 | A Sorceress Comes to Call has two equally delightful point-of-view characters: timid Cordelia who longs to break free of her mother, an evil sorceress; and resourceful spinster Hester who longs for love without having to sacrifice her independence. As the book opens, fourteen-year-old Cordelia is under her mother’s magical control, unable to even flick away a fly crawling across her hand. Yet within this helpless situation Cordelia rebels as much as she is able, and we immediately sense that here is a girl who will be fierce and brave if given the chance. Cordelia’s one joy in life is riding Falada, a beautiful, white more-than-horse. On some rides she meets a kind neighbor girl, whom she doesn't dare befriend. |
Throughout the story, Cordelia is kind-hearted, despite her mother’s cruelty, and we recognize her yearning for human connection beyond her mother’s sphere of influence.
 | We meet Hester in Chapter 3, when she awakens with a sense of impending doom. This Doom takes the form of Cordelia’s mother, who comes to seduce Hester’s bachelor brother. The bulk of the book involves Hester and her friends trying to thwart the sorceress and Cordelia learning to navigate the world of the gentry without inciting her critical mother’s wrath. A friendship slowly develops between Cordelia and Hester, and it will be these two unlikely heroes who will face down impossible odds to save their family of friends. |
Cordelia’s journey from a stammering ball of fear to self-confidence is fully earned and forms the heart of the novel. But Hester’s need for love, which she denies out of a sense of unworthiness, is equally poignant.
Unfortunately, the novel's climax didn't work for me. I didn't buy the presence of one disembodied character in the final ritual and couldn't picture Falada's transformation. I had to reread it, and even then it didn't move me.
However, the nice wrap-up that followed restored my connection to the story.
Unfortunately, the novel's climax didn't work for me. I didn't buy the presence of one disembodied character in the final ritual and couldn't picture Falada's transformation. I had to reread it, and even then it didn't move me.
However, the nice wrap-up that followed restored my connection to the story.
 | A Sorceress Comes to Call is loosely based on The Goose Girl, a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. In the original, the main character is a princess whose loving mother sends her on a journey to marry a prince. The princess is betrayed by her maid, and forced to live as a goose girl. Her loyal horse Falada is beheaded by order of the evil maid, but his head continues to speak to the princess. The king overhears the horse and unravels the mystery, restoring the princess to her place and punishing the mean maid. |
Although there are similarities between these two stories, T. Kingfisher makes this one wholly her own to craft a story equal parts harrowing and inspiring.
Other favorite books by T. Kingfisher: Nettle & Bone, Thornhedge, What Moves the Dead.
Other favorite books by T. Kingfisher: Nettle & Bone, Thornhedge, What Moves the Dead.
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