Daughter of the Forest (The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Book 1) - Softcover

Marillier, Juliet

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0002247364 ISBN 13: 9780002247368

Publisher: Voyager, 2000

Synopsis

A magnificent saga set in the Celtic twilight of 10th century Ireland, when myth was law and magic was a power of nature, brilliantly brought to life: the legendary story of an evil stepmother opposed by a seventh child.

Lord Colum of Sevenwaters is blessed with seven children: Liam, a natural leader; Diarmid with his passion for adventure; twins Cormack and Conor each with a different calling; rebellious Finbar made old before his time by the gift of Sight; and the young compassionate Padriac.

But it is Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter, whose birth was the cause of their mother’s death, who alone is destined to defend her family and protect her land from the invading Britons and the clan known as Northwoods. For Lord Colum has been bewitched by the sensuous and malevolent Lady Oonagh – and Sorcha’s six brothers are bound by a spell that only Sorcha can lift.

Exiled from Sevenwaters and cast out into the forest and beyond, Sorcha falls into the hands of the enemy. She finds herself torn between the life she has always known and a love that comes only once.

And still she must work to lift the spell that has turned her brothers into six vulnerable swans.

This is an old Celtic legend in its own right, here brilliantly evoked and brought to life. All of the brothers are beautifully delineated characters, and Sorcha has a unique inner strength that drives the narrative to a startling series of endings.

Like Marion Zimmer Bradley’s MISTS OF AVALON or Jean Auel’s CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, this is first-rate historical fantasy that can have the widest possible appeal, taking in also the readership of historical fiction writers like Mary Stewart (THE CRYSTAL CAVE), Mary Renault (THE PERSIAN BOY) and Anya Seton (AVALON).

About this title

Review:

Juliet Marillier's intensely romantic first novel Daughter of the Forest takes the reader to an Ireland on the edge where history and fairy tale meet. Sorcha, seventh child of a seventh son, finds herself caught up in the manipulations of a wicked and sorcerous stepmother, the whims of faerie and the purely human evil of a fanatical British lord. Acts of kindness have the most terrible of consequences and people's strongest virtues are used against them. First volume of a trilogy, Daughter of the Forest is a stunning debut that takes one of the most moving of fairy stories and renders it in vivid painful detail--rarely have the day-to-day consequences of magic's demands been made so directly unpleasant. Sorcha is a figure of fortitude to stand with the great heroines of contemporary fantasy; she does what she has to and takes the consequences at every turn. The author creates a cast of worthy allies and enemies for Sorcha as she travels from a remote Irish fortress to the depths of a forest in a Britain caught between its Celtic and European identities. --Roz Kaveney

Review:

"Sorcha takes her place in the very front line of the strong, determined Irish heroines, from Queen Maeve to Molly Bloom and beyond!" -Bestselling Andrew M. Greeley, author of The "Bishop and the Missing L Train"

"Marillier is a fine folklorist and a gifted narrator who has created a wholly appealing and powerful character."--"Publishers Weekly"

"This novel will delight and astound. An exceptional debut fairy tale that mixes romance, legend, and magic."--"Realms of Fantasy"

Sorcha takes her place in the very front line of the strong, determined Irish heroines, from Queen Maeve to Molly Bloom and beyond! "Bestselling Andrew M. Greeley, author of The Bishop and the Missing L Train"

Marillier is a fine folklorist and a gifted narrator who has created a wholly appealing and powerful character. "Publishers Weekly"

This novel will delight and astound. An exceptional debut fairy tale that mixes romance, legend, and magic. "Realms of Fantasy""

Sorcha takes her place in the very front line of the strong, determined Irish heroines, from Queen Maeve to Molly Bloom and beyond! Bestselling Andrew M. Greeley, author of The Bishop and the Missing L Train

Marillier is a fine folklorist and a gifted narrator who has created a wholly appealing and powerful character. Publishers Weekly

This novel will delight and astound. An exceptional debut fairy tale that mixes romance, legend, and magic. Realms of Fantasy

"

"Sorcha takes her place in the very front line of the strong, determined Irish heroines, from Queen Maeve to Molly Bloom and beyond!" --Bestselling Andrew M. Greeley, author of The Bishop and the Missing L Train

"Marillier is a fine folklorist and a gifted narrator who has created a wholly appealing and powerful character." --Publishers Weekly

"This novel will delight and astound. An exceptional debut fairy tale that mixes romance, legend, and magic." --Realms of Fantasy

About this edition

• Publisher: Voyager
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0002247364
• ISBN 13: 9780002247368
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 560