The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice

In the Cities of Coin and Spice is volume 2 of The Orphan's Tales by Catherynne M. Valente, continuing from the Tiptree Award winning The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden.

It's a series of nested or frame tales, stories nested within stories, such as the Pancatantra, 1001 Nights or My Name is Red. The stories of In the Night Garden and The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice are set in an alternate, mythical, or fantastic Persia, India, and Europe.

This volume explores issues of wealth, capitalism, and globalization through its fantastic interrelated tales, which are closely woven with the tales and characters from Volume 1.

Outline

Here's an outline of the nested tales in the second book.

WARNING: SPOILERS!!!

The Book of the Storm

In the Garden # The girl and the boy talk of Dinarzad’s wedding

The Tale of the Crossing (Girl to boy) # Seven, man with one arm, comes to the ferry at the Lake of the Dead

The Tale of the Twelve Coins # Seven’s birth and captivity in the City of Marrow

The Foreman’s Tale # Vhummin of Marrow tells of the market of Asaad in the city-that-was

In the Garden # The girl talks of loneliness and having no name

The Foreman’s Tale, continued # Vhummin tells of meeting Golod, the monster made of teeth

The Tale of the Hungry Lord # Maciej and Malgorzata; crops fail; Malgorzata eaten, Golod born

The Foreman’s Tale, continued # Vhummin is eaten by Golod

The Tale of the Crossing, continued # Seven speaks further with Idyll, the ferryman

The Tale of the Twelve Coins, continued # Seven meets Oubilette, the huldra; they work in the horrible Mint

The Huldra’s Tale # Oubilette tells of the mythical origin of the huldra, then of her golden ball and how she meets the hedgehog

The Tale of the Golden Ball # Ciracio the Hedgehog tells of the mines and meeting the soldier

The Soldier’s Tale # The Soldier tells how she and her brothers went to war

In the Garden # The boy thinks of his father sending men to war

The Soldier’s Tale, continued # The soldier, Widow, serves with a wooden sword, falls to chemical weapons

The Tale of the Golden Ball # The hedgehog tells of the soldier’s story and she turns him into a ball

The Huldra’s Tale, continued # The hedgehogs go to serve a King; Ciracio ties Oubilette by the hair

The Tale of the Twelve Coins, continued # Oubilette and Seven begin to work in the Mint

The Huldra’s Tale, continued # The unicorn Nevinost comes to Oubilette trapped in her sod house

A Tale of Harm # The unicorn tells how she lost her horn to a poisoner named Bryony

The Poisoner’s Tale # Bryony tells of his childhood and of two princesses, Hind and Hadil

A Tale of Harm, continued # Bryony cuts off the unicorn’s horn

The Huldra’s Tale, continued # The unicorn eats Oubilette’s hair, freeing her

The Tale of the Twelve Coins, continued # Seven stamps his arm into coins

In the Garden # The girl thinks of her stories, and the boy, and sees Dinarzad

The Tale of the Twelve Coins, continued # Seven and Oubilette buy freedom with 6 coins made of his arm

The Tale of the Crossing, continued # he saved one; another given to Idyll as ferry fee; he tells the tale of the other four

The Tale of the Twelve Coins, continued # Seven and Oubilette meet Taglio and the Manticore

The Tale of the Eunuch and the Odalisque # Taglio met the Heifer-Star, castrated himself, meets Immacolata

The Tale of the Tea-Maker and the Shoemaker # Immacolata, the girl made of tea, tells Taglio to meet Zmeya

The Tale of the Eunuch and the Odalisque # Immacolata protests the slavery of the women of the harem

The Tale of the Twelve Coins, continued # Zmeya lets them escape). Seven and Oubilette travel with Taglio

The Manticore’s Tale # Her birth, capture, imprisoned in Hadil’s zoo, rescued by Hind

The Tale of the Twelve Coins, continued # Oubilette and Seven argue what Grotteschi’s story should be about

The Manticore’s Tale, continued # Hind and Grotteschi meet Taglio & Immacolata on the road to Ajanabh

The Pig-Tamer’s Tale # Mesinyane tells how she saw the Harpoon-Star carrying dead Zmeya

The Manticore’s tale, continued # Hind returns to Amberabad. Taglio leaps through Immacolata’s body

The Tale of the Twelve Coins, continued # Immacolata dies; Oubilette dances as Zmeya; they continue to Ajanabh

The Tale of the Crossing, continued # Idyll asks abotu the last 3 coins, and tells of his lizards

The Ferryman’s Tale # The origin myth of the Hsien. Idyll goes to seek an immortal rose

In the Garden # The girl and the boy talk of the wedding feast to come

The Ferryman’s Tale, continued # Idyll’s journey to the Kappa

The Tale of the Lizard’s Lesson # Yoi meets Yazo; they go to the Kingdom of Glass Rain

The Tale of the Glass Princess # Ostraya tells how she turned to glass, and of the lizard-calculus

The Tale of the Lizard’s Lesson # Yoi and Yazo obtain the secret of the immortal rose

The Ferryman’s Tale, continued # Idyll brings the rose to Shadukiam. The governor kills him.

The Tale of the Crossing, continued # Seven and Idyll endure the Storm of Souls and arrive at the Isle of Lost Light

Out of the Garden # Dinarzad sends the girl a red cloak and a clockwork peacock

The Tale of the Crossing, continued # Seven and Oubilette meet on the isle

The Tale of the Dancing Girl’s Descent # Taglio gives Oubilette Immacolata’s leaf. She finds the underworld entrance

The Mourner’s Tale # Wept, the harpy by the entrance to the underworld, tells her story

The Hoopoe’s Tale # Orange as the Sun tells the harpy her life story

The Mourner’s Tale # Wept sings for Captain Tomomo. The mourning of birds.

The Tale of the Dancing Girl’s Descent # Oubilette sacrifices sap for the harpy

The Tale of the Crossing, continued # She takes Seven to meet dead Zmeya, who is pregnant

The Tale of the Leaf and the Snake # The Snake-Star tells of her early life, marriage/captivity, and children

The Tale of the Birds’ Tears # The moth Fahad foretells Zmeya’s death, and lists all the cities.

The Tale of the Leaf and the Snake, continued # Zmeya’s death, rebirth, death. She meets Diamond, Itto, and Oubilette.

The Tale of the Crossing, continued # Seven asks why people love Zmeya, or the gods. He asks Oubilette why she left.

In the Garden # The boy asks the girl if she will leave him

The Tale of the Crossing, continued # Zmeya’s child is born

The Midwife’s Tale # Aerie tells what happens after she and her brother killed the king

The Tale of the Crossing, concluded # Aerie delivers Zmeya’s child, and takes her into the living world

In the Garden # The boy begs to know more, and the girl promises to tell him another time

Note: The Tale of the Twelve Coins was not concluded! Can't be an accident!

The Book of the Scald

In the Garden # Snowing. The boy begins the tales the girl can't read

• The Tale of the Waste # Rend the leopard and Ruin meet Scald
  • The Tale of the Cage of Ivory and the Cage of Iron # Scald's childhood
    • The Tale of the First Djinn # Kohinoor tells of Kashkash
  • The Tale of the Cage of Ivory and the Cage of Iron, ct'd # Scald tells how war declared on Ajanabh
    • The Tale of the Giant Who Stayed # Simeon the gate-giant tells how he met Agarfena
  • The Tale of the Cage of Ivory and the Cage of Iron, ct'd # He lets Scald into the city; she must leave by dawn

In the Garden # The girl is tired

• • The Tale of the Cage of Ivory and the Cage of Iron, ct'd # Scald meets Agarfena
    • The Violinist's Tale # Agarfena tells of her childhood, meets Folio the inventor
      • The Tale of the Rooster-Maker's Daughter # Folio's life in Muireann; she makes Hour of gold and brass
    • The Violinist's Tale, continued # Folio changes Agarfena's fingers
  • The Tale of the Cage of Ivory and the Cage of Iron, ct'd # Agarfena and Scald watch the opera
    • The Tale of the Two Duchesses # The jackal-headed tenor tells of Ulissa and Orfea
      • The Tale of of the Tongue # The Basilisk tells Orfea his life story
    • The Tale of the Two Duchesses # The Basilisk makes a mistake; turns Ajanabh's fields to stone in grief
  • The Tale of the Cage of Ivory and the Cage of Iron, ct'd # They discuss the truth of that story
• The Tale of the Waste, continued # Rend feeds Scald. Ruin is from Ajanabh, had left for Urim.
  • The Tale of the Cage of Ivory and the Cage of Iron, ct'd # Scald meets Firebird and a child in ivory cage
    • The Tale of the Cloak of Feathers # Lantern tells of the Wizard and Kostya. He meets the pilot
      • The River Pilot's Tale # Lock the goldfish tells how she changed to a dragon; she meets the hunter
        • The Tale of the Ajan Coin # The Hunter (The Duke) tells of Amilcar and the Lamia
          • The Tale of the Blue Serpent # The Lamia Vachya's life story
        • The Tale of the Ajan Coin, continued # Vachya's handprint on St. Sigrid's mom's belly
      • The River Pilot's Tale, continued # (Amilcar became the first Duke) Lock's transformation.
    • The Tale of the Cloak of Feathers, Continued # Lock leaves her child. Lantern meets Sleeve the spider
      • The Dressmaker's Tale # Sleeve the Bell Spider
        • The Tale on the Floor # The Sirens spell out their tale with their feet
          • The Navigator's Tale # The drowned woman with the compass in her navel

In the Garden # Dinarzad asks the boy for a happy story about marriage

• • • • • The Dressmaker's Tale, continued # The Spider meets Xide in her workshop which is her church
          • The Weaver's Tale # Xide, the Weaver-Star. This gave me chills all over!
        • The Dressmaker's Tale, continued # The Weaver tells why a woman's dress is not nothing. So powerful
• The Tale of the Waste, continued # Rend and Scald speak of Urim, and death, and cloth
  • • • • The Dressmaker's Tale, continued # Sleeve speaks with the Church mouse
          • The Tale of the Kingdom of Mice # The mouse speaks about Dust
        • The Dressmaker's Tale, continued # She weaves a disguise for the Church mice
      • The Tale of the Cloak of Feathers, continued # They become Kostya
    • The Tale of the Cage of Ivory and the Cage of Iron, ct'd # The girl in the cage wakes up
      • The Tale of the Cloak of Feathers, continued # Aerie and Lantern
    • The Tale of the Cage of Ivory and the Cage of Iron, ct'd # Solace and Scald talk
      • The Fire-Dancer's Tale # Solace learns what it is right and proper for little girls to do
        • The Tale of the Cinnamon Shoes # The Shoes made by Immacolata's mother argue with Solace
    • The Tale of the Cage of Ivory and the Cage of Iron, ct'd # They prepare to go to the Carnival

In the Garden # The boy and the girl go to Dinarzad's wedding

Editions

• Bantam Spectra: 2007 (ISBN 978-0-553-38404-8) 516 pp. Illustrations by Michael Kaluta.