Clockwork Prince

This article is about the novel by Cassandra Clare. For the album by Rush, see Clockwork Angels.
Clockwork Prince
Author Cassandra Clare
Cover artist Cliff Nielsen
Country United States
Language English
Series Infernal Devices
Genre Fantasy, adventure
Publisher Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date
 2011
Media type Print, e-book, audio book
Pages 502
ISBN 978-1-4169-7588-5
Preceded by Clockwork Angel
Followed by Clockwork Princess

Clockwork Prince is a novel written by Cassandra Clare. It is the second novel in the Infernal Devices trilogy and is written through the perspective of the protagonist, Tessa Gray, who lives at the London Institute among Shadowhunters, a group of half-angel-half-human beings called Nephilim. After the recent failings of Charlotte, the manager of the Institute, the Council of Shadowhunters begin to question her ability to lead. Now Tessa and her friends must find Mortmain – an evil industrialist bent on destroying all the Nephilim in the world - or risk losing control of the Institute.

The book also contains many quotes referring to famous pieces of Victorian literature, for example, Alfred Tennyson's The Palace of Art, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, and the works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Summary

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray, has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street, and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends. With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a tragedy long-ago that shattered his life.

To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journey from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move, and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets, and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

Plot

The book begins with William (Will) Herondale meeting a Ghost - Old Mol at Cross Bones Graveyard. Will is buying from her spell ingredients for the Warlock Magnus Bane. The next day, at Westminster Abbey, Tessa and James (Jem) are making their way to the Shadowhunters' Council Chamber for a meeting regarding Mortmain, but stop at Poets' corner before proceeding; there they meet up with Will, who join them to the Council Chamber. During the meeting, the Consul (Chief of the Council) is preparing to give judgement on the actions and failings of Charlotte Branwell, but Benedict Lightwood stops him, and issues a formal challenge for the position as head of the London Institute. The Consul then rules that if Charlotte cannot come up with a good lead as to the location of Mortmain, then Benedict will take over the Institute. The Consul also insists that Benedict Lightwood's two sons - Gideon and Gabriel train Tessa and Sophie, since they may be attacked by Mortmain's automatons.

The Institute inhabitants return from the meeting and begin searching for information on Mortmain. Jem decides to look into the Reparations - a petition Downworlders and mundanes used to gain compensation for unjust actions against their person. Later that night, Jem and Tessa are becoming increasingly friendly, this makes Sophie uncomfortable - she has a crush on Jem - and when she sees them coming down the hallway, she ducks into an empty room; before exiting the room, she sees that Jessamine is sneaking out of her own room dressed as a man.

The next day, Sophie and Tessa are dressed in Shadowhunter gear and meet their new servants - Cyril Tanner and Brigit Daly - as well as the Lightwood brothers. That evening, Charlotte rushes into the dining room holding a sheet of parchment from the Reparations Archive; The Institute finds out that in fact, Mortmain's adoptive parents John and Anne Shade were Warlocks, and were dealing in forbidden magic; consequently they were killed by the Clave. Charlotte decides to write to Aloysius Starkweather to find out more, since he was present at the killings of the Shades.

The next day, Aloysius replies a denied request to Charlotte, infuriating her; Tessa, Jem and Will decide to simply go visit Aloysius at the York Institute and see if they can find out something anyway. The next morning, Tess, Jem and Will depart for York; when they arrive at the York Institute, they discover an address of an old house previously occupied and still owned by Mortmain, they decide to check it out. When they arrive outside the home, they hear a carriage coming, and duck into the brush; they observe a young lady get off and enter the house, Will is shocked to realize that the girl is in fact his younger sister - Cecily.

Seeing Cecily, Will runs towards the house, but is tackled by Jem, who informs him and Tessa that they are being followed by an Automaton. Will and Jem chase that automaton, and Tessa chases after Jem and Will. Tessa eventually loses sight of all of them and finds herself lost. Suddenly the automaton appears and attacks her, she fends it off with a stick until Jem and Will come to save her. The automaton warns Will that if he continues to dig into Mortmain's past or tries to warn his family, his family will all be killed.

Will, Jem and Tessa take the train back to London, when they arrive at Kings Cross Station, Will runs straight for the home of Magnus Bane. When Will arrives, he tells Magnus a story about his childhood, that when he was twelve, he found a pyxis among his father's old things. When he opened the pyxis, a demon came forth and attacked him, his elder sister - Ella fought it off, and the demon fled, but before that, the demon cast a curse upon Will. The curse was such that anyone who ever loves Will would die. He continues to explain that fearing the effect of the curse on his family, he ran away to live at the London Institute. And to protect Charlotte and Henry and Jessamine, he told lies and acted rudely so that they would hate him, and not love him. Will finally tells Magnus that he has grown tired of living such a horrid life and demands to be thrown into the demon world, so that he can find the demon that cursed him and have the curse lifted. Magnus thinks the idea will only get Will killed, and refuses him; Will leaves angry.

Jem and Tessa, now back at the Institute tells Charlotte about what they learnt. Charlotte tells them that when Will first arrived at the institute, his parents begged him to return, but eventually gave up. Will begged Charlotte to inform him should his parents ever die, and Charlotte couldn't refuse, thus, she had Ragnor Fell keep tabs on the whereabouts of the Herondales.

The next day, Tessa is at breakfast, and Will is still missing. During her training with Gabriel and Gideon, an argument arises and Gabriel storms out of the Institute. Charlotte calls on Ragnor to ask him to again, keep track of the Herondales. When Tessa returns to her room, she gets a letter from Magnus Bane, telling her that she must go find Will, because he may be in serious trouble. Tessa goes to Jem's room, and together they search Will's room for his family dagger. In Will room, Tessa finds her letters that she wrote to her brother during her stay with the Dark Sisters and becomes angry with Will. Jem finds the receipt for Yin Fen and Will's dagger. Together, they take the carriage, and Jem tracks Will's location to an ifrit den in the East End of London.

Jem and Tessa arrive at the ifrit den and find Will drugged out. Jem is upset with Will and smacks him in the face. When the three of them arrive at the institute, Jem runs from the carriage, into the Institute and disappears. Later that night, Jem violently plays his violin, awakening Tessa. Jem confesses that he's not going to live much longer, and he is angry that Will has taken pleasure in the very drug that is sapping his life. Tessa and Jem grow closer and closer and kiss passionately on Jem's bed. When Tessa leaves (after accidentally kicking the box containing Jem's Yin Fen during their amorous activities), she sees Jessamine sneaking out again dressed as a man.

The next morning, Will tells the Institute that werewolves are buying Yin Fen in high quantities, and are working for Mortmain. Charlotte is worried and quickly sends for Woolsey Scott - Leader of London's werewolves. During her training with Gabriel and Gideon, Gabriel calls Charlotte incompetent, uncaring and repulsive, at that comment, Sophie slaps Gabriel, and Gabriel storms out the Institute, ending the training session. Tessa then meets Will in the library and they discuss how inconsiderate Will had been to Jem. Will seems truly sorry and as they share that tender moment, Woolsey and Charlotte walk in. Gideon and Sophie, both of whom are still in the midst of their training session, stop for a break and Gideon asks Sophie out.

Woolsey informs Charlotte that the wolves Will had mentioned are not part of his pack, and suggests that with all the Yin Fen being bought in high quantities, there may be a shortage. Will realizes and quickly runs out to buy more for Jem.

Returning from his purchase of Yin Fen, Will dreams about a future with Tessa. Will then hurries to Jem's room, and apologizes for his inconsiderate actions, which Jem forgives. Meanwhile, Tessa cannot sleep, because she is ashamed of how unrestrained she had been, allowing Jem to kiss her so rapturously and fears that he may think less of her for her lack of restraint. Just then, Sophie walks in with an invitation to a masked ball hosted by Benedict Lightwood, addressed to Jessamine, with a handwritten note from Nathaniel Gray asking her to show up. Sophie that tells Tessa that Jessamine has been seeing Nate in secret, and when Jess walked in on Sophie with the note, Sophie knocked her out and tied her up. Tessa and Sophie decide to tell Will about the ball. Will and Tessa decide to go to the ball, with Tessa dressed and Changed into Jessamine to discover how involved Benedict is in the scheme with Mortmain, and to understand Jessamine's relationship with Nate. At the ball, Nate dances with Tessa/Jessamine and calls her his wife. Tessa is shocked and sits down and drinks a lemonade. A note is then sent to Nate, who promptly leaves the party. Will appears next to Tessa and they decide to go the balcony, where they end up kissing passionately and without restraint. Later Magnus shows up on the balcony and the three of them leave the party. On their way to the carriage, Will sees the demon that cursed him, and decides to chase it, leaving Tessa with Magnus.

Tessa comes back to the Institute without Will, and tells Sophie to awaken Charlotte. When Sophie goes to fetch Charlotte, Jessamine awakens and declares that Nate truly loves her, to which Tessa immediately dismisses as lies. Charlotte, a furious ball of wrath arrives with Brother Enoch and unties Jessamine's hands. Brother Enoch hands Jessamine the Mortal Sword - A sword that forces Nephilim to tell the truth. Charlotte questions Jessamine without mercy and Jessamine reveals that she met Nate a few times, and that they'd married and also that Benedict Lightwood is helping Mortmain because he's being blackmailed. Brother Enoch then takes Jessamine to the Silent City for further interrogation.

While Jessamine was being questioned, Will has returned to London, and arrives at the house of Magnus Bane. He hands Magnus a tooth from the demon (he acquired this when the demon bit him) and asks Magnus to summon the demon from that tooth. He then passes out from the poison in the tooth.

The next morning, the whole Institute learns of Jessamine's betrayal, and they discuss about Benedict and whether they should inform the Clave. Charlotte agrees that it is best to keep quiet for now and investigate further. They come up with a plan to lure Nate out with the help of Jessamine and capture/torture him for more information. Jem and Tessa depart for Silent City to get Jessamine to write to Nate. In the carriage to Silent City, Jem and Tessa end up kissing more due to their deeper relationship that they have built. Upon arrival, they manage to convince Jessamine to write to Nate for a meeting and give her the replica of Jessamine as a baby in a doll form from Jessamine's doll house.

Returning to the institute, everyone is in a twitter with plans for that evening. Nate replies to Jessamine's letter and agrees to meet in a warehouse that they usually meet at, at sunset. Tessa Changes into Jessamine, and wears Jessamine's male clothing then walks to the warehouse, with the rest of Institute arriving earlier to set up an ambush. When Tessa/Jessamine arrives, she see Nate, who then calls out that he knows this Jessamine is Tessa in disguise. He then shows her a giant automaton who is holding an unconscious Charlotte. A battle ensues with the automaton, resulting in the death of Nate, a severely wounding of Will, and Tessa losing her consciousness. After this Will goes to Magnus who summons the demon and then realizes the curse is fake. Will goes to tell Tessa how he feels about her and to propose only to find that Jem has proposed to Tessa first and that she has said yes. Afterwards Tessa burns her hand due to stress and is taken back to her room by Sophie; who then wraps her burned hand. The next day Charlotte wins the Institute back from Benedict who says they should keep it because he was blackmailed by them when the Institute learns that he has demon pox. After the Council meeting, a celebration dinner ensues where Jem and Tessa announce their engagement and Charlotte tells them she is pregnant with Henry's child, and as the dinner continues Cyril informs them that a girl is here to see them. When she comes in, they discover that she is Will's younger sister --- Cecily Herondale.

Chapters

0. * Prologue: The Outcast Dead

  1. * The Council Chamber
  2. * Reparations
  3. * Unjustifiable Death
  4. * A Journey
  5. * Shades of the Past
  6. * In Silence Sealed
  7. * The Curse
  8. * A Shadow on the Soul
  9. * Fierce Midnight
  10. * The Virtue of Angels
  11. * Wild Unrest
  12. * Masquerade
  13. * The Mortal Sword
  14. * The Silent City
  15. * Thousands More
  16. * Mortal Rage
  17. * In Dreams
  18. * Until I Die
  19. * If Treason Doth Prosper
  20. * The Bitter Root
  21. * Coals of Fire

Characters

Major Characters

Theresa "Tessa" Gray

16-year-old Tessa crosses the Atlantic Ocean to live with her brother Nathaniel in London after their aunt's death, having lived her whole life in New York City. Her parents died in a carriage accident when she was three years old. She is described in the book as being quite tall, with a curvy figure, brown hair and gray-blue eyes. She loves to read books, escaping to the fictional world. She loves her brother more than anyone else and along with her Aunt Harriet who has always tried to protect his innocence. She is said to be a warlock (a demon/human hybrid) by the Shadowhunter Council, since she has the ability to shape-shift and "become" the person she turns into, accessing their memories. Yet the absence of a warlock's mark calls this into question, as does Nate's assertion that her mother was a Shadowhunter. Nate dies before clarifying this, leaving Tessa wondering what he meant since neither her mother's sister (Aunt Harriet) or her cousin (Nate) were Shadowhunters. Tessa is somehow recognized by Aloysius Starkweather, head of the York Shadowhunter Institute, despite the fact neither has ever met the other before. Her heart is torn between Will and Jem, making it even more confusing for her when Jem proposes. Especially since in the previous book she was in love with Will.

William "Will" Herondale

Will has a fiery character, he is ferociously sarcastic and seems to find life infinitely amusing and infinitely tragic at the same time. He's described as having the face of a bad angel and blue eyes like the night sky in Hell; his hair is a wavy black, and Will is described as having a very muscular body (though he's not as physically big as Thomas and Cyril). His mother was a mundane, leading to the decision that his father made of leaving the Clave and the Shadow World for his love of her. He was brought up somewhere in Wales, but he left his family and arrived at the London Institute at the age of twelve due to a curse that a demon cursed him with. Will enjoys gambling, drinking and fighting. James is his parabatai and the only person he seems to care about, though it becomes clear that Tessa's arrival has caused his arrogant facade to start cracking. This starts to reveal a more human side to Will Herondale. He's also in love with Tessa.

James "Jem" Carstairs

Born and brought up in the Shanghai Institute, Jem is half British and half Chinese. His parents were killed by a demon called Yanluo when he was eleven. The demon tortured him in front of his parents, feeding him a demon drug to which he became addicted. Jem cannot be weaned off this drug without killing him, though perversely it is this drug that maintains his vitality. Jem must take larger doses of this drug when going on Shadowhunter missions. Continued use of this drug has had an effect on Jem's physical appearance: while Jem is described as being slender though still muscular, he now has silver-coloured hair and eyes, and very pale skin. Jem is intelligent, sensible and very open with his emotions, unlike Will. He's seventeen years old and his best friend, and parabatai, is Will. He is also in love with Tessa, and becomes her fiancé after he proposes to her and she accepts.

Jessamine "Jessie" Lovelace

Jessamine's parents, like Will's, left the Clave to live a peaceful life, but they died in a fire. She was brought to the London Institute as an orphan then, though she seems to hate everyone living there and generally everyone who's involved in the Shadow World. She wishes to find someone with whose help she can escape the Institute to live a normal mundane life, though she can fight with her razor-sharp parasol Henry invented for her. Jessamine is seventeen, and is described as very pretty, small and pale, with blonde hair and brown eyes. Her mind is described by Tessa to have a sharp bitterness and longing.

Charlotte Branwell

Charlotte's parents ran the London Shadowhunter Institute before her. After their deaths, Consul Wayland assigned her and Henry Branwell to run it. Charlotte was eighteen years old at the time. Nominally, Charlotte is co-Head of the Institute, but due to Henry's fascination with science and technology Charlotte runs the Institute alone. She's very small and has dark brown hair and eyes. 23-year-old Charlotte tries her best to care for the orphaned underage Shadowhunters who live under her roof as well as she can, while having to run the Institute without her husband's help. She wants the others to respect her, but the Enclave often ignores her authority because of her gender, so she has to try hard to be heard. Charlotte believes that Henry's family were bribed by her father to provide a husband, and that Henry doesn't truly love her. Charlotte's Aunt Callida is still an active Shadowhunter, and has been critical of the Branwells' running of the London Institute.

Henry Branwell

Henry is nominally the co-Head of the London Shadowhunter Institute. He has ginger hair and has hazel eyes, and is married to Charlotte Branwell. He prefers to be in his laboratory in the cellars, leaving Charlotte to run the Institute. Henry delights in experimenting and inventing new gadgets to help the Shadowhunters, but they don't always work as he planned. Henry feels that he embarrasses Charlotte, and that she merely tolerates him in order to run the Institute. Henry is the one to examine the clockwork automaton left at the Dark Sisters' house and find de Quincey's seal on it. Henry also comes up with new ways to fight the automatons.

Cecily Herondale

Cecily is the younger sister of Will about 15 years old. described as having deep blue eyes like Will's, and curly black hair. she arrives at the Institute at the very end of Clockwork Prince, and has a major role in Clockwork Princess.

Downworlders

Lady Camille Belcourt
Lady Belcourt is a vampire baroness. In 1878, she is the lover of Magnus Bane. She is also an informant for the London Institute. After initiating the Shadowhunters' pogrom against De Quincey's vampire clan, Camille flees London for St. Petersburg after De Quincey initially escapes. Lady Belcourt cheats on Magnus with a mundane whilst at St.Petersburg, ultimately killing him and returning to London after De Quincey is finally killed. However, Magnus Bane was aware of her affair and broke off their relationship.
Magnus Bane
Magnus Bane is an expert magician and the lover of vampire Lady Camille Belcourt. His warlock's mark is his catlike eyes. He assists Will with his quest to lift his curse in exchange for a favor. As a warlock, Magnus is immortal but cannot father children. He has had many relationships with men and women, his only real weakness being for those with black hair and blue eyes.

Humans

Nathaniel "Nate" Gray

Tessa's apparently charming, roguish, and handsome older brother, whom she has journeyed to London to live with following the death of their Aunt Harriet. Nate is in fact Tessa's cousin, and his mother is "Aunt Harriet". He helps Mortmain so that he can show the world he is accomplished. Nate is in fact vain, morally bankrupt and cares only for his own selfish desires, going so far as to murder his own mother just because she had never formally acknowledged him as her son (even though doing so would have caused people to turn their backs on the family). At the end Nate finally acknowledges the person he is to Tessa before he dies.

Axel Mortmain

Axel Mortmain is apparently the son of Dr. Hollingworth Mortmain, who had established a trading company in China dealing in spices, sugar, silk, tea, and likely opium. Axel moved from Shanghai to London a decade or so after his father's death and his subsequent inheritance of the family fortune. A shrewd businessman, he sold his trading company and purchased a company in London that manufactures mechanical equipment used in clocks. He named the business Mortmain and Company, also called Mortmain's. In actual fact "Axel Mortmain" was the adopted son of two warlocks: John Thaddeus Shade and Anne Shade. John Thaddeus Shade is the one who initially devises the demon-infused automaton theory. Mortmain witnessed his parents' death at the hands of the York Institute. He uses his parents' Downworld connections to develop certain magical skills and to retard his aging, then sets about creating a fortune to further his plans as both "Hollingworth" and "Axel Mortmain". He is the power behind The Pandemonium Club, known as "The Magister". Mortmain is responsible for Tessa's conception through a demon impersonating her "father", and had the Dark Sisters train Tessa in the use of her power. Mortmain has been seen to use and discard various pawns such as the Dark Sisters and De Quincey, and has utilised the London Institute to do this unwittingly for him. Mortmain's vendetta with the Clave is the driving force of the series.

The Clave

Brother Enoch
Brother Enoch is a no-faced man who has excellent healing powers. Helps Tessa and interrogates Nate. He also helps Will recover from his serious injures after the battle with the Giant Automaton.
Benedict Lightwood
A member of the clave. He challenges Charlotte for her position and is helping Mortmain.
Gabriel Lightwood
A member of the clave. Disgusted by Will. Follows his father unreservedly, teaches Tessa the basics of combat.
Gideon Lightwood
A member of the clave. He is more tolerant of Will and challenges his father's account of stories. As he has spent time away from his father's influence, Gideon thinks freely, and acts in a high moral fashion. Teaches Sophie the basics of combat, and asks her out.
Consul Wayland
The head of the Clave, he is the person who placed Charlotte in charge of the Institute.

Workers

Sophie Collins
Sophie Collins is the maid of the Institute. She has a scar on her face from the son of her previous employer, who tried to seduce her. When she refused his advances, he lashed out at her with a knife saying if he couldn't have her he would make sure nobody would want her. She is very friendly with her employers, Charlotte in particular, and Charlotte's "good angel." She became the Lady's Maid of Jessamine Lovelace and Tessa Gray. Initially, she fell in love with James "Jem" Carstairs. After the Lightwoods' arrival at the Institute, she developed romantic feelings for Gideon Lightwood.
Bridget Daly
Bridget replaced Agatha, and sings mournful songs about death and murder.
Cyril Tanner
Cyril is a person of diverse jobs at the institute. He is the brother of Thomas, who died during the battle defending the Institute.

Cover

The cover features Jem Carstairs along with his cane.

Sequel

The sequel to Clockwork Prince is titled Clockwork Princess and was released on March 19, 2013.[1]

References

  1. ↑ "Clockwork Princess (Infernal Devices)". Amazon. Retrieved 24 May 2013.

External links

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