The Borribles

A trilogy of books by the late Michael de Larrabeiti, published intermittently through the 1980s in England, the United States and ultimately in many other countries as well.


 * The Borribles
 * The Borribles Go For Broke
 * The Borribles: Across The Dark Metropolis


 * The Artful Dodger: Knocker in particular, but any of the more heroic Borribles fit this archetype.
 * The Chessmaster: Spiff.
 * Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: The Rumbles have a universal lisp.  Since their racial name starts with an "R", it forces them to pronounce it as "Wumble", emphasizing their origin as a Parody of The Wombles.
 * The Fair Folk: It's strongly hinted that the Borribles are the origin of most "elf" and "fairy" myths.
 * Fantastic Racism: The mutual loathing the Rumbles and the Borribles have for each other; also, the government attitude toward Borribles smacks of institutional racism on many levels.
 * Funny Animal: The Rumbles qualify for this trope in every way -- and are a definite reminder that "funny animals" are not necessarily humorous.
 * History Marches On: The socio-economic conditions which made 1970s England so hospitable to the Borribles, and the urban wasteland in which they had their adventures, are long gone.
 * Human Subspecies: Borribles definitely qualify.  Human childen turn into Borribles, and if their ears are clipped, Borribles go right back to being human children.
 * I Have Many Names: An explict goal for most if not all Borribles:  Borribles begin their (new) lives nameless, and only gain names by great deeds or adventures; the more names one possess, the more legendary and well-known one is.
 * Inspector Javert: An utterly unsympathetic version is found in Inspector Sussworth, to whom the Borribles' very existence is in defiance of his social and political vision of the world.
 * Like Reality Unless Noted: The world is very clearly 1970s Earth -- except for the immortal elfin children and the intelligent rodents each maintaining their own civilizations in the cracks and crevices of human civilization.
 * Neat Freak: Inspector Sussworth, to the point of complete germophobia.
 * Not Growing Up Sucks: Averted vigorously.  As far as Borribles are concerned, growing up is basically death.
 * Parody: The trilogy prominently features a major parody recognizable only to the British:  The Rumbles are a vicious parody of The Wombles.
 * It's also been suggested that the Borribles themselves are a parody of The Borrowers.
 * Pointy Ears: The only obvious physical trait that distinguishes Borribles from human children.
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Although Borribles are theoretically immortal, few survive long enough to enjoy it. Spiff, however, is rumored to have been around London Borrible society since the days of "the old Queen" (presumably Victoria and not Elizabeth I).
 * Runaway Hideaway: Borrible society provides many examples of the Type 3 variety; some are long-established, others are temporary squats.  Perhaps the most permanent (and impressive) example are the Wendle tunnels under the neighborhood of Wandsworth.
 * The Runaway: Every Borrible starts out as a runaway child before metamorphosing.
 * Satisfied Street Rat: Spiff, Flinthead and many others, despite not technically being adults.
 * Street Urchin: The base state for a Borrible; a very successful Street Urchin turns into a Borrible.
 * Terrified of Germs: Inspector Sussworth.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Chalotte and Sydney, respectively.
 * The Unmasqued World: Authorities know of the existence of Borribles and establish special police squads to deal with them.  Rumbles own automobiles and drive them in the street in broad daylight.
 * Urban Fantasy