A few words about some of the people mentioned in The Pedant and Shuffly, whether they are actually residents of the Flapping Forest or not:
When Muriel Brainerd became mistress of Shagcroft Manor.... When Edna Clusterdug divorced Miles Gunderson to marry Alastair Waycress, she little thought that the curse of Deadfall Abbey would have her tearing her hair out.... [35]?
Bowen explains these comments parody the eye-catching comments one used to find not only inside the dust jackets of cheap novels or paperbacks but also at the beginning of stories in the numerous magazines that used to publish popular fiction.
"These blurbs, printed in larger type, were supposed to snag passing readers and draw them in. If the magazine was publishing the story in installments, the blurb often included a synopsis of the plot thus far, so that you could begin reading at episode three without feeling that you had to go find the first two episodes."
It is doubtful these names or events have referents in the real world - it's Bellairs and his made-up monickers at work. Add Bozzard Craynepool [39] to the list, too.
