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Freeglader

2004 novel by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 11, 2026
Entity authorityQ3221253
Source-derived summary

Freeglader is a children's fantasy novel by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, first published in 2004. It is the seventh volume of The Edge Chronicles and the third of the Rook Saga trilogy; within the stories' own chronology it is the ninth novel, following the Quint Saga and Twig Saga trilogies.

Plot summary

Freeglader starts in the capital of the Edge, Undertown. The city is slowly being destroyed by a dark maelstrom, triggered by Vox Verlix. The Undertowners begin a mass exodus, fleeing to a new life in a vast, beautiful area of justice and equality, the Free Glades. The exodus is led by Rook Barkwater, the hero of the story, and the others in a breakaway group of academics known as the librarian knights.

On the journey to the Free Glades Rook gets caught up in a storm near the Twilight Woods, causing him to lose his memory. Upon reaching the Deepwoods the exodus is attacked by the recently hatched battle flocks of Shrykes. Only through the timely arrival of the Freeglade Lancers are the Librarians and Undertowners saved (combined with Xanth killing the Roost mother). Meanwhile, Amberfuce has reached the Foundry Glade.

Editorial summary

“Freeglader” enters the record as 2004 novel by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Freeglader, novel and Paul can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2004—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 2004. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Freeglader, novel and Paul.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Freeglader” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Freeglader, novel and Paul provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3221253. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2004.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Freeglader”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Freeglader primary sources, Freeglader archive and Freeglader research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Freeglader”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Freeglader” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.