T.J. Laverne
author of supernatural historical fiction
The Myth of Gelert, the "Faithful Hound"
Each character in the original Hairy Jack novel was based upon someone's pet dog or pet cat, with the idea that all of our pets have their own unique personalities that can easily be translated to humans. Most of my characters happen to be based upon dogs. For this reason, I have carried a general dog theme throughout the Hairy Jack Trilogy.
The premise behind the title, Gelert's Grave, goes back to a Welsh myth about "the faithful hound," Gelert. As the story goes, Gelert's owner, Llewelyn, returned home one day to find his baby missing, and Gelert beside the cradle with a bloody snout. Fearing the worst, Llewelyn killed Gelert. After the deed, Llewelyn found his baby unharmed, next to a slain wolf, whom Gelert had killed to protect the baby. But Llewelyn had realized his mistake too late. It is said that he buried poor innocent Gelert in the Welsh village of Beddgelert.
Gelert's story teaches us how easy it is to be misled by evidence which seems to be pointing to one thing when it is really pointing to something else. It teaches us the dangers of jumping to conclusions and making assumptions, especially when someone's life is at stake. It's the danger of declaring someone to be guilty before the truth is really known. It's supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, right?
As it turns out, the lesson which Gelert teaches us is a good lesson to learn before jumping into any murder mystery. Murder mystery authors are always trying to mislead the reader into suspecting one character, when it's really another character who is the guilty party. It's the whole point. If the author is really good at it, the ending will be a complete surprise.
It also happens that Gelert's lesson is one which also must be learned by one the characters in Gelert's Grave. I won't say more at the risk of spoiling that surprise ending for you!