The Coven's Daughter

March 1, 2011

Cecily Perryn, 13, a lowly poultry girl in 1596 England, discovers a jeweled pendant enclosing a woman's portrait in the Earl of Montacute's hencoops. Her strange find is quickly eclipsed by other matters: Young boys, including her friend William, have been disappearing. Seeking William, Cess makes her way to the town of Yeovil, where Jasper, the innkeeper's son, becomes her reluctant helper. Their search uncovers a plot against Queen Elizabeth I, soon to visit Montacute House. Meanwhile, Cess attracts unwanted attention from the Earl's sinister son after her cousin fabricates a story that Cess practices witchcraft—truer than she knows. Cess' friend, the healer Edith Mildmay, falsely accused of bringing plague and exiled, is a witch, though of a benign Druid-esque variety, and initiates Cess into their practices. A rich portrait of rural life in Elizabethan times emerges—convincingly detailed and seamlessly woven into the narrative fabric—as readers uncover the intertwined secrets of pendant, plot and plague. While Cess' mundane world is entirely believable and always interesting, the witchcraft, with its generically contemporary, New Age feel, is less persuasive. It's only when we lose the witches that the story comes to life. (Historical fantasy. 10-14)

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April 1, 2011

Gr 6-8-Cecily Perryn expects to celebrate the morning of her 13th birthday collecting eggs in the dirty barnyard of Montacute House, where she is in service to Sir Edward Mortain. She doesn't expect to find a jeweled portrait necklace under one of the laying hens or to come to the attention of Viscount Drax Mortain, the master's son. The historical aspects of the story are well researched and firmly rooted in Elizabethan history (Visitors can tour the house and many of the places mentioned in the story.) Interwoven with the historical details are the stories of Cess's friend William and other village boys who have disappeared, and Cess's friendship with Edith and Alathea, two women who are known to be involved in witchcraft. Jago keeps a variety of story lines moving: William's whereabouts, Drax's plotting, family secrets, scheming cousins, hidden passages, coded lists of spies, and a conspiracy to poison the queen. When Edith and Alathea acknowledge Cess's magical powers and initiate her into the covey, she finds herself facing choices that will mean life or death for those she loves. The final chapters answer questions, tie up loose threads, and leave Cess contemplating a future inside Montacute House instead of in the barnyard. Some readers will find that the story gets bogged down in the period details, but it will appeal to fans of historical romance (if they don't mind some fantasy overtones).-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX

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