62 pages • 2 hours read
The Blackthorn Key
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Chapters 1-4 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
“Thursday, May 28, 1665: Ascension Day”
Chapter 1 Summary
Christopher comes up with the idea to build a cannon in the apothecary shop where he is an apprentice. However, he has difficulty getting his friend Tom's attention. Tom is preoccupied by an imaginary battle with the shop's stuffed bear. Once he realizes what Christopher wants, Tom is against the idea, referencing unsuccessful adventures they've had in the past. It would be illegal, and Lord Ashcombe, King Charles’ Warden, is on the streets hunting for a killer of apothecaries. Nevertheless, Master Benedict, the owner, will be gone for a long time, and Christopher convinces Tom that the two should make gunpowder.
Christopher takes out a coded recipe for gunpowder. He explains that apothecaries need to keep their recipes secret and that Master Benedict has been teaching him different ciphers. The gunpowder recipe is written in a substitution cipher. Christopher decodes it by replacing the numbers with letters. Then, Christopher grinds charcoal while Tom crushes saltpeter. They then use a piece of pipe as a cannon and select lead shot instead of a cannonball. Afraid of using it outside and alerting the neighbors, the boys instead shoot at an iron cauldron. Christopher lights the fuse. The cannon explodes, and the pipe hits him between his legs.
Chapter 2 Summary
Stunned from the explosion they caused, Tom and Christopher realize that the lead shot has damaged the stuffed bear in the shop. They know they will get in trouble with Master Benedict. As they try to come up with a plan to fix the bear, Master Benedict arrives with his former apprentice, Hugh Coggshall. Master Benedict reacts sarcastically to the scene, shocked to learn that they fired the cannon at a cauldron. Tom runs away in fear. Master Benedict explains to Christopher everything that could have gone wrong.
When Master Benedict asks how Christopher got the gunpowder, he is surprised to learn that Christopher made it himself and decoded the cipher. He and Hugh exchange a meaningful look before Master Benedict punishes Christopher, requiring him to write out the recipe 30 times in Latin and clean the store. Although the next day is Oak Apple Day, a holiday when Christopher is not required to work, he realizes that he will be cleaning. Nevertheless, Master Benedict is unusually kind to him, and he agrees. As Christopher cleans, he contemplates how to fix the bear. He thinks about putting Master Benedict's complex apothecary's sash, which contains many ingredients, on the bear, but Hugh warns him not to.
A competing apothecary, Nathanial Stubb, comes into the shop. He demands to see Master Benedict, but Hugh explains that he is busy. Stubb tells Christopher to go get him, putting Christopher in a difficult position. As a member of the Apothecary's Guild, Stubb deserves his respect, but Christopher's first duty is to Master Benedict. When Christopher hesitates, Stubb hits him with his cane. Hugh reproaches Stubb, and Master Benedict comes into the shop. Stubb tells Master Benedict that another murder has taken place.
Chapter 3 Summary
Stubb explains the details of the murder to Master Benedict as Hugh and Christopher listen. Although Christopher thinks the victim might be another apothecary, it is a Cambridge professor named Pembroke. Master Benedict sends Christopher to clean the pigeon coop, which he does reluctantly.
Christopher thinks back to when he first came to the shop three years ago. Previously, he was living in an orphanage called Cripplegate. When Master Benedict chose him as an apprentice, he worried that Master Benedict would be as cruel as the other boys had warned him. On their walk back to the shop, Christopher noticed how cool and stoic Master Benedict was. Once they were inside the shop, Christopher was overwhelmed and impressed by the many substances and materials around them.
Master Benedict told Christopher to boil water, then gave him madapple seeds and told him to crush three in one mug, six in another, and 10 in the third, then cover them with boiling water. He explained that madapple is good for treating asthma in small doses, as in the first glass. In greater amounts, it can cause hallucinations, nightmares, and pain, as in the second. In even greater amounts, it acts as a poison, as in the third glass. Master Benedict asked Christopher what he had learned, and Christopher responded that he's the one who's responsible. Master Benedict was impressed with this answer.
Master Benedict would have a final lesson for Christopher’s first day and walked with Christopher to a mansion. The woman waiting there had a rash on her back. Master Benedict indicated that Christopher should spread cream on it, though Christopher hesitated because it looked and smelled like feces. As they left, Master Benedict again asked what Christopher had learned; Christopher responded that he should always have cotton to stuff up his nose. Since then, Christopher has learned how to make many treatments and has had the opportunity to read many books, which Master Benedict gets from Isaac the bookseller.
In the present day, Christopher goes up to the roof, where they keep birds, to scrape pigeon droppings. One bird in particular, Bridget, is special to Christopher, and he pets her as he considers Stubb. Stubb has always wanted Master Benedict's shop and previously accused Master Benedict of stealing recipes when he refused to sell his shop to Stubb. Thinking of Stubb downstairs with Master Benedict, Christopher is nervous. While he scrapes the droppings, which are valuable as the source of saltpeter, Christopher decides to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Downstairs, Stubb is yelling at Master Benedict about choosing the right side. However, Master Benedict claims he has no side and that money will not change his mind. Stubb leaves, and Master Benedict and Hugh discuss the conversation. Hugh worries that Pembroke talked under torture, but Master Benedict believes that Stubb was only guessing and that they should simply proceed with caution. He adds that the apprentice is the dangerous one. He asks if Hugh wants to flee the city like the others, but Hugh doesn't.
Later, Christopher asks Master Benedict what Stubb wanted and why he was talking about the murders. Christopher is worried that they are killing apothecaries. Master Benedict tells him not to let his imagination get away with him and that they will be safe. On his own, Christopher eats his dinner and writes out the recipe in Latin before closing the shop and going to bed. A noise wakes him; he realizes it is footsteps.
Chapter 4 Summary
Christopher finds his knife, though he knows it is insufficient, and tries to come up with a plan. He sees a huge shadow and realizes that he cannot take the intruder in a fight. The intruder lifts a heavy jar, and Christopher approaches, realizing that it is Master Benedict. Master Benedict tries to send him back to bed, but there is soot on his face and he is disheveled; Christopher worries he has been attacked. As he helps Master Benedict to his room, he realizes his master's arm has been injured. In Master Benedict's room, Christopher notices that his master is badly burned. He goes down to the shop to get remedies and treats him. Master Benedict appreciates this and lets him know he has learned well.
In a daze, Master Benedict talks to Christopher, wondering if he asks too much of his apprentice. He asks Christopher if he wants to be sent away. Christopher refuses, grateful for his life. Master Benedict tells him that he has a present for him and gives him a silver cube with circular engravings on its top and five symbols carved into its sides. Christopher correctly identifies the metal as antimony. Master Benedict tells him this is only half his present and that he will get the rest if he can open the cube. Christopher can't pry it open, but Master Benedict explains that the key is down in the shop, and the book the cube was on will help him solve it.
Chapters 1-4 Analysis
The inciting incident, in which Christopher creates gunpowder, establishes him immediately as a dynamic character. He is clever enough to decode the symbols in the cipher Master Benedict wrote, but he is also rash enough not to care about the consequences of his actions. As this section goes on, other events characterize Christopher in new ways. The flashback to his first days with Master Benedict shows both how quickly he absorbs new information, as well as his wisdom and insight into the characters around him. Similarly, he influences them—notably Tom, who takes part in Christopher’s antics. Tom is a foil and a classic sidekick for Christopher. Around the same age, he is larger than Christopher and more hesitant, often offering warnings when Christopher proposes something particularly dangerous, such as lighting the makeshift cannon. This runs counter to Christopher’s bravery. Later in the section, when Christopher hears footsteps in the shop, he goes to explore rather than hiding.
This section also introduces key tensions that will drive the plot. The reader learns that apothecaries are being murdered in London. Master Benedict’s conflict with Stubb provides more immediate tension within the shop. This shows that although apothecaries are being targeted (perhaps from an outside group), there is also conflict between the apothecaries themselves. This dynamic becomes important later, as Sands reveals that Guild members and apprentices are the killers. When Master Benedict is injured, this increases the tension: The reader does not yet know who has hurt him, but the dynamics in the earlier scenes suggest it is either the Cult or Stubb.
Three objects appear in this section that serve as important symbols throughout the book. The madapple that Master Benedict shows Christopher in the flashback serves as an object lesson for Christopher about the power of the apothecary’s role. Later, Master Benedict will use this same substance to kill himself rather than reveal information about the Archangel’s Fire. The puzzle cube that Master Benedict gives to Christopher also has a double purpose. It serves as a token of Master Benedict’s respect for and appreciation of Christopher. However, it also serves as a challenge to him, as he needs to solve the puzzle before reaping the rewards. In a sense, this is training for the larger mystery he will need to solve after Master Benedict’s death. Likewise, the cipher that Christopher uses to create gunpowder allows him to practice decoding messages. This skill will prove necessary later in the book as he searches for the Archangel’s Fire and the identity of Master Benedict’s killer.
Finally, this section introduces the theme of the dangers of strict social hierarchies. In the first scene, Tom worries about Lord Ashcombe and the King’s Men discovering what they are doing. Stubb’s treatment of various members of Master Benedict’s circle also shows how people exploited these social hierarchies. Stubb's unpleasantness paints him immediately as a typical antagonist/villain. He does not have to be polite to Christopher, a simple apprentice, and so he is cruel. Hugh, as an apothecary himself, can stand up to Stubb, while Master Benedict, a skilled and renowned apothecary, can challenge him. In addition, Sands presents how challenging codes can be to solve in this section. Christopher’s work with the gunpowder cipher shows this complexity.
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