for her plight.
• Sir William is Queen Rapunzel's husband and King of the Corner Kingdom.
• King Chance Charming is the King of the Charming Kingdom and Queen Cinderella's husband.
• King Chandler Charming is the King of the Northern Kingdom and Queen Snow White's husband.
• King Chase Charming is the King of the Eastern Kingdom and Queen Sleeping Beauty's husband.
• King Chester Charming is the deceased father of the four Charming Kings.
• Queen Beauty is a ghost living in the Eastern/Sleeping Kingdom from the story Beauty and the Beast. She is a grandmother of Queen Sleeping Beauty, and also known as the Lady of the East.

Villains

• Evly, the Evil Queen is Snow White's stepmother. The whole Fairy tale world thought she was vain and power-obsessed, but she really only wanted to free her lover, Mira, from her magic mirror. Mira had been put in the magic mirror by Ezmia, the Enchantress. After the battle at her palace in The Wishing Spell, she is trapped by the mirror which had once held Mira and was transformed into a hopeless version of her old self, wandering the mirror realm in the vain hope of finding her lost lover. In Worlds Collide, the effects of the mirror caused her to forget herself and her memories. This caused her to revert into a young girl. She is soon discovered by Froggy, who was at the time, cursed by Morina, the Beauty Witch into his own mirror, and together they set off to warn his friends of the plot the fairytale villains have. She is released from the mirror realm by offering words of wisdom to a woman whose self-esteem was shattered by her looks. After being released, she reverted to her true, middle-aged self. Evly's final fate is unknown, but it appears that she has a brighter future with her complete reformation.
• Ezmia, the Enchantress was cursed by the witches to hate everyone and tried to destroy the world. This same curse was placed on Alex Bailey in the 5th book. Ezmia was once a small girl living in the Otherworld in misery following the death of her parents and the destruction of her village. She was to be killed by ruthless soldiers, but in an act of self-defence killed them instead. The Fairy Godmother, who had secretly watched this, took Ezmia under her wing as an apprentice. The Fairy Godmother even chose her as the next Fairy Godmother, but bitterness over men who failed her as well as what she claimed was the other fairies' jealousy caused her to renounce her title and turned to Dark Magic. She is defeated by Alex Bailey. It is later revealed, however, that it was the witches who cast a spell on her to turn to rage.
• The Snow Queen/Madame Celeste Weatherberry is a blind weather witch who, a long time ago, secretly plotted against the king of the Northern Kingdom, whom she had befriended by granting him wishes and making prophecies. She overthrew the king and covered the kingdom in an everlasting winter. She was eventually overthrown by Prince White (Snow White's grandfather) and banished to the Northern Mountains, where she lives in an icy lair with her polar bears. She was featured and introduced in the second book (The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns) as an antagonist. Conner, Alex, Goldilocks, Red, and Jack were exploring to find the 6 most prized items of the 6 most hated beings, the Snow Queen being one of them. Alex and Conner took her wand (which was later sliced in half by Conner) and used it to build the Wand of Wonderment. She was also revealed later as the one who found dust of an evil mirror from the past which turned Ezmia into the evil Enchantress.
• Morina is an evil witch who cursed Froggy to look like a frog and trapped him into the magic mirror. She does this because he ended their relationship. Her grandfather was a troll. As a result, she was ugly when she was young. She spent years creating potions that improved her appearance little by little. Morina now looks like a beautiful lady but she has ram's horns on her head. She spends her time selling her potions to customers who want to become better looking. The potions are created by draining the youth of children.
• The Demon Mirror is a mirror mentioned in The Land of Stories: An Author's Odyssey. It was said to be a weapon used by the demons that inhabited the fairy tale world, and turned anything in its reflection ugly and evil. It shatters when the demons attempt to bring it to Heaven to torture the angels, and the fragments turn to dust. The dust is then later used to curse Alex to use her in the 6th book.
• The Masked Man/Lloyd Bailey is the main antagonist in books 3, 4 and 5. In book 4, it is revealed that the Masked Man is Alex and Conner's uncle Lloyd. In book 5 Emmerich is revealed to him as his son and Little Bo Peep as his wife. His plot was to recruit an army of literature's greatest villains in order to overthrow the Kingdoms and take over the world. He dies at the end of book 5 by entering Bree's story "Cemetery of the Undead", being killed by Bo Peep, and banished to his grave.
• Smoky Sails Sam is a character in Conner's short story "Starboardia". He was originally a slave but became a pirate when he staged a mutiny on the ship that captured him. He wants to kill Auburn Sally because she stole a necklace called the Heart of the Caribbean from him.
• General Jacques Du Marquis is the French general of the Grande Armée who wants to take over the fairy tale world. He appeared as the central antagonist in The Grimm Warning but died because of the Masked Man controlling a dragon. Colfer has said he had the inspiration for the character from all the corrupt people he has met in his life.
• The Sea Witch is a witch who is believed to have tricked the Little Mermaid into giving up her voice. She is one of the witches who plots to steal the Otherworld in the last few books of the series.
• The Queen of Hearts is the villain from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland where Alex and Conner Bailey chase the Masked Man in order to stop him from recruiting all the villains to create his Literary Army. The Queen Of Hearts loves cutting heads of servants and others who don't listen to her commands.
• Captain Hook is the main antagonist from Peter and Wendy where Alex and Conner Bailey chase the Masked Man as well. Captain Hook briefly was recruited by the Masked Man before he defected from the Masked Man. His sworn enemy is Peter Pan and his right-hand-man is Mr. Smee.
• The Wicked Witch of the West is the main antagonist from The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz where Alex and Conner Bailey chase the Masked Man as well. She was recruited by the Masked Man before she defected from him. She has an army of Munchkins and flying monkeys, such as the baby monkey Blubo, who later turns against her.
• Rumpelstiltskin is the secondary antagonist of the second book. He is a brother of the Seven Dwarves and is employed by Ezmia. He sacrifices himself at the end of the book, in hope of doing something good.
• Charcoaline, Rat Mary, Serpentine, and Tarantulene are witches of the Witches' Brew. They are pawns of Ezmia, the Snow Queen and the Sea Witch. They were all killed in Worlds Collide.
• Colonel Rembert, Colonel Baton, and Capitaine De Lange are minor antagonists. They are part of the Grande Armée.

Animals

• Porridge is the horse of Goldilocks. She mated with Buckle and had a foal, Oats, and accompanies Goldilocks in most of the adventures.
• Clawdius is the wolf of Red Riding Hood. He was rescued by her during the events of the second book, in the Northern Mountains of the Northern Kingdom. He currently lives in the Center Kingdom as a royal pet.
• Cornelius is the unicorn of Alex. He is described as overweight and has a crooked horn. He accompanies Alex in many adventures and is good friends with Rook Robins.
• Buckle is an arrogant and wayward stallion and the mate of Porridge. He and Porridge had a foal, Oats, and he only accompanies the heroes in a few adventures.
• The Dragon is an antagonistic creature. The Masked Man retrieved it in its egg form for General Marquis and later helped them try to destroy the Fairy Kingdom. It was killed by the Fairy Godmother.
• Oats is the foal of Porridge and Buckle. He is energetic and adventurous.
• George Clooney is the Giant's cat. Initially an antagonist, he was named George Clooney by Mother Goose and was tamed by her.

Supporting characters

• Peter Pan, Robin Hood, the Merry Men, the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell, and Merlin are characters from classic fairytales and epics. The Bailey twins went through their stories to search for the Masked Man and met them. They became allies in the final battle. The Lost Boys were adopted by Red Riding Hood and Froggy, and all the rest of the characters went back to their respective stories; Merlin took Mother Goose with him.
• Hagatha was a witch who practiced dark magic and who took advantage of Ezmia the Enchantress. She was killed when she fell into the Thornbush Pit.
• Hagetta is the sister of the vile witch Hagatha. She is a healer who uses albino dragon flames. Hagetta is a major ally of the heroes.
• Traveling Tradesman is the person who sold the magic beans to Jack. He is an ally to the heroes, and although they generally dislike him, he proves to be helpful at times.
• Medusa is a Gorgon with a head of hair made of snakes and eyes that turn anyone who looks at them to stone. Although she does these things, she doesn't intentionally harm either citizens or royals and wants more than anything to put an end to her curse. She later finds Morina's hut, drinks a potion and (for a short time) turns back into a human. Medusa helps free Froggy from the mirror and saves the missing children, proving that she is not a monster. She then decides (after Froggy offers) to live out her days in Froggy's old house.
• President Katherine Walker is the fictional President of the United States in the series. She is labeled as the first female president, and later Alex and Conner visit her.

Reception

• The Wishing Spell was on the New York Times Bestseller List for five weeks, and reached No. 1 for two of the five.
• The Onion's The A.V. Club gave The Wishing Spell a B.
• The Wishing Spell was named one of Barnes & Noble's "Best Books of 2012".

Film adaptation

By 2017, 20th Century Studios was developing a film adaptation of the first book, The Wishing Spell, with Colfer directing and writing the screenplay. Colder was attached to serve as one of the executive producers on the film, and was to be produced by 21 Laps Entertainment.

External links

• Official website