Mort
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2008-06-13T02:27:33Z
67.100.127.160
[[Big Read]]
{{For|the main character of this novel|Mort and Ysabell}}
{{For|other uses|Mort (disambiguation)}}
{{infobox Discworld|id=4th novel – 1st Death story
[[Image:Mort-cover.jpg|185px|center]]
|characters=[[Death (Discworld)|Death]]<br />[[Mort and Ysabell|Mort]]<br />[[Mort and Ysabell|Ysabell]]<br />[[Albert (Discworld)|Albert]]
|locations=[[Death's Domain]]
|motifs=[[Anthropomorphism|Anthropomorphic]] [[personification]]s and [[death]]
|year=1987
|publisher=[[Victor Gollancz]]
|ISBNH=ISBN 0-575-04171-4
|ISBNP=ISBN 0-552-13106-7
|awards=
|notes=Came 65th in the [[Big Read]]<br />Adapted as a play by [[Stephen Briggs]].
}}
'''''Mort''''' is a ''[[Discworld]]'' novel by [[Terry Pratchett]] and also the name of its [[Mort and Ysabell|main character]]. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the [[Death (Discworld)|Death]] of the [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]], who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels.
In a 2003 BBC contest called the [[Big Read]], ''Mort'' was among the Top 100 and chosen as the most popular of Pratchett's novels.
==Plot summary==
As a [[adolescence|teenager]], Mort had a [[personality psychology|personality]] and temperament that made him rather unsuited to the family [[agriculture|farming]] business. Mort's father, named Lezek, felt that Mort thought too much, which prevented him from achieving anything practical. Thus, Lezek took him to a local hiring [[fair]], hoping that Mort would land an apprenticeship with some [[tradesman]]; not only would this provide a [[employment|job]] for his son, but it would also make his son's propensity towards thinking someone else's problem.
At the job fair, Mort at first has no luck attracting the interest of an employer. Then, just before the stroke of [[midnight]], a man concealed in a black cloak arrives on a white [[horse]]. He says he is looking for a young man to assist him in his work and selects Mort for the job. The man turns out to be [[Death (Discworld)|Death]], and gives Mort an [[apprenticeship]] in ushering souls into the next world (though his father thinks he's been apprenticed to an [[Funeral director|undertaker]]).
When it is a [[Discworld_characters#Princess/Queen Kelirehenna (Keli)|princess]]' time to die (according to a preconceived [[reality]]), Mort, instead of ushering her soul, saves her from [[death]], dramatically altering a part of the Discworld's reality. Although, the princess, for whom Mort has a developing [[infatuation]], does not have long to live, and he must try save her, once again, from a seemingly unstoppable death.
As Mort begins to do most of Death's "duty", he loses some of his former character traits, and essentially starts to become more like Death himself. Death, in turn, yearns to relish what being [[human]] is truly like and travels to [[Ankh-Morpork]] to indulge in new experiences and attempt to feel real human [[emotion]]. Conclusively, Mort must [[duel]] Death for Mort's [[freedom (philosophy)|freedom]].
==Ideas and Themes==
''Mort'' is also the [[French language|French]] word for "death," and comes from the Latin word, "mortuus", meaning "dead" as well. The two words serve as the root of several [[English language|English]] words (for example [[mortal]] and [[post mortem]]).
==Continuity==
[[Susan Sto Helit]], who is the daughter of Mort and Ysabell ("daughter" of Death), stars in [[Soul Music]], [[Hogfather]] and [[Thief of Time]]. It is also revealed that she was present to witness Mort and Death's duel.
==Translations==
*Морт (Bulgarian)
*''死神学徒'' (Chinese mainland)
*''Dødens lærling'' (Danish)
*''Magere Hein'' (Dutch)
*''Mortimer'' (French)
*''Gevatter Tod'' (German)
*תרועת מוות (''Tru'at Mavet'', lit. ''Cry of Death'') (Hebrew)
*Θανατηφόρος Βοηθός (''Thanatiforos Voithos'') (Greek)
*''Mort, a Halál kisinasa'' (lit. ''Mort, the apprentice of Death'') (Hungarian)
*''Morty l'apprendista'' (Italian)
*''Dødens læregutt'' (Norwegian)
*''O aprendiz de Morte'' (Portuguese-Brazil)
*Мор, ученик Смерти (Russian)
*''Mort'' (Croatian, Czech, Estonian, Finnish, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish)
==Adaptations==
The novel has been adapted by [[Robin Brooks]] for [[BBC Radio Four]]. Narrated by [[Anton Lesser]], with [[Geoffrey Whitehead]] as Death, [[Carl Prekopp]] as Mort, [[Clare Corbett]] as Ysabel and [[Alice Hart]] as Princess Keli, the programme was first broadcast in four parts in mid-2004 and has been repeated frequently, most recently on [[BBC7]].<ref>[http://www.radiolistings.co.uk/programmes/mort.html Mort] at BBC Radio Listings website</ref>
On December 15 2007 a German language stage musical adaption premiered in Hamburg, Germany.<ref>[http://www.mort-musical.de/index.htm Mort Musical] website of the Hamburg stage adaption.</ref>
A brand new English musical adaptation of Mort will premiere in Guildford, Surrey, UK in August 2008. The adaptation is by [[Jenifer Toksvig]], sister of broadcaster and novelist [[Sandi Toksvig]], and composer [[Dominic Haslam]].<ref>[http://www.acompletelossforwords.com/mort.html Toksvig/Haslam Musical] website of the UK Aug 2008 adaptation</ref>
==References==
<references/>
* [http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/mort.html Annotations for ''Mort'']
* [http://www.lspace.org/books/pqf/mort.html Quotes from ''Mort'']
* [http://www.lspace.org/books/synopses/mort.html Synopsis of ''Mort'']
* [http://orangecow.org/videos/mort.rm Unofficial short film] and its [http://orangecow.org/lamovies/mort.html web page]
{{start box}}
! colspan="3" | [[Discworld reading order|Reading order guide]]
{{succession box | before = [[Equal Rites]] | title = 4th [[Discworld#Novels|Discworld Novel]] | years= | after = [[Sourcery]]}}
{{succession box | before = ''None'' | title = 1st [[Discworld reading order#Death.2FSusan Series|Death Story]] | years=Published in 1987 | after = [[Reaper Man]]}}
{{end box}}
{{Discworld books}}
[[Category:1987 novels]]
[[Category:Discworld books]]
[[Category:Novels by Terry Pratchett]]
[[bg:Морт]]
[[cs:Mort]]
[[el:Θανατηφόρος Βοηθός]]
[[es:Mort]]
[[fr:Mortimer (Disque-monde)]]
[[it:Morty l'apprendista]]
[[he:תרועת מוות]]
[[nl:Dunne Hein]]
[[pl:Mort]]
[[ru:Мор — ученик Смерти]]