Characters A Study in Drowning Ava Reid

Emrys Myrddin: The Fraud Behind the Fairy King

Overview

Emrys Myrddin is the deceased national author of Llyr in Ava Reid’s A Study in Drowning. To the public, he is the revered writer of the beloved fantasy novel Angharad and a collection of poetry. The story’s central mystery, however, reveals that Myrddin did not write the works that made him famous. He stole them from his wife, Angharad Myrddin. Emrys is also a vessel for the supernatural Fairy King, a predatory entity that feeds on desire and cruelty. At the time of the novel, Emrys has been dead for about a year, but his legacy and the secrets he left behind drive every major plot event.

Plot Role

Though dead before the story begins, Emrys Myrddin functions as the ghostly catalyst. He is the reason Effy Sayre enters the architecture contest – she wants to build a memorial for him. He is also the reason Preston Héloury travels to Hiraeth Manor – to investigate inconsistencies in Myrddin’s authorship. The discovery that Myrddin was illiterate and that his signature was misspelled (“Myrthin” with a Northern spelling) plants the first seed of doubt (Chapter 7). Later, Effy and Preston find his diary in a hidden room, revealing misogynistic views and a note that Colin Blackmar delivered “Angharad” – proof of theft. Emrys’s role culminates in the revelation that the Fairy King possessed him and later his son Ianto, making him both a villain and a victim of the supernatural.

Motivations and Traits

Emrys Myrddin’s motivations, as reconstructed from diary entries and his wife’s testimony, are rooted in ambition and a desire for recognition. He was an insecure man from a poor fishing family who envied the literary world. Key traits include:

  • Deceptive and manipulative: He orchestrated a long-term fraud, passing off his wife’s poetry and prose as his own.
  • Misogynistic: His diary contains dismissive attitudes toward women, consistent with the institutional sexism described in the novel.
  • Cowardly: He allowed his wife to remain trapped in Hiraeth Manor under the Fairy King’s control rather than confess the truth.
  • Eventually possessed: Angharad explains that the Fairy King “took him over entirely” (Chapter 16), blurring the line between Myrddin’s own cruelty and the entity’s influence.

Interpretation: It’s possible that Myrddin initially intended only to borrow his wife’s work temporarily but was unable to stop the lie as the Fairy King tightened its hold. The text, however, shows that the fraud began before the Fairy King’s full possession.

Chronological Arc

Emrys Myrddin’s life story is revealed in fragments across the novel:

  1. Youth (before the novel): He works as a fisherman’s son, receives only informal schooling, and is illiterate until his teens.
  2. Meeting Angharad (age 34): He becomes an employee of Colin Blackmar and begins an affair with Blackmar’s 18-year-old daughter, Angharad. He reads her poetry and encourages her writing.
  3. Theft and publication: Angharad writes she and her (later retitled Angharad by the publisher). Emrys submits it under his own name to Greenebough Press. He and Blackmar and the elder Marlowe conspire to hide the truth.
  4. Possession by the Fairy King: After moving to Hiraeth Manor, the Fairy King takes hold of Emrys. He smashes mirrors, forbids Angharad from buying new ones, and keeps her imprisoned.
  5. Death: Emrys dies about a year before the novel’s present. His death does not free Angharad because the Fairy King transfers to their son, Ianto.
  6. Posthumous exposure: Effy and Preston uncover the fraud through letters, diary entries, and ultimately Angharad’s testimony, forcing the literary world to acknowledge the real author.

Relationships

Angharad Myrddin (wife and victim)

Emrys’s relationship with Angharad is built on exploitation. He used her love and trust to steal her work, then allowed the Fairy King to imprison her in Hiraeth for decades. Angharad calls the affair “illicit” but notes that she was a girl and he was 34 (Chapter 16). The power imbalance is central. After possession, Emrys became her jailer, smashing mirrors and forbidding her to leave.

Ianto Myrddin (son)

Emrys’s son Ianto inherits both the estate and the Fairy King’s possession. Ianto struggles against the entity but ultimately becomes a vessel like his father. Emrys failed to protect his son from this fate, possibly because he himself was too weak to resist.

Colin Blackmar (father-in-law and co-conspirator)

Blackmar, Angharad’s father, helped cover up the fraud. Emrys’s relationship with Blackmar was transactional: Blackmar provided access to publishing and later silenced any inquiries.

Effy Sayre and Preston Héloury (investigators)

Effy begins as a devoted fan of Myrddin, but her disillusionment is complete by the midpoint. Preston treats Myrddin as a historical problem to solve. Both ultimately work to dismantle his false legacy.

Key Decisions and Consequences

  • Decision to submit Angharad’s work under his name: This launched his career and silenced his wife. The consequence was a lifetime of fraud and supernatural torment.
  • Decision to move to Hiraeth Manor: Emrys chose the house built on a sinking cliff, which amplified the Fairy King’s power. This trapped his family and led to the house’s eventual collapse.
  • Decision not to confess on his deathbed: By taking the secret to his grave, Emrys condemned Angharad to continued imprisonment and left Ianto vulnerable to possession.

Theme and Symbol Connections

  • The Drowning as Metaphor for Silencing Women: Emrys drowning Angharad’s authorship mirrors the literal drowning of homes in the Bay of Nine Bells. Both are slow, eroding processes that consume what is female and vulnerable. (See The Drowning as Metaphor for Silencing Women.)

  • Literary Forgery and Erasure of Female Authorship: Emrys’s fraud is a direct example of how institutions and men have erased women’s voices. The novel critiques the literary canon’s complicity in preserving such lies. (See Literary Forgery and the Erasure of Female Authorship.)

  • Institutional Sexism and Academic Gatekeeping: Myrddin’s reputation allowed the male-dominated literature college to dismiss Effy and Preston’s findings. Only after hard evidence and Angharad’s testimony do they succeed. (See Institutional Sexism and Academic Gatekeeping.)

  • The Power of Stories to Shape Reality: Myrddin’s fabricated story shaped Llyrian culture. The novel shows that stories (and lies) can become truth if repeated enough. (See The Power of Stories to Shape Reality.)

  • Mirrors and Reflection: Emrys (and later Ianto) smashed mirrors to avoid facing the truth. Mirrors symbolize self-knowledge. Effy uses a mirror shard to destroy Ianto, reclaiming the power of reflection.

Questions and Answers

1. What evidence proves Emrys Myrddin did not write Angharad?
Multiple pieces: misspelled signature “Myrthin” in a pre-publication letter (Chapter 7), the diary showing Blackmar delivered the manuscript (Chapter 9), Angharad’s own testimony (Chapter 16), and letters from Marlowe confirming the fraud. The locked box Angharad opens contains the original manuscripts in her handwriting.

2. How did the Fairy King relate to Emrys Myrddin?
The Fairy King was a supernatural entity that possessed Emrys, growing stronger at Hiraeth Manor. Angharad explains that the Fairy King “took him over entirely” and later transferred to Ianto after Emrys’s death. The entity amplified Emrys’s cruelty but also had an independent will.

3. Why did Emrys’s fraud go undetected for so long?
Because the literary establishment was complicit. Colin Blackmar and the elder Marlowe helped hide the truth. Also, society did not believe a woman could write such a sophisticated novel, as shown by Blackmar’s remark that “girls’ minds were not fit for storytelling” (Chapter 16).

4. Did Emrys love Angharad?
The novel suggests his feelings were genuine at first but corrupted by ambition and possession. Angharad says Emrys was “kind” before the Fairy King took over, but his actions – stealing her work, imprisoning her – argue that any love was subordinated to self-interest.

5. How does Emrys’s story end?
Emrys is dead before the novel ends, but his legacy is destroyed. In Chapter 17, Effy and Preston present a thesis proving Angharad’s authorship. The literary world is forced to recognize the truth. Emrys’s name is forever tainted as a fraud, and his son dies in the collapse of Hiraeth Manor. Angharad finally receives credit for her work. For more on the resolution, see Ending Explained. Further discussion can be found on the Questions and Answers page.