Hester Shaw

Hester Shaw, aged around fifteen at the beginning of the Quartet, is the daughter of Thaddeus Valentine and Pandora Shaw. She was raised by Shrike.

Hester is portrayed as having copper hair and a gray eye. She has a scar which cut her face from forehead to jaw, a wrenched mouth, a stump nose, and a single eye.

The character's surname comes from Shaugh Prior.{{cite web | title = Philip Reeve discusses the influences on the Mortal Engines books | url = https://www.mortalenginesmovie.com/2017/07/phillipreeve-answers-questions-mortalengines.html |website=www.mortalenginesmovie.com |date = July 2017 | accessdate = 2019-11-07 }}

In the first novel of the Mortal Engines Quartet (known in the US as The Hungry City Chronicles), Mortal Engines, her botched assassination attempt on Thaddeus Valentine led to her meeting Tom Natsworthy and set off a chain of events that would change the course of history. She is a key character in each book in the Quartet, often in the center of conflicts that occur. She is the mother of Wren Natsworthy.

In the Mortal Engines student short film made in 2009, Alyssa Burnett plays Hester. One of her photos in the role has been mistakenly identified as a cosplay.{{cite web |last=Reeves|first=Philip|date=February 27, 2011|type=Blog| title = It's alive |website=Philip-Reeve.com | url = https://www.philip-reeve.com/its-alive/|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106184638/https://www.philip-reeve.com/its-alive/ |archive-date=2019-11-06 }}{{cite web | title = Alyssa Burnett photos | url = http://www.starnow.co.uk/alyssaburnett/photos/1527128/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100311040629/http://www.starnow.co.uk/alyssaburnett/photos/1527128/ | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2010-03-11 | website = StarNow.co.uk}}{{cite web | title = I was curious and I actually found a hester shaw cosplay??? oh wow! | url = https://crow-caller.tumblr.com/post/62615699324/i-was-curious-and-i-actually-found-a-hester-shaw |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106184553/https://crow-caller.tumblr.com/post/62615699324/i-was-curious-and-i-actually-found-a-hester-shaw |archive-date=2019-11-06 |url-status=dead}}

There is a 28mm figure based on Hester Shaw.{{cite web |last=Reeves|first=Philip|date=February 24, 2014|type=Blog| title = Wargaming the Traction Era |website=Philip-Reeve.com | url = https://www.philip-reeve.com/wargaming-traction-era/ |url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106184600/https://www.philip-reeve.com/wargaming-traction-era/ |archive-date=2019-11-06 }}

In Mortal Engines, the film adaptation of the first book, Hester is portrayed by Icelandic actress Hera Hilmar as an adult, while the young Hester is played by New Zealand child actress Poppy Macleod.{{cite magazine|last1=Fleming|first1=Mike Jr.|title=Peter Jackson's 'Mortal Engines' Sets Hera Hilmar As Female Lead|url=https://deadline.com/2017/02/mortal-engines-peter-jackson-hera-hilmar-universal-pictures-1201903755/|accessdate=June 12, 2017|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=February 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615194339/http://deadline.com/2017/02/mortal-engines-peter-jackson-hera-hilmar-universal-pictures-1201903755/|archive-date=2017-06-15|url-status=live}} Her scar is heavily toned down, and she is aged to her twenties.{{Cite web | last = Leadbeater | first = Alex | date = June 5, 2018 | title = The 7 Biggest Changes Mortal Engines Makes To The Book | url = https://screenrant.com/mortal-engines-movie-book-changes/ | website = Screen Rant | access-date = 2019-10-29}} Hilmar described her character as challenging to play.{{Cite news | title = 'Mortal Engines' Star Hera Hilmar Says Filming Was Like "Being in an Amusement Park" | url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mortal-engines-star-hera-hilmar-talks-filming-fully-intricate-sets-watch-1168489/ | author = Bryan White | date = December 12, 2018 | publisher = The Hollywood Reporter | access-date = 21 May 2021}}{{cite web|title=Hera Hilmar on 'Mortal Engines' and the Challenge of Bringing Hester Shaw to Life |url= https://collider.com/hera-hilmar-mortal-engines-interview/ | author = Christina Radish | date = December 13, 2018 | website = Collider.com | accessdate = 2019-11-07}} Christian Rivers, the director of the film, addressed the fan criticism over Hester's scar, stating that audiences would be "put off the film" if it were more true to the books.{{Cite magazine | last = Romano | first = Nick | date = October 11, 2018 | title = Peter Jackson, Mortal Engines director discuss fan pushback over Hester's scar | url = https://ew.com/movies/2018/10/11/mortal-engines-hester-scar-peter-jackson-christian-rivers/ | magazine = Entertainment Weekly |publisher=Meredith Corporation | access-date = 2019-10-29}} The author acknowledged the difference.{{Cite news | last = Truitt | first = Brian | date = December 10, 2018 | title = 'Mortal Engines' star Hera Hilmar wears her heroine's controversial scar proudly | url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/12/10/hera-hilmar-wears-mortal-engines-heroine-controversial-scar-proudly/2258887002/ | newspaper = USA Today | access-date = 2019-10-29}}{{Cite web | title = Mortal Engines: Trailer 2 |website=Philip-Reeve.com | url = http://www.philip-reeve.com/mortal-engines-trailer-2/ | date = 2018-06-06 | author = Philip Reeve | author-link = Philip Reeve |type=Blog| accessdate = 2019-11-07 | url-status = usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029145911/http://www.philip-reeve.com/mortal-engines-trailer-2/ |archive-date=2019-10-29 }} Reviewers from FilmBook, Screen Rant, and USA Today remarked that this rendition of Hester lacks character development.{{cite news | title = Why Audiences & Fans of MORTAL ENGINES Decided to Skip the Film In-theater | url = https://film-book.com/audiences-fans-mortal-engines-decided-skip-film-theater/ | date = 30 December 2018 | publisher = FilmBook | access-date = 2019-12-11 }}{{Cite web | last = Schaefer | first = Sandy | date = 14 December 2018 | title = Mortal Engines Review: Peter Jackson's Mad Max is Surprisingly Bland | url = https://screenrant.com/mortal-engines-movie-reviews/ | website = Screen Rant | access-date = 2019-10-29}}{{Cite news | last = Truitt | first = Brian | date = December 5, 2018 | title = Review: Peter Jackson's 'Mortal Engines' dazzles with spectacle, falls flat with character | url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/12/05/mortal-engines-review-peter-jackson-epic-dazzles-and-disappoints/2211665002/ | newspaper = USA Today | access-date = 2019-10-29}} Other changes include: she lost her mother when she was eight and she fought Valentine aboard his airship.

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Category:Characters in British novels of the 21st century

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