CORNELIA FUNKE
INKSPELL
If I knew where poems came from, I'd go there. – Michael Langley, Staying Alive
To Brendan Fraser, whose voice is the heart of this book. Thanks for inspiration and enchantment. Mo wouldn't have stepped into my writing room without you, and this story would never have been told.
To Rainer Strecker, who is both Silvertongue and Dustfinger. Every word in this book is just waiting for him to read it.
And of course, as almost always, last but for sure not least, for Anna, wonderful, wonderful Anna, who had this story told to her on many walks, encouraged and advised me, and let me know what was good and what could still be improved. (I very much hope that the story of Meggie and Farid has its fair share of the book now?)
CHARACTERS FROM INKHEART
Meggie
The daughter of Mo and Resa, now living with her parents and her mother's aunt Elinor. Like her father, Meggie has the rare magical ability to read characters out of books – to bring them into this world by reading the words aloud. But since meeting Fenoglio, the author of the original book of Inkheart, she now dreams of being able to write as well as she can read – so that she can not only bring characters out of books but also send them back in again.
Mortimer Folchart, known as Mo or Silvertongue
A bookbinder – or, as his daughter calls him, a "book doctor." Meggie says he can "paint pictures in the air with his voice." Since experiencing the awful consequences of reading Dustfinger, Capricorn, and Basta out of their story and almost losing his wife forever, he has avoided reading aloud. Mo is now troubled by his daughter's dangerous fascination with the world of Inkheart.
Resa (Theresa)
Mo's wife, Meggie's mother, and Elinor's favorite niece. Resa is now safely back with her family but has still to recover from the years she spent trapped in the Inkworld, her time in service to the evil Mortola, and losing her voice. She tells Meggie of her life on the other side of the pages, scribbling down her memories on paper.
Elinor Loredan
Resa's aunt, a book-collector, also known as "the bookworm." Elinor once preferred her books to human company but is now happy to have Meggie, Mo, and Resa living with her. Darius, the book-loving but stammering storyteller, is also now a part of her household.
Darius
Formerly Capricorn's reader in the first book of Inkheart, Darius, like Mo and Meggie, possesses the ability to read characters out of stories – but damages them if he stutters over the words. He now helps Elinor in her library. Basta calls him Stumbletongue.
Fenoglio, also known as "Inkweaver"
Author of the original book Inkheart, from which Basta, Dustfinger, and Capricorn came – and, with Meggie and Mo's help, the writer of the words used to get rid of Capricorn. He disappeared into his own story that same night.
Dustfinger
A fire-eater whom Mo accidentally read out of the pages of Inkheart. He is also known as "the fire-dancer." Plucked from his story, Dustfinger has lived in our world for ten years and would risk anything to go home to the Inkworld. At the end of the first book, he stole from Mo the last remaining copy of Inkheart. He owes the three scars on his face to Basta's knife and is never without Gwin, his tame marten, or his young apprentice, Farid.
Farid
A boy read by Mo out of Tales of the Arabian Nights, he is devoted to Dustfinger. Nimble and quickwitted, he has a talent for stealing and other robbers' arts, developed in his previous life. He also has a soft spot for Meggie.
Gwin
Dustfinger's pet, a horned marten intended by Fenoglio to play a deadly part in his original tale of Inkheart.
Capricorn
The brutal leader of a gang of mercenary fire-raisers, he was read out of the pages of Inkheart. Unlike Dustfinger, Capricorn enjoyed his time in this world. He made it his business to burn every remaining copy of Inkheart in an attempt to avoid ever returning to the story. But eventually, with the help of Meggie and Fenoglio, he is destroyed by Mo.
Basta
One of Capricorn's most devoted henchmen. Superstitious and in love with his knife, he once slashed Dustfinger's face. At the end of the first book he made his escape, followed by Capricorn's housekeeper and mother, Mortola.
Mortola
Capricorn's mother, also known as "the Magpie." A poisoner, she kept Resa enslaved for many years as her servant. Her greatest wish is to see Mo punished for what he has done to her son.
AND NOW, IN INKSPELL
Orpheus, also called "Cheeseface" by Farid
Discovered in our world by Dustfinger, he claims to have the ability to both read and write characters in and out of books. He is an ardent but unreliable admirer of the original story of Inkheart.
The Motley Folk
A loyal band of strolling players (entertainers) to which Dustfinger once belonged, the Motley Folk travel between Lombrica and Argenta, the two principalities of the Inkworld, led by their own Black Prince.
The Black Prince
A master knife-thrower, secretive champion of the poor, and Dustfinger's best friend from long ago. He is accompanied wherever he goes by a faithful black bear.
Cloud-Dancer
A crippled former tightrope-walker, now a messenger – and an old friend of Dustfinger's.
Sootbird
An unconvincing fire-eater.
Baptista
Actor and accomplished mask-maker, disfigured by pockmarks.
In Lombrica
Minerva
Fenoglio's kindly landlady.
Ivo
Minerva's son.
Despina
Minerva's daughter.
Rosenquartz
A tiny glass man and Fenoglio's long-suffering helper.
Nettle
A healer who uses herbs and potions to cure the sick.
The Laughing Prince
Bereaved father of Cosimo the Fair; also known as "the Prince of Sighs" since his son's untimely death.
Violante, "Her Ugliness"
The unhappy wife of Cosimo, daughter of the Adderhead, mother of Jacopo – the heir to the realms of both Lombrica and Argenta.
Balbulus
An illuminator (illustrator), brought to the library of the Castle of Ombra by Violante.
Brianna
The willful daughter of Roxane and Dustfinger, maid to Her Ugliness.
Cosimo the Fair
The deceased son of the Laughing Prince.