The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy

The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy is a series of three bestselling^[1][2][3]epistolary novels written by Nick Bantock. The novels in the series, Griffin and Sabine, Sabine's Notebook and The Golden Mean, were first published in 1991, 1992 and 1993 respectively. Each story is told through a series of letters and postcards between the two main characters, Griffin Moss and Sabine Strohem. Every page features a facsimile of a postcard or a letter actually enclosed in an envelope.^[4]

This series is followed up with another trilogy, the Morning Star Trilogy.

Contemporary Authors Online has a lengthy entry on Nick Bantock and The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy. The books of the trilogy have been reviewed in Los Angeles Times Book Review, Maclean's, Newsweek, The Observer, and Quill & Quire.^[5]

Publications

• The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy
  • Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence (1991)
  • Sabine's Notebook: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine Continues (1992)
  • The Golden Mean: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine Concludes (1993)
• The Morning Star Trilogy
  • The Gryphon: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine is Rediscovered (2001)
  • Alexandria: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine Unfolds (2002)
  • The Morning Star: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine is Illuminated (2003)
• The Pharos Gate: Griffin and Sabine's Missing Correspondence (2016)

Characters

• Griffin Moss - An artist residing in London, England who illustrates and creates postcards from his own studio, Gryphon Cards. A solitary man who lived a rigid existence, his life abruptly changes when he receives a postcard from Sabine, a complete stranger to him. They begin to correspond and Griffin realizes they are soulmates, but becomes frightened at the true nature of their relationship.
• Sabine Strohem - A woman from the Sicmon Islands, located in the South Pacific, who begins the correspondence by sending a postcard to Griffin Moss. Like Griffin, she is an artist - she illustrates postage stamps - but possesses a fluid and assured sense of self in contrast to Griffin. Eventually, Sabine reveals that she has been able to see Griffin create his artwork for years, but had not been able to identify him as the artist until she encountered an article about Gryphon Cards, after which she chose to write to him. She was adopted by Gust Strohem, a naturalist, and his wife, Tahi, a midwife.
• Victor Frolatti - Introduced in The Golden Mean, Frolatti becomes an interloper in Griffin and Sabine's relationship, beginning with postcards addressed to Griffin and appearing on the Sicmon Islands by insinuating himself with Sabine's family. He becomes a malevolent presence in Sabine and Griffin's lives, seeking to stop them from meeting.
• Minnaloushe - A cat named by Griffin who comes and goes as it pleases, residing in the area where Griffin lives. The cat, along with the samurai spirit who first appears to Griffin in Alexandria, becomes a guardian spirits of sorts to Griffin. The same cat later seems to reappear in Paris, watching over Isabella.
• Matthew Sedon - A young archaeologist working in Africa whom Sabine writes to at the conclusion of The Golden Mean and a new correspondent beginning in The Morning Star Trilogy. He is revealed to have been born on the Sicmon Islands, when Sabine had assisted her mother during Matthew's birth, and Sabine approaches him through correspondence in order to stop Frolatti's plans once and for all.
• Isabella de Reims - Introduced in The Gryphon, Isabella is Matthew's strong-willed girlfriend from Montreal, currently residing in Paris as a graduate student and corresponding with Matthew while they are apart. Despite her academic inclinations, she is more open to the less rational aspects of Griffin and Sabine's relationship. Subject to strange dreams, she is guided by Griffin, who corresponds to her and assists her with interpreting her dreams.
• Vereker - Griffin's aunt, the stepsister of his mother, and one of the few positive influences in his life. Following the death of his parents, Griffin lived with Vereker, an artist who became his mentor, until her sudden death. She inspired him to become an artist and he established Gryphon Cards with the inheritance she left him.
• Maud - Vereker's friend in Devon, who welcomes Griffin to reside with her when he finds his neighbours in London have begun to pay him too much attention after his disappearance during Sabine's Notebook. She facilitates his journey to Alexandria to meet Sabine in The Pharos Gate.
• Francesca - Introduced in The Pharos Gate, Francesca is Maud's friend in Alexandria, where Griffin and Sabine intend to meet.

Other media

The books were adapted into a 1997 CD-ROM game Ceremony of Innocence by Peter Gabriel's company RealWorld. Bantock also adapted the story into a play.

In January 2015, it was announced that Bantock and Bound Press would collaborate on a new interactive version of the trilogy. The apps would be developed for iOS and Android. A kickstarter campaign was launched to support the development of three new interactive apps based on Griffin and Sabine for iOS and Android.^[6][7][8]

See also

• Griffin and Sabine, the first book in the series.
• False document
• Telepathy

References

1. The New York Times "BEST SELLERS: February 14, 1993"
2. The New York Times "BEST SELLERS: October 25, 1992"
3. The New York Times "BEST SELLERS: October 3, 1993"
4. "The Griffin and Sabine Series". Retrieved 2010-06-25.
5. Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2002. Contemporary Authors PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000114230
6. Kickstarter campaign Announced for Nick Bantock, Griffin & Sabine App Trilogy Nick Bantock and Bound Press have launched a Kickstarter campaign in support of the development of three new interactive apps for iOS and Android based on the best-selling book trilogy 'Griffin & Sabine' SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 11, 2015
8. LIVE LINK to Kickstarter Campaign