The English author and academic Catherine Butler noted that Garner was attentive to the "geological, archaeological and cultural history of his settings, and careful to integrate his fiction with the physical reality beyond the page." As a part of this, Garner had included maps of Alderley Edge in both "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" and "The Moon of Gomrath". Garner has spent much time investigating the areas that he deals with in his books; writing in the "Times Literary Supplement" in 1968, Garner commented that in preparation for writing his book "Elidor":