Sorcery of Thorns

In 2023, Margaret Rogerson published a sequel novella to Sorcery of Thorns entitled Mysteries of Thorn Manor. In the sequel’s acknowledgments, the author explains that she was inspired to write this second volume by her readers’ “requests for an extended epilogue” and their “continued love for this world and its characters” (185). Rather than introducing a new antagonist for Elisabeth Scrivener and Nathaniel Thorn to fight, the novella has significantly lower stakes and focuses on their love story and domestic life at the titular magical mansion. Mysteries of Thorn Manor picks up a few months after the events of the novel’s climax. A spell cast by one of Nathaniel’s ancestors traps Thorn Manor’s occupants inside mere days before they’re meant to host the Midwinter Ball. To break the spell, Nathaniel must woo Elisabeth by completing three impossible tasks. The novella ends with Elisabeth and Nathaniel announcing their engagement at the Midwinter Ball.

Mysteries of Thorn Manor continues the novel’s exploration of The Complexities of Trust and Betrayal in Relationships. Following his summoning in the novel’s Epilogue, Silas resumes his duties at Thorn Manor, albeit slightly weakened, but refuses to discuss the time he spent as a fugitive in the Otherworld after betraying his kind to save the mortal realm. Elisabeth reflects on the complicated bonds between her, Nathaniel, and the demon they love:

She still didn’t fully grasp the strange dance that went on between them, the delicate balance they maintained between danger and understanding. Perhaps she never would. No matter how much she trusted Silas, she would never do so with the same complexity as Nathaniel, who had seen the demon kill his own father—and afterward, had immediately summoned him back (45).

This dance grows even more delicate when Elisabeth learns that Nathaniel ordered Silas not to kill Mercy, the kindhearted nurse whom she hired as a maid after Leadgate Hospital was closed. Elisabeth is adamant that Silas would never commit such a terrible deed and wants to believe that he is fundamentally changed after his sacrifice, but Silas’s view of himself is largely unchanged. He insists, “There is no such thing as a good demon […] Merely those who have manners, and those who do not” (29). Despite these protestations, the novella makes Silas’s love for the Thorn family apparent, and he reaches an understanding with the newest member of the Thorn Manor household in one of the subplots.

As Elisabeth contends with her concerns regarding Silas and her questions about her future with Nathaniel, she learns more about the history of her magical new home. Rogerson provides more information about Charlotte’s, Alistair’s, and Maximilian’s lives before tragedy struck. Nathaniel continues his recovery from the psychological wounds he bears from the deaths of his parents and brother as well as the physical injuries he receives in the novel. Meanwhile, the protagonist continues to weigh her career options and seek a new path forward for herself and the Great Libraries, while her skill with grimoires proves important to the novella’s plot.