| “ | The fence is to keep the tigers in. The tigers are for keeping you in. Oh, and the moat. And the guard towers. And the guards. And a few other nasty surprises. Face it, Jack, this is your new home, whether you like it or not. And you might even known some of our residents from back in the Homelands. | „ |
| ~ Priscilla Page to Jack Horner, Jack of Fables #1 — "The Long Hard Fall of Hollywood Jack" |
The Golden Boughs Retirement Village is a facility masquerading as a retirement home, and used to imprison Fables that have escaped into the mundane world.[1] Over the centuries, the actual settlement of the place has moved several times.[2] Its main goal is to keep the inhabitants out of the public conscience until the people forget their stories. It is run by Mister Revise.[1]
The facility
The Golden Boughs consists largely of a series of cottages assigned to the various inmates,[1] along with a number of public buildings such as pubs like The Fox and the Grapes[2] and the First Draft Pub,[5] and various cafes, such as The Willow Leaf;[6] plus the various buildings required to run the place:
- The Golden Boughs Retirement Community: Which consists of the housing for the captured Fables,[1] inside their every need is fulfilled, and they are kept in virtual comfort.[6] The cottages are named after trees, such as Alder and Cedar.[1]
- The Library[1]
- The Memory Hole[2]
Security consists of a fence, moat[1] and sixteen[6] guard towers,[1][6] which are constantly manned by the Junior Assistant Librarians. In the event of an escape, the facility has a number of carefully trained tigers which can be released to track escapees, along with a group known as the bagmen,[6] powerful creatures of unknown type that inhabit an all-encompassing outfit that gives them humanoid shape and which can be folded down to resemble a large bag. Each guard tower is equipped with a doubling rook, a magical bird that, when released, will multiply quickly until all available food is exhausted, and can be used to deal with any attempt at an aerial escape.[3]
The original, unrevised Fable stories contained in the old books are concealed behind a locked door located behind the bar at the First Draft Pub. [6]
After Bookburner's strike on the Golden Boughs, Jack Horner, his fellow Fables, the Literals and the librarians were forced to release Wy'east, Klickawit and Loo-Wit, Native American mountain spirits who unleashed a roaring volcano upon escape, marking the end of the Golden Boughs Retirement Village.[4]
Staff
Description
The facility is overseen by Mister Revise,[1] the Head Librarian;[6] a Literal who has made it his mission to rid the world of magic.[2] Some individuals incarcerated in the village,[6] such as Sam,[2] serve as prisoner-trustees.[6]
Revise is supported by the Page sisters, referred to as Senior Librarians; "the other senior types" in the form of the heads of finance, mundy relations, infrastructure and supplies; the Assistant Librarians, who serve as the middle management, working under the senior staff; the Junior Assistant Librarians, "who do the actual work," manning the guard towers and doing everything else the Golden Boughs cannot trust the prisoner-trustees to do.[6]
Staff members
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Inmates
Former:
Etymology
The prison is named after The Golden Bough,[16] a comparative religion study conducted by Sir James Frazer in 1890. This research examines the spiritual beliefs, practices, and institutions across various cultures globally, suggesting a natural evolution from magic to religion and ultimately to science.[17] This serves as a distinct parallel to Mister Revise's mission to eliminate the magic from the Fables, with his ultimate objective being to eradicate magic from the mundane world.[2]
Trivia
The Golden Boughs resembles the Village of The Prisoner in some ways, and as he escapes from the Golden Boughs, Jack Horner explicitly makes the connection in a narrative aside to the reader about the place "in the British TV show" guarded by the evil "weather balloon."