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This article is about the book written by Ransom Riggs. For other meanings, see Tales of the Peculiar (disambiguation).

Tales of the Peculiar is a companion book for the Peculiar Children series. It was released in the fall of 2016.

The book is a collection of tales that include the two mentioned in Hollow City, The Tale of Cuthbert and The Pigeons of St. Paul's.

Synopsis[]

Before Miss Peregrine gave them a home, the story of peculiars was written in the Tales.

Wealthy cannibals who dine on the discarded limbs of peculiars. A fork-tongued princess. These are but a few of the truly brilliant stories in Tales of the Peculiar—the collection of fairy tales known to hide information about the peculiar world, including clues to the locations of time loops—first introduced by Ransom Riggs in his #1 bestselling Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series.

Riggs now invites you to share his secrets of peculiar history, with a collection of original stories in this deluxe volume of Tales of the Peculiar, as collected and annotated by Millard Nullings, ward of Miss Peregrine and scholar of all things peculiar. Featuring stunning illustrations from world-renowned woodcut artist Andrew Davidson this compelling and truly peculiar anthology is the perfect gift for not only fans, but for all booklovers.

Epigraph[]

Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto.

–Terence

Plot[]

The Splendid Cannibals[]

The peculiar villagers of Swampmuck who met two travellers who are very rich heading towards the Coast of Meek. They offered the strangers food, but rejected, revealing that they can only eat humans as their bodies could not proccess animals or vegetables.

The Fork-Tongued Princess[]

A peculiar princess with serpentine features was to be married to a prince, but he and her father ended up rejecting her after discovering her peculiarity. She left the kingdom, traveling the land, and heard of a peculiar prince who was also outcasted, but he was ungrateful and rejected her as well despite being the same as her. The princess decided she was done with princes, and later returned home. Her father had been overthrown and there was a duke in rule of the kingdom. He had once tried to kill her, but now offered her a place in his government as his adviser. She accepted, and no longer had to hide her peculiar self.

The First Ymbryne[]

The Woman Who Befriended Ghosts[]

Cocobolo[]

The Pigeons of St. Paul's[]

A group of peculiar pigeons who lived in London wanted a high place to roost, but the people of ancient London weren't interested in constructing tall buildings. So, the pigeons whispered their plans into the ear of the best builder in all of London while he slept and when he awoke he decided to build a cathedral on the tallest hill in the city, like the birds had instructed. But, when Vikings raided the city the cathedral burned down, so they found a new human to whisper to and a cycle began of the cathedral burning down and then being reconstructed. After hundreds of years the pigeons came across a human who resisted their whispers. The pigeons began to harass the man, until finally he gave in and built the cathedral. But, he asked that the pigeons protect the cathedral this time, so that way it would not burn down. The pigeons agreed and after sometime they became friends with the man. Up until his death he always kept a pigeon close at hand and even after he died the pigeons continued to visit him.

This story reveals the nesting place of Miss Wren's pigeons, as well as helps the children find the entrance to Miss Thrush's Loop in London.

The Girl Who Could Tame Nightmares[]

Lavinia was a girl who wanted to become a doctor, but her efforts were rebuffed by her father. She discovered her peculiarity when examining her younger brother to try curing his nightmares. Her father was not enthusiastic about it, as Lavinia would never know if a person truly deserved having nightmares. Lavinia got coerced into taking away the nightmares of a secret murderer, which she regretted after finding out his true nature. In the better ending of the story, she manages to kill the murderer, then swore off using her ability for good and became a doctor of psychology.

The Locust[]

The Boy Who Could Hold Back The Sea[]

Fergus had the power to control the ocean tides, but he was warned by his mother not to reveal it to other people as it would only bring him trouble. In a number of instances, however, Fergus did show his ability, and regretted it each time. He decided to live a life of solitude on the sea soon after, using a house that he had previously swept into the sea and using his peculiarity to catch himself fish. He enjoyed this life for a while until he came across a ship with a girl in it. This girl was also shown to be peculiar, and Fergus ended up staying with her on her ship.

The Tale of Cuthbert[]

During an undated period, many peculiar animals lived. However, hunters shot them and made decors out of them. Giants were still existing in this age, such as Cuthbert, a kindly giant who lived near the forest. He helped peculiar animals get to the mountaintop even if his bones cracked. He asked in return for interaction with him, in which the animals agreed. They had a harmonious relationship until one day, a witch, hired by the family of a hunter he had killed, turned Cuthbert to stone. While he was slowly turning into stone Cuthbert shouted at the peculiar animals to come down and help him, but the peculiar animals did not want to come down from the mountain in fear of the hunters. So Cuthbert grew sad and turned completely into stone. The peculiar animals tried to talk to him, but they were so far up that they could not be heard.

This story is based on Miss Wren's Menagerie, as confirmed by Addison, a fellow peculiar animal in the loop. The tale of Cuthbert is what helps the peculiar children find the entrance to Miss Wren's loop.

The Man Who Bottled the Sun[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • The book is annotated by Millard Nullings, who dedicated it to Miss Peregrine.
  • According to the peculiar copyright:
    • The book was printed "in a nomad's tent in the desert of Lop, known to some as the Great Lop Depression, extending eastward along the foot of the Kuruk-Tagh to the formerly terminal Tarim Basin in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, an almost perfectly horizontal expanse."
    • It was bound at great expense in a facility deep underground, the entrance somewhere between Fish Street Hill and Pudding Lane, London.
    • It was proofread by the two heads and five eyes of Patricia Panopticot.
    • It was published by Syndrigast Publications.
    • It advises the reader not to read the third story aloud backward.