The Lost Kingdom

by Matthew J. Kirby

  “What will you do?”

  “We will do as we have always done. We will leave. We will go and find another place, farther west, and disappear into the frontier once again. And this time, no rumors of us shall reach you.”

  The next night, Madoc held a banquet in his hall for the whole village to celebrate our victory and honor those who had fallen. Annwyn had lost twenty-eight men in the fight with the French, and they had each gone into battle knowing there wasn’t enough of the Water of Life for all their wounds.

  “Before the fight, each of them forswore the chalice,” Madoc said in Welsh, with Rhys translating for us. “For none would take the Water from his brother. We honor them and pray they are speeding swiftly across the seas to the lands of our fathers.”

  After that, the prince listed the names of the dead, and he counted Phineas among them, buried among Madoc’s people.

  “And now,” Madoc said, “we are also honored to welcome home the son of one who left us long ago.” He lifted his goblet. “To Andrew.”

  The assembly all raised cups and mugs. Andrew, who had healed almost completely overnight, bowed his head, seated next to us.

  “And now it is time to eat!” Madoc said. “Drink! Tell tales of glory and days gone by.”

  With a cheer, everyone turned to their food and companions. Next to me, Jane sighed. Her father and mine were laughing and talking across from us. But Mr. Colden winced every so often, still quite bruised.

  “Has he said anything about his time with the French?” I asked her.

  She shook her head. “He won’t talk about it. It makes me sad.”

  “You don’t still blame yourself, do you?”

  She shook her head again. “People are saying you stood up to the bear-wolf. Is that true?”

  “At the time, it felt more like I was giving up. Or maybe just accepting that I couldn’t beat it. That there wasn’t anything I could do.”

  “Either way, that was very brave.”

  I shrugged. It hadn’t felt brave, either.

  “But I don’t think that’s the bravest thing you’ve done,” she said.

  I smiled. “No?”

  “No.”

  “Then tell me, what was the bravest thing I’ve done?”

  She looked across the table. “Standing up to your father.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I followed her gaze and watched my father for several moments, a man I had thought I knew before coming on this expedition. A man I had learned more about in the last few days than I had in my whole life with him on the farm. And in spite of that, or perhaps because of it, a man who felt more like a stranger now than he ever had. But Jane was right. Those moments when I had refused to accept my father’s words, the times when I had argued with him, and the moment when I had even defied him, had been even harder for me than when I had looked into the eyes of the bear-wolf.

  A week later, we stood upon the green, healed, refreshed, and ready to begin the voyage back to the colonies. We had taken down the light cannon and its tower, and Mr. Faries had his lenses stored safely in his pack. Madoc had supplied us with new provisions. Food, blankets, and all that we would need to hunt and fish our way back home.

  Mr. Colden had resumed command of the expedition. “And I expect a full report of the events that have transpired in my absence,” he’d said. “Beginning with how you shocked an entire French army and myself!”

  But there would be plenty of time for that on the journey.

  Madoc, Rhys, and Myrddin stood before the door of their hall.

  “Safe travels,” Rhys said.

  Andrew stood with them. He was one of them now, the last who ever would be, and he had chosen to stay with them. But before we departed, he asked to speak with my father, privately, and the two of them stepped away from us. I wondered what they were saying, especially as my father extended his hand, and they shook. Perhaps I would ask him one day.

  “Farewell, philosophers,” Madoc said. “Men of wisdom and action. May you all return to your homes safely.”

  “And may you find yours,” my father said.

  Madoc nodded, and we started down the road. The villagers had all gathered in the streets outside their homes. They waved to us and slipped extra cakes into our hands as we passed them. But soon we’d left the main village behind and followed the road east that carried us by their farms.

  “I know this might seem strange to mention,” my father said. “But in the fall, I am planning an expedition into the Catskill Mountains.”

  “Just you?” I asked.

  “Just me. But I was wondering if you would join me.”

  Before coming on this expedition, I knew what my answer would have been. But was that something I wanted anymore?

  I thought back to what my mother had said before I left. About finding my own path. I thought about the things I’d said to my father since then, some of which I still meant, and some of which I didn’t. We were alike, he and I, in so many ways. But so different in others. There were parts of him I admired, and parts of him that still shamed me. Parts of him I wanted to distance myself from, but parts of him I wanted to emulate.

  He was what he was, and I was what I was.

  He was my father, and I was his son.

  “Yes, Father. I’d like to join you.”

  “Excellent,” he said. “Excellent.”

  We reached the farthest farmhouse, the first one we had seen. The same woman stood outside in her deerskin dress and wimple, hoeing in her garden. She waved to us, and after we’d passed her, it felt as though she might still be waving to us in the road.

  I smiled.

  And I turned to wave back.

  In telling Billy’s story, I set out to write an American fantasy. Though the names of its characters and settings may be recognizable to many, even iconic, The Lost Kingdom is not a work of history. I have made extensive changes to the facts, some of which will be obvious, some less so. Where I have deviated from the record, in every case I have done so in service to the story. Though it may remove some of the mystery and magic in the book, the historian in me compels me to list some, though not all, of these changes.

  William Bartram and his father, John, were real-life American naturalists, each respected and renowned in his own right. Their relationship was a very complicated one, rooted in the tension between their similarities and differences. For a wonderfully sensitive and human portrayal, I recommend The Natures of John and William Bartram by Thomas P. Slaughter, a work I relied on heavily while writing The Lost Kingdom. I have attempted to remain as true to their individual characters as I could. Sadly, John Bartram’s father, Billy’s grandfather, was killed by Native Americans, and John harbored a lifelong prejudice. Billy, on the other hand, held startlingly progressive views and attitudes toward the Native Americans for his time.

  As for the other people on the Madoc expedition, there really was an American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, founded by John Bartram and Benjamin Franklin. The Society exists to this day, but had fallen into a period of apparent inactivity by 1753, the year in which The Lost Kingdom ostensibly takes place. I took advantage of this gap to create my own secret history of the organization, based on the patriotism expressed by many of its earliest members. The men who I portray in the book are largely my creations, although, with the exception of Mr. Godfrey, I did base them on actual Society philosophers and their respective disciplines and accomplishments. Cadwallader Colden had a daughter named Jane, who was a talented artist and the first female botanist in America. It was even suggested in passing by a mutual friend of Colden and John Bartram that Jane might be a suitable match for Billy. In reality, she was not the young woman portrayed in the book, but fifteen years Billy’s senior. Andrew Montour and his mother were prominent colonial interpreters, and Madame Montour’s true identity remains something of a historical mystery today. Johannes Kelpius, the Wissahickon mystic, was an eccentric historical figure. Described as “weird as a wizard” by the poet Jo
hn Greenleaf Whittier, Kelpius was rumored to have possessed the philosopher’s stone, while his alter ego in the novel is a fabrication of mine. The aeroship in the novel is based on an actual concept by Francesco Lana de Terzi, and I tried to remain true to his design. Captain Paul Marin and his troupes de la marine were marching through the Ohio Valley in 1753, and George Washington was at the Forks of the Ohio, though not until much later in the year than when I place him there. In 1754, the young major would be involved in the skirmish that ignited the French and Indian War.

  The purpose of the Society’s expedition is grounded in colonial American beliefs. Rumors of a tribe of “Welsh-speaking Indians” were widespread. Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia offered a five-hundred-pound reward to anyone able to bring back proof of their existence, and at the beginning of the nineteenth century, President Thomas Jefferson instructed Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to make contact with them as they crossed the continent on their famous expedition. It is likely the story of Madoc began as a political fabrication to bolster England’s claim to territory in the New World. But it soon took on a life of its own, and folklore surrounding Madoc persists to this day, including legends about several ruined stone fortresses like the one that appears in The Lost Kingdom.

  With regard to the mastodons and bear-wolf (a beast inspired by the prehistoric Arctodus simus, or short-faced bear), into the nineteenth century, fossils in hand, many believed mastodons still existed somewhere out in the American frontier. I chose to take that belief at face value. And once you’ve found mastodons, who knows what else might be lurking.

  Matthew J. Kirby has been making up stories since he was quite small. He was less small when he decided that he wanted to be a writer, and quite a bit larger when he finally became one. His father was a doctor in the Navy, so his family moved frequently. Matthew went to three different elementary schools and three different high schools, and he has lived in Utah, Rhode Island, Maryland, California, and Hawaii, which means that while growing up he met many people, and had many wonderful experiences.

  In college, Matthew studied history and psychology, and he decided that he wanted to work with children and write stories for them. So he became a school psychologist and then went on to write novels, including his debut novel, The Clockwork Three, which was a Publishers Weekly Flying Start; Icefall, which was the recipient of several awards, including the 2012 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery, and the PEN Literary Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, and was named to the prestigious New York Public Library’s 100 Books for Reading and Sharing and ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults lists; The Lost Kingdom; and the fifth book in Scholastic’s Infinity Ring series.

  Visit Matthew online at www.matthewjkirby.com.

  Praise for The Lost Kingdom

  “Fabulous! The Lost Kingdom is a journey into the very heart of adventure, with an ending worth every surprising — not to mention perilous — step of the way!” —Tim Wynne-Jones, author of Blink & Caution

  “Kirby skillfully draws on 18th-century beliefs, legends, and personages to construct a historical fantasy that touches on the scientific disciplines of the era to create wonders both natural and manmade.” — Publishers Weekly

  “Edgar winner Kirby deftly combines historical truths with rich, multilayered creative imaginings including mystery, cultural discord and ongoing father-son conflict…. [R]eaders will enjoy the vigorous blend of colonial struggle with a touch of Jules Verne.” —Kirkus Reviews

  Praise for Icefall

  Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery

  Winner of the PEN Center Literary Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature

  An ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection

  A New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing Selection

  Winner of the Judy Lopez Memorial Award

  “[A] claustrophobic, thought-provoking coming-of-age adventure.” — Publishers Weekly

  “[A] taut, compelling mystery and survival story.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

  “Elegant and exciting.” — Booklist

  “A well-crafted story rich with emotion and intrigue. A thoroughly engaging read!” — Brandon Mull, bestselling author of the Fablehaven and Beyonders series

  Praise for The Clockwork Three

  A Publishers Weekly Flying Start

  “Kirby has assembled all the ingredients for a rousing adventure, which he delivers with rich, transporting prose.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

  “Memorable characters, hearty action, and palpable atmospherics.” — Booklist

  Copyright © 2013 by Matthew J. Kirby

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Kirby, Matthew J., 1976–

  The lost kingdom / Matthew J. Kirby. — 1st ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: On the eve of the French and Indian War, Billy Bartram and his naturalist father travel into the American wilderness in an airship — pursued by a party of French soldiers and haunted by a terrifying bear-wolf — on a quest to find the lost kingdom of the Welsh prince Madoc.

  ISBN 978-0-545-27426-5 (jacketed hardcover) 1. Bartram, William, 1739-1823 — Juvenile fiction. 2. Bartram, John, 1699-1777 — Juvenile fiction. 3. Naturalists — United States — Juvenile fiction. 4. Quests (Expeditions) — Juvenile fiction. 5. Voyages and travels — Juvenile fiction. 6. Adventure stories. 7. United States — History — Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 — Juvenile fiction. [1. Bartram, William, 1739-1823 — Fiction. 2. Bartram, John, 1699-1777 — Fiction. 3. Adventure and adventurers — Fiction. 4. Voyages and travels — Fiction. 5. United States — History — Colonial period, ca. 1600–1775 — Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.K633528Los 2013

  813.6 — dc23

  First edition, September 2013

  Jacket art © 2013 by Owen Richardson

  Jacket design by Elizabeth B. Parisi

  Author photo by Azure Kirby

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-53956-2

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.