who invite the Drews on their boat; they are agents of the Dark. Mr. Hastings: Agent of The Dark, lets Jane believe he is the town Vicar. He leads the Dark members battling Merriman and the Drew children in the search for the Grail. Bill Hoover Jr.: Nephew to the housekeeper, he is a young, very unpleasant local, working for the Withers. Mrs. Palk: Motherly Cornish housekeeper of the Grey House. Aunt and accomplice to Bill. Rufus: The dog. Father: Simon, Jane, and Barney's Father. Mother (Ellen): Simon, Jane, and Barney's Mother. Origins Beside the Matter of Britain, the novel is rooted in Susan Cooper's childhood. Trewissick is based directly on the actual village of Mevagissey, which she frequented on her own holidays. The (former) vicarage, where Jane Drew has the first nasty encounter with Mr. Hastings, is based on the (former) vicarage Mevagissey House. Over Sea, Under Stone came as a response to a contest designed to honour the memory of E. Nesbit. Joel Chaston writes that the contest was "offered by E. Nesbit's publisher, Ernest Benn, for family-adventure stories like those written by Nesbit. Cooper did not enter the contest but eventually completed the manuscript. After it was turned down by twenty or more publishers, she sent it to a friend of a friend who was reading manuscripts for Jonathan Cape, who published it in 1965." Literary significance and criticism Successful soon after publication, the novel was well received by the literary world. Among narratives intended for children it features fairly sophisticated use of English, with an extensive vocabulary and complex sentence structures. Joel Chaston writes, "Reviewers noted that the book begins as a mystery-adventure story and becomes a sort of morality tale full of mysticism and elements of Arthurian legend. Because it later became a part of a series, Over Sea, Under Stone has continued to gain new readers. In a 1976 Horn Book essay, "A Second Look: Over Sea, Under Stone", Dwight Dudley Carlson argues that Cooper's superb abilities as a storyteller, the novel's clear delineation of good and evil, and the believability of the Drew children have contributed to its lasting success with young readers." Publication history 1965, UK, Jonathan Cape (ISBN NA), May 1965, hardcover (first edition) 1966, US, Harcourt, Brace & World (ISBN NA), 1966, hard (first US ed.) 1968, UK, Puffin (), 1968, paperback 1989, US, Simon Pulse (), 30 April 1989,