Wildwood

Curtis is Prue’s schoolmate. He wears glasses and is viewed as an oddball by the other kids. Meloy writes, “Curtis’s round face was topped by a mass of curly black hair that sprang from beneath his slicker hood like little coils of steel wool” (22). Curtis tags along on Prue’s journey into the Impassable Wilderness because he wants to form a bond with her and overcome his status as a loner.

After being separated from Prue, Curtis first allies himself with Alexandra and later with the Bandit King. Like Prue, he demonstrates resourcefulness and courage in helping to save Mac. Also, like Prue, Curtis may be a “half-breed,” which explains his ability to penetrate the barrier that cloaks the Wood from Outsiders. When given the choice to return to his family in Portland, Curtis decides to remain in the Wood because he feels he belongs there.

The former ruler of South Wood, Alexandra, has been exiled to Wildwood by her political enemies. When Curtis first meets her, he is struck by her beauty: “Her face was ovoid and pale, though her lips shone red like the freshest late summer apples. Her hair was an electric copper-red and it hung in braided tresses, brocaded with mottled eagle feathers” (73-4).

Alexandra is mad with grief over the deaths of her husband and son, both of whom have been killed by her enemies. This prompts her to seek revenge against the current regime in South Wood. She is also convinced that she is the only person capable of ruling the entire Wood. A powerful sorceress, Alexandra intends to sacrifice Mac to the invasive ivy and take over the whole realm. Her plan is foiled by the denizens of the Wood, and she ends up being consumed by the ivy herself. 

Brendan is the leader of the bandits who prey on the rich citizens of the Wood. Meloy writes, “He had a deep red beard and wore a dirty officer’s coat. A sash over his shoulder carried a sizable saber at his hip […] He towered over Prue, his curly red hair gaining him another six inches” (277).

At first, Brendan and his followers are perceived by Curtis as the enemy, but the boy later joins Brendan’s band. Rising above his own clannish concerns, the Bandit King leads an army to defeat Alexandra and shoots the evil Governess with an arrow. He also succeeds in rendering the predatory ivy harmless, thus saving the entire realm.

Iphigenia is an ancient woman with a mild temperament who leads the mystics of North Wood. Meloy writes, “Prue saw her face was lined with deep wrinkles and her hair was long and gray, falling away from her head like silvery strands of wire” (378). She and her band become Prue’s allies in the quest to defeat Alexandra and save Mac.

Iphigenia possesses the ability to speak to plants and hints that Prue may share the same gift. She seems to know that both children are “half-breeds” but doesn’t explain how this could be so. At the end of the story, she predicts that Prue will return to the Wood for more adventures.  

Richard is the aged Postmaster General for the Wood. He is described as an elderly man with “pale and weathered skin” and “two great plumes of wiry hair” for eyebrows (63). He drives an old mail van to make deliveries from South Wood to North Wood, risking being robbed from Brendan’s band along the way.

Richard becomes Prue’s ally and explains the history of the Impassable Wilderness to her. He is quick to grasp that Outsider Prue may have come to improve the lives of all the creatures in the Wood. He even risks imprisonment by helping to smuggle her across the border to the Avian Principality.

Prue’s father and mother made a deal with the Governess so that they could have a baby. They agreed to let Alexandra have their second child if one was ever born. When their son Mac comes along, the Governess claims him. Prue’s parents are grief-stricken by the loss of their baby boy but are willing to honor their deal with Alexandra. Prue refuses to let them stop her from rescuing Mac.