A Sorceress Comes to Call

by T. Kingfisher

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The author of Nettle & Bone and What Moves the Dead returns with a creepy take on a classic tale in this story of a mother and daughter whose relationship is more complicated than most...

From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes A Sorceress Comes to Call—a dark reimagining of the Brothers Grimm's "The Goose Girl," rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic.

*The hardcover edition features a foil stamp on the casing and custom endpapers illustrated by the author.*

Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him.

But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t evil sorcerers.

When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older Squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother's next victims. But Cordelia feels at home for the very first time among these people, and as her mother's plans darken, she must decide how to face the woman who raised her to save the people who have become like family.

"Kingfisher never fails to dazzle."—Peter S. Beagle, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning author of The Last Unicorn

"Kingfisher is an inventive fantasy powerhouse."—BookPage

Also by T. Kingfisher

Nettle & Bone

Thornhedge

What Moves the Dead

What Feasts at Night

A House with Good Bones

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250244079
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/06/2024
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	124
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 5.70(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

T. KINGFISHER writes fantasy, horror, and occasional oddities, including Nettle & Bone, What Moves the Dead, and A House with Good Bones. Under a pen name, she also writes bestselling children's books. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, cats, and absolutely no horses.

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/20/2024

With this riff on the Brothers Grimm’s “The Goose Girl,” set in a fantasy world inspired by Regency romances, Hugo Award winner Kingfisher (Nettle & Bone) continues her hot streak of deeply compassionate, thrilling, and often laugh-out-loud fairy tale retellings. Cordelia, 14, grows up in a house without closed doors. Her mother, Evangeline, is a dangerous enchantress who regularly compels her into total obedience. The first time Cordelia’s allowed some privacy is when Evangeline moves them into the home of her suitor, Squire Samuel Chatham—a home Evangeline means to seize and remake to her specifications by whatever means necessary. The Squire’s sister, Lady Hester, feels an awful presentiment of doom and is on the defensive around Evangeline, but only Cordelia knows the true, murderous extent of her mother’s powers. Can Cordelia speak up against a mother who controls her so completely? Would Hester even believe her if she did? The dual narrators—terrified fish-out-of-water Cordelia and tenaciously sensible Hester—are nuanced, distinctive, and frequently funny. Kingfisher’s remarkable skill for crafting scene-stealing secondary characters is also on full display in ruthless cardsharp Imogen Strauss, über-competent butler Willard, merry widow Penelope Green, and the mysteriously magical horse Falada. Expertly blending humor with folkloric horror, this incredibly satisfying fantasy will delight Kingfisher’s fans and newcomers alike. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Expertly blending humor with folkloric horror, this incredibly satisfying fantasy will delight Kingfisher’s fans and newcomers alike.”—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"This is another one of Kingfisher’s marvelous works (like the Hugo-winning Nettle & Bone) that takes elements of fairy tales, myths, and legends and blends them into a story that feels both familiar and new at the same time while subtly weaving a novel where women play the parts that men traditionally filled, and men serve as helpmeets, sidekicks, and love interests. . . . Highly recommended for readers who enjoy reimagined legends.”—Library Journal, STARRED review

"Dark fantasy fans will be enraptured by the descriptive narrative and well-developed characters.”—Booklist, STARRED review

Praise for the works of T. Kingfisher:

"Full of melancholy charm. . . . such a pleasure to read."—The New York Times

"T. Kingfisher’s delicate, bittersweet style of fantasy is like nothing else on shelves at the moment. . . . a perfect blend of sharp-edged humor and horror-tinged heart."—Paste

"Kingfisher never fails to dazzle."—Peter S. Beagle, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning author of The Last Unicorn

"Kingfisher’s fairyland is full of teeth, wonder and horror; what’s dark is very dark, but what’s good will give you warmth. By the last page, my heart was mended.”—NPR

"A wonderful entwining of darkness & whimsy."—Travis Baldree, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Legends & Lattes

"Refreshing. . . . a true comfort read, in which gentleness endures despite outrageous cruelty.”—The Washington Post

"Absolutely delightful and full of charm and truth."—Naomi Novik, New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly Education and Uprooted

From the Publisher

★ 05/01/2024

Cordelia's mother is an evil, murderous, self-centered sorceress who has decided to entrap a rich squire and set them up in style so that Cordelia can trap an even richer husband with her magic. But the sorceress has picked the wrong mark, and it will be her downfall. It's not the squire she's up against—it's his sister. Hester sees right through the sorceress, with some surprising assistance from an increasingly desperate Cordelia. Together, they marshal their forces in the hopes of defeating the sorceress and winning freedom. This is another one of Kingfisher's marvelous works (like the Hugo-winning Nettle & Bone) that takes elements of fairy tales, myths, and legends and blends them into a story that feels both familiar and new at the same time while subtly weaving a novel where women play the parts that men traditionally filled, and men serve as helpmeets, sidekicks, and love interests. Even better, the middle-aged heroine both saves the day and gets her happily-ever-after. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers who enjoy reimagined legends.—Marlene Harris

Library Journal

Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens narrate a haunting reimagining of the fairy tale "The Goose Girl." Cordelia lives with her mother, an enchantress, in a house with no doors. When her mother decides to marry the local squire, Cordelia and his sister, Hester, form an unlikely alliance. Pickens's portrayal of Cordelia's developing independence is breathtaking. A victim of both emotional and physical abuse, primarily via magic, she is desperate to escape, terrified of being caught but ultimately willing to do what needs to be done. Foss's portrayal of Hester's fear for her brother's safety and rage at her own lack of agency is sadly believable--and utterly staggering when channeled into a showdown against the ruthless enchantress and her familiar. K.M.P. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

JULY 2024 - AudioFile