The Ickabog

The Ickabog (2020) is a novel by famed children’s author J. K. Rowling. She is most well-known for the Harry Potter series based on the adventures of a boy wizard, which has sold over 500 million copies worldwide. Titles include The Philosopher’s Stone (in the US, The Sorcerer’s Stone) (1997), The Chamber of Secrets (1998), The Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), The Goblet of Fire (2000), The Order of the Phoenix (2003), The Half-Blood Prince (2005), and The Deathly Hallows (2007). The best-selling books were made into a successful film series starring Daniel Radcliffe as the titular character. Rowling has amplified the Potter world by penning multiple short stories, novels, and a stage play grounded in the same magical universe. The subsequent Wizarding World franchise has expanded to include not only Harry Potter and friends but the Fantastic Beasts series, which is projected to consist of five films.

The author began writing The Ickabog before the Potter series. She says it was a favorite of her children though she didn’t complete and publish the novel until 2020. The story is categorized as Children’s Books on Friendship and Children’s Folk Tales & Myths. It is intended for readers aged seven and above but can also appeal to adult fans of children’s fantasy fiction. This study guide and all its page citations are based on the Kindle edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

The story takes place in the medieval fairy tale kingdom of Cornucopia and spans ten years. Half the action takes place while the two protagonists are five years old and then skips forward to the time when they reach 15 for the tale’s conclusion. The novel uses an omniscient narrator who describes the action from the perspective of various characters. However, she also inserts her own commentary occasionally in the guise of an adult telling a bedtime story to children.

When the novel begins, the realm of Cornucopia is prosperous and happy. Each region is known for a different specialty: wines, cheeses, smoked hams, and baked goods. All the towns are ruled by King Fred the Fearless. He isn’t really fearless but rather vain, shallow, and selfish. However, he is handsome and looks the part of a king. Fred’s two closest friends are the lords Spittleworth and Flapoon. They tell the king what he wants to hear and isolate him from his subjects. This is initially unimportant since everyone is living a good life.

Daisy Dovetail and Bert Beamish are the five-year-old children of important servants to the king. Mr. Dovetail is the royal carpenter, and Mrs. Dovetail is the royal seamstress. Major Beamish is the head of the royal guard, and Mrs. Beamish is the royal pastry chef. All goes well until Mrs. Dovetail works herself to death trying to complete a new suit for the king. Daisy then accuses the king of being selfish, vain, and cruel for his lack of concern over her mother’s death. To prove her wrong, Fred agrees to help a shepherd from the Marshlands who claims that the Ickabog ate his dog.

During the poorly planned military campaign to the foggy swamp in the north, Major Beamish is accidentally shot by Flapoon. The two lords try to cover up the crime by blaming it on the Ickabog. Upon returning to the capital, they realize that more lies need to be spun and more henchfolk need to be bribed to back up their story. Using the Ickabog as a pretext to bilk the kingdom of its riches, the lords kill or imprison anybody who protests. They conduct a reign of terror by having soldiers imprint fake Ickabog footprints to make the citizens believe the threat is real.

During all this turmoil, Daisy’s father is imprisoned so that he can carve fake Ickabog footprints. His daughter is abducted and left in an orphanage run by the greedy Ma Grunter. Despite the hardships of her new life, Daisy never loses hope that she will someday help to save her country. Years go by under the misrule of Spittleworth, and the country grows poorer. Fred is oblivious to the plight of his realm because the two lords make sure to keep any bad news from reaching him.

By the time Bert is 15, he finds evidence that Spittleworth has been staging false Ickabog attacks. After his mother is imprisoned, he flees north and eventually finds himself in the same orphanage as Daisy and two other friends. The four children escape and travel north during a brutal winter. They nearly freeze to death but are rescued by the real Ickabog.

The creature explains that humans are descended from Ickabogs because they were “Bornded bad.” The humans, filled with rage and fear, began to persecute the Ickabogs, who then went into hiding. The Ickabog cautions that its offspring must have a positive birthing experience if they are to turn out well. Daisy convinces the Ickabog to travel south to the cities of Cornucopia to show the citizens that it is no threat to them. The children also expose the hoax that Spittleworth, Flapoon, and their cronies perpetrated for years.

The people believe the Ickabog and march to the capital to challenge the king and his advisors. The Ickabog gives birth to two offspring, one good and the other angry, proving that everyone must make a choice to embrace either fear or hope. The people choose hope. They punish the guilty, end the monarchy, and install a better government. Having learned the lesson of asserting hope over fear, the people of Cornucopia and their Ickabog allies live happily ever after.