Monday, 22 September 2025 04:05 pm
Book Review: A Sorceress Comes to Call
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deckardcanineI was unfamiliar with the Grimm fairy tale "The Goose Girl." From what I gather, T. Kingfisher's reimagining bears very little resemblance. There are geese, yes, but they rarely figure into the plot.
You thought your mother was controlling? Evangeline actually possesses 14-year-old daughter Cordelia almost every time the latter does something the former disapproves, which is frequent yet hard to predict. Cordelia thinks of it as "being made obedient." Furthermore, Evangeline insists on zero privacy for her, with a house rule against closed inside doors. Cordelia can barely make a friend, since her upbringing is unique. Even their enchanted horse, Falada, proves only so trustworthy.
The two-person family has been living in relative poverty. Evangeline seeks to change that by feigning wealth and magically seducing Samuel Chatham, usually called "the Squire," after which she hopes to marry Cordelia off to an even richer man (while forbidding genuine love). Cordelia learns to enjoy luxuries in her visit to the estate, not least from Alice the maid. But she fears for the Squire's safety in light of Evangeline's wicked history.
Apart from Cordelia, the only focal character is Hester, Samuel's spinster sister and housemate, who seems older than her middle age thanks largely to a bad knee. Hester senses right away that Evangeline is serious trouble, and not just as a gold digger who might kick her out, but she doesn't dare try to talk her brother out of marriage. Instead, she invites several friends over to make the atmosphere less conducive to courtship. One of those friends, incidentally, has a long-time crush on Hester, and it's not fully clear why she won't accept his proposals given her private feelings.
In this setting, which I take to be an alternate 19th-century England, the existence of sorcery is common knowledge, but almost nobody believes that it can do much more than party tricks. Even Cordelia is slow to realize that her mother's power qualifies as high-end sorcery, so of course she's reluctant to tell anyone. Getting the police involved is right out.
This story is a good example of the villain making the plot. Without Evangeline, we'd be left following an ordinary waif or a bunch of aging aristocrats and household servants with nothing special to do. Some of them are great at repartee, but otherwise, they'd bore me.
And yes, Evangeline is quite a villain. About her only virtue is in protecting Cordelia's life, and that may well be driven by self-interest more than anything else. She's usually quite cunning, tough as it is for her to keep projecting innocence. Any attack on her would have to be surprising and quick as well as easy to hide from authorities. Really, she'd be bad enough without magic. No wonder even Cordelia entertains the idea of killing her.
Will I read more from Ursula Vernon? Definitely. Under her pseudonym? Probably. ASCtC may not be cute, but it is pretty good, especially toward the end.
Now I'm in the mood for something older and more masculine. I've picked up H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain.
You thought your mother was controlling? Evangeline actually possesses 14-year-old daughter Cordelia almost every time the latter does something the former disapproves, which is frequent yet hard to predict. Cordelia thinks of it as "being made obedient." Furthermore, Evangeline insists on zero privacy for her, with a house rule against closed inside doors. Cordelia can barely make a friend, since her upbringing is unique. Even their enchanted horse, Falada, proves only so trustworthy.
The two-person family has been living in relative poverty. Evangeline seeks to change that by feigning wealth and magically seducing Samuel Chatham, usually called "the Squire," after which she hopes to marry Cordelia off to an even richer man (while forbidding genuine love). Cordelia learns to enjoy luxuries in her visit to the estate, not least from Alice the maid. But she fears for the Squire's safety in light of Evangeline's wicked history.
Apart from Cordelia, the only focal character is Hester, Samuel's spinster sister and housemate, who seems older than her middle age thanks largely to a bad knee. Hester senses right away that Evangeline is serious trouble, and not just as a gold digger who might kick her out, but she doesn't dare try to talk her brother out of marriage. Instead, she invites several friends over to make the atmosphere less conducive to courtship. One of those friends, incidentally, has a long-time crush on Hester, and it's not fully clear why she won't accept his proposals given her private feelings.
In this setting, which I take to be an alternate 19th-century England, the existence of sorcery is common knowledge, but almost nobody believes that it can do much more than party tricks. Even Cordelia is slow to realize that her mother's power qualifies as high-end sorcery, so of course she's reluctant to tell anyone. Getting the police involved is right out.
This story is a good example of the villain making the plot. Without Evangeline, we'd be left following an ordinary waif or a bunch of aging aristocrats and household servants with nothing special to do. Some of them are great at repartee, but otherwise, they'd bore me.
And yes, Evangeline is quite a villain. About her only virtue is in protecting Cordelia's life, and that may well be driven by self-interest more than anything else. She's usually quite cunning, tough as it is for her to keep projecting innocence. Any attack on her would have to be surprising and quick as well as easy to hide from authorities. Really, she'd be bad enough without magic. No wonder even Cordelia entertains the idea of killing her.
Will I read more from Ursula Vernon? Definitely. Under her pseudonym? Probably. ASCtC may not be cute, but it is pretty good, especially toward the end.
Now I'm in the mood for something older and more masculine. I've picked up H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain.