Books by Robin McKinley [updated]
Beauty
Beauty is a very delicate and delightful retelling of the classic fairytale 'Beauty and the Beast'. The story itself is well-known enough to require no plot synopsis on my part, but McKinley manages to imbue what can often be a silly Gothic novel with charm and magic.
When Beauty's father picks a rose at the castle of the Beast, little does he realise that he has entered into an irrevocable contract with the master of the magical castle. Beauty, far from being a lovely, fragile heroine is a down to earth woman with a love of books and animals. The Beast is a tragic figure with the form of a wild animal and the eyes of a trapped human and the story which unfolds is as compelling as it is novel.
Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast must have borrowed heavily from McKinley's Beauty, and there is a delightful juxtaposition of pragmatism while sorcery and enchantment peer out from behind the trees. The characters are likeable, the writing concise yet evocative and I highly recommend this novel. On a frivolous note - there are some great descriptions of delicious food in this book!!!!
Blurb from 1993 Harper Trophy Paperback Edition:
An unfortunate nickname.
Sixteen-year-old beauty has never liked her nickname. Thin, awkward, and undersized, with big hands and huge feet, she has always thought of herself as the plainest girl in her family - certainly not nearly as lovely as her elder sisters, Hope and Grace. But what she lacks in looks, she makes up for in courage. When her father comes home one day with the strange tale of an enchanted castle in the wood and the terrible promise he has made to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows what she must do. She must go to the castle and tame the Beast - if such a thing is possible ...
Here is the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple: Beauty ... and the Beast.
Amazon:
This much-loved retelling of the classic French tale Beauty and the Beast elicits the familiar magical charm, but is more believable and complex than the traditional story. In this version, Beauty is not as beautiful as her older sisters, who are both lovely and kind. Here, in fact, Beauty has no confidence in her appearance but takes pride in her own intelligence, her love of learning and books, and her talent in riding. She is the most competent of the three sisters, which proves essential when they are forced to retire to the country because of their father's financial ruin.
"The plot follows that of the renowned legend: Beauty selflessly agrees to inhabit the Beast's castle to spare her father's life. Beauty's gradual acceptance of the Beast and the couple's deepening trust and affection are amplified in novel form. Robin McKinley's writing has the flavor of another century, and Beauty heightens the authenticity as a reliable and competent narrator.
"This was McKinley's first book, written almost 20 years ago. Since that time she has been awarded the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown and has delighted her fans with another retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fable, Rose Daughter. Still, McKinley's first novel has a special place in the hearts of her devoted readers, many of whom attest to relishing Beauty time and again."
What others have said:
A captivating novel - ALA Booklist
A splendid story - Publishers Weekly
The Blue Sword
It doesn't take much for me to be inspired to re-read a Robin McKinley book, and now that I think about it, I've always taken my somewhat battered, well-thumbed ten year old copy of The Blue Sword with me whenever I've travelled anywhere.
The first Robin McKinley novel I read was Beauty and I loved it. I mentioned it to a friend who had The Hero and the Crown so we swapped novels and read, and then it was a race to see who was able to get The Blue Sword first.
Order of books
I'm extremely embarrassed, but I cannot remember which book I read first. Sometimes I think it was The Blue Sword, sometimes I think it was The Hero and the Crown.
Robin McKinley has previously stated at the Readerville Forum:
Also, there isn't anything I can do about this, but it makes me kind of nuts that the world keeps second guessing me. I wrote SWORD first and HERO second BECAUSE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO READ THEM IN THAT ORDER, but because HERO is a 'prequel' lots of people, especially people like the marketing department of your friendly local publisher, and library and bookstore list-makers, think they're going to be clever and helpful and tell potential readers to read the books 'in order' ie HERO first. Wrong. One of the big things I'm trying to fool around with is the concept of the 'hero': Harry has to live with the idea of the seven-league-boots Aerin who must have been Perfect. Then you read about Aerin and find out that it wasn't like that at all from her perspective.
The Blue Sword was Newbery Honor Book in 1983, ALA Best Book for Young Adults in 1982 and ALA Notable Children's Book in 1982. Chronologically, The Blue Sword is set after the events in The Hero and the Crown, but it was actually written before it. McKinley has created Damar, a land of beauty and enchantment. The lush, rather wild world described in The Hero and the Crown and Aerin have entered the mythology of the country, and Damar is a land very much in need of its heroes. The comparatively benign evil of colonialism by the 'Outlanders' is an interesting contrast to the barbaric and rather more honest invasion by the Northerners who are led by a powerful evil mage.
Some of the descriptions I have read that purport to summarise The Blue Sword don't quite seem to capture it - in my view anyway.
For instance, Booklist says:
Harry Crewe, kidnapped by the king of the mysterious Free Hillfolk, learns that she possesses untrained magic powers and is destined to follow in the footsteps of a legendary female warrior. "A zesty, romantic heroic fantasy with an appealingly stalwart heroine, a finely realized mythical kingdom, and a grounding in reality that enhances the tale's verve as a fantasy.
Or worse still, Ingram says this:
Harry, bored with her sheltered life in the remote orange-growing colony of Daria, discovers magic in herself when she is kidnapped by a native king with mysterious powers
Makes her sound like some sort of fruit orchard super heroine or something. OK, here is a deeply dodgy review that always makes me cringe. What is with the factual errors?
Critique of Margery Fisher's Review of the Fantasy Novel - The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Margery Fisher, in an article in Growing Point Magazine, offers a colorful review of the fantasy novel The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. Although she could provide more concrete details from the book, Fisher's effective approach and clever audience appeal entice readers' curiosity. If Fisher provided a clearer view of the characters like explaining that Harry Crewe is an orphaned young woman living with her aunt and uncle in a barren desert, and Corlath is the fiery, fierce, yet short-statured king over the foreign land Damar the concrete information would revitalize her colorful images of warfare and landscape. If she explained that Corlath's kelar, or his psychic power, commanded him to take Harry to the land of Damar to train her as a warrior, the awkwardness of the situation would clarify the fact that the romance between Corlath and Harry was sharply suggested yet barely expressed by McKinley. But these few details were the only things missing in Fisher's review to make it effective.
Fisher sparks the readers' curiosity about the setting, characters, and plot by employing the same rich language McKinley himself used. Readers will find themselves wanting to know for themselves the richly depicted scenes and the sharply suggested moods, about Harry Crewe and Corlath and the diplomats and soldiers, about the chivalric warfare, and three-cornered conflict in the novel. She tastefully involves the reader by presenting the most intriguing aspects of the book the setting of war combined with beautiful landscape, the underlying, implicit romance between Harry Crewe and Corlath, and the conflict and unclear line between good and evil and lets the reader decide which is the most important She knows her target audience well: Readers who will enjoy The Blue Sword will also like other fantasy adventures, and from the outset Fisher draws connections to other fantasy authors like Kipling and Ethel M. Dell. Readers who will be intrigued by McKinley's rich language will first be drawn to the same language employed by Fisher. On the whole, Margery Fisher does a fine job giving readers a taste of McKinleys compelling piece of fiction.
It's also hard to get a feel for the novel from the review 'quotes' that abound:
"A new language, a new landscape, and a new people -- all unforgettable!"
- Horn Book
"Any book that, at one point or another, reminded me of The Sheikh, Gunga Din, Islandia, and The Lord of the Rings, can't be anything but a true original."
- Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
"McKinley knows her geography of fantasy, the nuances of the language, the atmosphere of magic..."
- The Washington Post
"This is a zesty, romantic heroic fantasy with an appealingly stalwart herione, a finely realized mythical kingdom, and a grounding in reality that enhances the tale's verve as a fantasy."
- ALA Booklist (starred review)
"McKinley has reworked many familiar mythological motifs into a tale that is completely fresh; her spare and eloquent prose is sheer delight. The novel succeeds not only as a fantasy/adventure, but also as a compelling portrait of the vibrant, wryly humorous Harry."
- School Library Journal (starred review)
"It is a fresh and interesting setting for a novel of high fantasy. Like the desert air, the tone is open and bright and brilliant."
- Marilyn H. Karrenbrock, Dictionary of Literary Biography
I think the blurb from the Ace paperback edition captures the flavour rather well.
This is the story of Corlath, golden-eyed king of the Free Hillfolk, son of the sons of the Lady Aerin.
And this is the story of Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl who became Harimad-sol, King's Rider, and heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan, that no woman had wielded since the Lady Aerin herself bore it into battle.
And this is the song of the kelar of the Hillfolk, the magic of the blood, the weaver of destinies... THE BLUE SWORD.
"What have swords and -" Harry gulped, for she loved the horse Sungold already - "and war-horses to do with me?"
"When you tasted the Water of Sight you saw a war-party coming to battle," replied Corlath. "I and all my Riders heard you cry out - in the ancient tongue of our forebears, the tongue that was spoken when Damar was one land, a great and green land, before . . ."
Before my people came, Harry thought, but she was not going to say it aloud if he was not.
I also quite like the blurb from the Orbit / Futura paperback version:
Damar. A land of mountains and plain, of fertile valleys and great forests, of streams as clear and sparkling as the air its people breathe. a frontier land, squeezed between the Homelanders' stuffy empire and the demon-ridden kingdoms of the North. A land of mystery and legend, of Hillfolk with strange powers they can barely control, to whom honour is a living thing, and courage an essential of humanity.
The Blue Sword is the first in a series of fantasies set in that enchanted land. It tells of Harry (Angharad) Crewe, and how she came by mysterious ways to Damar and its kind. There she came under the protection of fire-haired Aerin, fabled queen of long ago, and learned to wield Aerin's Gonturan, the Blue Sword, Dragon-killer, agains the legions of the North. And so became herself a legend, to Damar's weal, and demons' woe.
So there you have it, Harry (Angharad) Crewe is a young woman who has recently been orphaned and comes to join Richard, her only living relation in 'Daria', the Homelander name for the land annexed and occupied by the Homelanders. The novel describes Harry's discovery of both herself and of her new home.
Daria is the name given to the desert land by its conquerors and Damar, the wild land in the hills is all that remains of the 'free' lands. Homelander society appears similar in many ways to Victorian England, and the Homelanders are clearly a Colonial power with "Home" being Mother England. "Outlander" is the name used by the Damarians when referring to the invaders.
As someone who doesn't "fit in", Harry takes a little time to become accustomed to the strangeness of her new life, but in time discovers that she has an inexplicable fondness for the inexplicably familiar land which most Homelanders dislike or at best learn to tolerate with grim acceptance.
Blue Sword versus Hero and the Crown
There tends to be an interesting split between people who prefer The Blue Sword and those who prefer The Hero and the Crown. I am staunchly in the camp that prefers The Blue Sword as I think that the characters in The Blue Sword are much more down to earth and likeable.
When I read The Blue Sword, I was completely entranced. I really liked the characterisation I read recently of The Blue Sword being 'yellow like the desert' and The Hero and the Crown being red.
For me, The Blue Sword was a wonderful, exhilarating read - almost like having your own adventure. The Hero and the Crown has never been a favourite, but that has not been because it was a bad book. It's a much darker book, when I think about it. We have a land of demons to the North, a woman who is willing to sacrifice her life to bear an all important child. This is a woman who is bitterly disappointed with the child's sex and literally dies of despair. The story has elements of extreme isolation, humiliation, loneliness and disappointment. Coupled with that, evil pervades the book and even at its conclusion, there is a bittersweet notion of Aerin 'settling' with Tor when her destiny and her love is dual.
By comparison, The Blue Sword is an optimistic book. Throughout the novel, Harry and Corlath remain unshaken in their resolve. 'The Hero and the Crown' on the other hand has moments where the characters are shaken with incredible self doubt - for instance, Maur's dark and subliminal influence, Aerin's inner struggle when confronting her uncle, and also her own choices about staying with Luthe or returning to Tor and her mortal responsibilities. Harry has always seemed much more likeable and fallible to me, whereas Aerin's 'hero' status, separated her from ordinary people. Combined with that, I've always disliked love triangles, Arthurian or otherwise. Disliked is probably too tame a word, I loathe love triangles with a passion. It's only because I adore McKinley's work so much that I continue to re-read The Hero and the Crown even though the love triangle always makes me ache. Robin herself had this to say:
Robin McKinley - 11:49pm Jul 14, 2001 PST (#155 of 637)
"I wasn't at all sure what was going to happen between Aerin and Tor after she realised she was in love with Luthe. (I like Tor a lot, by the way: I don't consider him second best. He's just stuck with circumstances, the way a lot of us are.) My own belief is that any writer who knows EXACTLY the way a story goes has a dead story. This is in the FAQ. But the point here is that by virtue of their own live energy your characters are going to surprise you. "
As someone who absolutely adored Tor, didn't think he was boring and was very sad on his behalf that Aerin never really seemed to fully appreciate him for - I'll keep re-reading Hero and the Crown and wish each time that Aerin would open her eyes earlier on.
I think that I'll always like The Blue Sword more. Even when I'm re-reading, I read every single word, but in The Hero and the Crown, I am conscious of moments where I'll hurry along and skim parts of which I am not particularly fond. The Blue Sword also had a number of very likeable secondary characters - Senay, Terim, Colonel Dedham, Mathin, Kentarre and Senay's little sister Rilly who I imagine would have grown up to be a Damalur Sol herself.
Corlath
Another extremely shallow reason I liked Blue Sword more is that I love Corlath. I know that some people didn't like Corlath. I've heard him very unjustly described as: "a stubborn, stupid, contolling [sic] twit". The same reader went on to say:
I love the book and have reread it many times and each time I don't get any hint that Corlath thinks anything of Harry other than bewilderment, frustration and upon occasion, protectiveness like an older brother. And I think that Harry feels that she has to prove herself to him much like a younger sister proving to an older brother that she is finally a woman and to quit bugging her. No I am not a Corlath admirer and I probably never will be.
It just goes to show that there can be so many different interpretations of the same set of words.
First encounter between Harry and Corlath
I've always loved this scene. Robin McKinley has the whole paragraph extracted on her website. What happens is this - Corlath is at the Homelander Residency to attempt to seek co-operation from the Homelanders in a defence against the Northerners. The clash of cultures and understandings results in an impasse, the talks fail and Corlath leaves in fury. This is Harry's (and the reader's) first glimpse of Corlath.
...The man in white was tall, though no taller than Richard or Sir Charles. But there was a quivering in the air around him, like the heat haze over the desert, shed from his white sleeves, cast off by the shadows of his scarlet sash. Those who stood near him looked small and pale and vague, while this man was so bright he hurt the eyes. More men came quietly out behind the Homelanders and stood a little to one side, but they kept their eyes on their king. He could be no one else. This must be Corlath.
Take that, oh reviewer who said that Corlath was "short-statured".
Harry took a deep breath. He didn't look insane or inhuman. He did look uncooperative. He shook his head and frowned at something someone said, and Sir Charles looked very unhappy. Corlath shrugged, and made a sweeping movement with his arms, like a man coming out of a forest gratefully into the sunlight. He took a long step forward to the edge of the verandah.
The whole scene reads like a long moment in time which takes place when you're holding your breath in suspense. There's a heightened sensitivity and awareness - Harry is completely mesmerised by Corlath's presence, barely daring to move or breathe. In fact, it appears as if all the Homelanders are enspelled by the presence of the Hill King.
Corlath swung around again, and set his foot on the top stair, and no one moved to stop him. Five men in the loose robes of the Hillfolk separated themselves from the verandah shadows and made to follow. Harry found she could not take her eyes off the king, but from the corners of her eyes she noticed that the other men too wore vivid sashes: gold and orange and green and blue and purple. There was nothing to indicate the king but the glitter of his presence.
Harry stood only a few feet from the bottom step, holding her pony's bridle. Cassie and Beth were somewhere behind her, and the stable boy stood frozen a few steps from her elbow. Corlath still had not noticed them, and Harry stared, fascinated, as he came nearer. There seemed a roaring in the air that beat on her ear-drums and pressed against her eyeballs till she blinked. Then he looked up abruptly, as if from some unfathomable depth of thought, and saw her: their eyes met.
It's a wonderful, amazing moment when these two meet for the first time. Quite a change from the cliched "their eyes met across a crowded room ….." scenario.
The man's eyes were yellow as gold, the hot liquid gold in a smelter's furnace. Harry found it suddenly difficult to breathe, and understood the expression on Dedham's face; she almost staggered. Her hand tightened on the bridle, and the pony dropped its head and mouthed the bit uncomfortably. The heat was incredible. It was as though a thousand desert suns beat down on her. Magic? she thought from inside the thunder. Is this what magic is?
The passage contains one of my favourite quotes from the novel:
I come from a cold country, where the witches live in cool green forests. What am I doing here?
Duel between Harry and Corlath
This is the favourite scene of a lot of people. I have so many 'favourites' in this book and this is indeed one of them. How gratifying that Robin herself likes the scene too:
Robin McKinley - 09:13am Jul 10, 2001 PST (#100 of 637)
Oh, and no, the business of slicing your opponent's sash off as proof that you are the neater and more precise swordsperson is my idea--it may exist somewhere, but this Damarian contest presented itself to me without the prompting of real-world research.
I also, just by the way, love that bit, when Harry realises she's totally outmatched and decides to try something a little different, and rather than going for the sash, which is what she's supposed to do by the rules of the duel, tries for the scarf instead, to 'unmask' whoever it is. And then it turns out to be Corlath. Phew! This is one of my favourite scenes.
What don't I like?
Not a lot. I love every word that's in this book. The only shortcoming is that it's too short. I agree with some of the reviewers who have said that the battle scene itself seemed somewhat short and that there was a large build-up and a very brief climax. Then again, it's possibly consistent with the novel in the sense that the conflict between Corlath and Harry was that while he was focussing on the 'big picture', he was missing his possible Achilles Heel ie the Madamer Gate. Therefore, it's not really a shortcoming at all. Even if this novel was as long as War and Peace it probably wouldn't have been long enough for me.
A little thing that has always nagged me about the ending of 'The Blue Sword' - and it's really just a silly little thing:
They took the children with them - Aerin was followed by Jack, and Jack by Hari, as the years passed - for Luthe was fond of children.
What about poor little Tor Mathin? Didn't he get taken to the valley as well? I certainly hope that they didn't leave him behind simply because Luthe disliked his namesake. I must say I was never very impressed with Luthe's disdain towards Tor even though it was to a certain extent understandable in view of his affection for Aerin.
What happens to Damar?
I've always wondered about the eventual fate of 'Damar'. The Damar mentioned in The Blue Sword as a result of colonisation by the Homelanders is a much smaller and limited Damar than the one that existed in days of old. While conquest may have been traded for treaty, the eventual encroachment of the Homelanders seems inevitable when you think about the path of most colonies. I often wonder whether the pitiful remains of Damar in the Hills would have existed for much longer. Would a third book about Damar be about its end? Damar is only likely to get smaller rather than larger, and perhaps Damarians themselves would eventually become extinct. What a depressing thought.
Favourite quotes
"She had never cared much for beauty, although she was aware that she lacked it and that her position might have been a little easier if she had not."
"They say that in Corlath, the old kings have come again." (Dedham)
"She was accustomed to hearing the other young people refer to 'that hateful desert' and 'the dreadful sun'"
"…tried to separate those like herself who actually enjoyed being scratchy with blown sand and headachy from glare, from those like Cassie and Beth who were merely cheerfully adaptable."
"Avoid the Outlanders, if you can. They can't, or won't, understand us; they don't recognize horses from oxen, and will try to put the yoke on you that they have hung on the rest of our land. But their strength is the strength of numbers and of stubbornness and persistance; do not underestimate it."
The above quote was Corlath's father about Outlanders and reminds me of a quote from the Daniel Day Lewis' character Nathaniel from the movie "The Last of the Mohicans":
Chingachgook told me, "Don't try to understand them; and don't try to make them understand you. For they are a breed apart and make no sense."
"And if the Outlanders won? Corlath did not know how many troops the Outlanders had to throw into the battle, once the battle was engaged; they would learn, terribly, of kelar at Thurra's hands. But even kelar was limited at last; and the Outlanders were stubborn, and in their stubbornness, courageous; often they were stupid; oftener ineffectual, and they believe nothing they could not see with their own eyes. But they did try hard, but their lights, and they were often kind. If the Outlanders won, they would send doctors and farmers and seeds and plows and bricklayers, and within a generation his people would be as faceless as the rest of the Outlander Darians. And the Outlanders were very able administrators, by sheer brute persistence. What they once got their hands on, they held. There would be on rebellion that Corlath would ever see."
"But he hated to see his people unhappy - because he was a good king, not because he was a nervous one…"
"Then to the horror of the other two men, the puzzlement of Fireheart, and the surprise of Harry herself, Corlath knelt in the sand and offered her his cupped hands. She put a sandy foot in the hands, and was tossed up as easily as if she were a butterfly or a flower petal. She found this a bit unnerving."
"…and Corlath threw her into the saddle again while his men bit their lips and averted their eyes."
Deerskin
In Deerskin, McKinley tackles her most 'adult' novel to date. Based on the old fairytale 'Donkeyskin', Deerskin describes the events in the life of a young princess named Lissa, whose mother, the Queen, was the most beautiful woman in the world. The Queen upon her deathbed made her handsome husband swear a terrible vow that he would not wed again unless the woman was as beautiful as she is. The Queen then dies, safe in the knowledge that her husband will never wed again.
To Lissa's profound misfortune, she grows into a young woman who equals and exceeds her mother's renowned beauty. Like many of McKinley's heroines, Lissa is a lonely woman with only her nurse and her beloved dog Ash for company. As Lissa grows in beauty, the King is enspelled and the results of his unnatural lust are tragic and inevitable.
Lissa flees from the palace, half-maddened by grief, pain and shock and finds herself in a primative cabin in the middle of a forest. Sheltered by this safe haven, she is able to rediscovery her sanity and her own body and her voyage of self-discovery is as painful as it is necessary. After confronting what has happened to her, Lissa encounters a mysterious woman who appears to be watching over her plight and when she awakens, discovers that her dark hair has turned as white as the moon, her amber eyes as black and unfathomable as the night and her short-haired dog Ash has grown a long, curly coat. She also discovers that she is wearing a white gown of deerskin which like her hair and eyes, is a disguise to shield her terrified soul from the outside world.
Leaving her haven and re-entering the world, Lissa's unearthly appearance makes people think that she is the Moon-Woman, a woman of myth who was raped by a spurned suit and left to die. In a new kingdom far from her old home, new friends allow her to gradually trust again and when she is given a job at the palace tending the doomed puppies of the Prince's beloved bitch. The prince is an awkward, clumsy and unspectacular young man, but his devotion, kindness and dedication further help to ease Lissa's mistrust of the world.
In a fashion similar to McKinley's heroine Aerin, from 'The Hero and the Crown', Lissa travels the kingdom doing good deeds, further convincing the people that she is indeed the Moon Woman.
Deerskin is an extraordinary juxtaposition of darkness and light, despair and hope. Lissa's life in the old kingdom is contrasted with the new life she has made for herself and this book is the epitome of the old adage: 'Do not fear the shadows, for they mean that there is light nearby'. This book isn't 'enjoyable' in the commonly accepted sense of the word, but it is detailed and very well-written and it is also highly recommended.
The Hero and the Crown
'The Hero and the Crown' should read like a myth or legend, but it somehow manages to escape being lengthy and ponderous. I found it a much darker novel than The Blue Sword as Aerin the fiery-haired heroine was forced to confront Evil in a way that Harry did not. Perhaps the darkness of dragons and despair pervaded the novel.
The storyline is simple enough. A frail, young woman crosses the border from the North into Damar. She is beautiful and the King of Damar falls in love with her and marries her despite the instinctive distrust of his people. The woman is dying and longs desperately for a son, for she believes that only a son is capable of wielding the power which will defeat her brother, the evil Ruler of the North. When she is delivered of Aerin, a girl-child, the hope leaves her spirit and she dies, leaving her child behind to its fate.
Aerin grows up as an isolated and awkward young child into a misunderstood and lonely young woman, beloved only by her nurse who mothers her, her father who does not understand her, and Tor her childhood friend who has always defended her and loved her - yet been constrained by his position as a nobleman of the court. Lacking 'kelar', the magic of royalty, she is reviled and mocked, particularly by the beautiful, malicious Galanna whose ambiton is rivalled only by her stupidity.
The novel tells of Aerin's struggle to discovery acceptance in a world which regards women and foreigners with distrust.
Blurb from 1985 Orbit paperback edition:
"It was not that she left what she loved to go where she must, but that her destiny, like her love, like her heritage, was double."
Aerin was the only child to the king of Damar. But her mother was a witchwoman of the North, and no true Damarian could trust one with blood so tainted.
Yet Aerin - tall, awkward, independent, red-haired - was destined to become Aerin FIre-Hair, wielder of Conturan, the Blue Sword, slayer of Maur, the Black Dragon, and of the evil mage Agsded, restorer to the royal line of the Hero's Crown: an inspiraiton and a legend to her people, memorably human, but rather more than mortal.
What others have said:
As richly detailed as a medieval tapestry ... the flavour of ancient legend permeates the style without overpowering the plot. Vibrant, witty, compelling ... the stuff of which true dreams are made - The Horn Book
A dazzling lesson in fantasy-spinning, a completely rounded world of the imagination.... a journey of the spirit. - The Guardian
Outlaws of Sherwood
Blurb from the 1989 Ace paperback edition
Robin McKinley, Newbery Award-winning author of The Hero and the Crown, brings to life the classic tale of Robin Hood and reveals the legendary characters as they must have been: flesh and blood outlaws who risked the gallows and the sword for the sake of justice . . . Let the rich and wicked beware!
Blurb from the 1989 Orbit paperback edition
In the reign of Richard the Lionheart, a young forester set out for Nottingham Fair, but never reached there. Instead, he strode into myth and legend as Robin Hood, England's greatest champion of the poor and oppressed.
Robin McKinley, award-winning author of The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword has woven a brilliant retelling of the Robin Hood myth, featuring all the well-loved characters. Like T.H. White in The Once and Future King, she has taken a classic English folktale/myth/reality and turned it into a fable for the Twentieth Century.
What others have said:
McKinley knows her geography of fantasy ... the nuances of language, the atmosphere of magic. - Washington Post
In the tradition of T.H. White's reincarnation of King Arthur, a novel that brings Robin Hood and his men delightfully to life. - Kirkus Reviews
A solid piece of tale-weaving ... a rousing good time ... ingenious! - Publishers Weekly
"The dazzling prequel to The Blue Sword follows the adventures of the Damarian king's daughter, Aerin, as she fights to claim both birthright and love. Splendid high fantasy . . . superb, filled with tender moments, good characters, satisfying action and sparkling dialogue." - School Library Journal
"The classic tale of Robin Hood gets a new lift as real flesh-and-blood outlaws, on the lam from the gallows and the sword, fight for the sake of justice. Robin and his merry cohorts swing through the forest in these fresh additions to the timeless stories."
My thoughts
As I've said, I re-read Robin McKinley's books with great regularity. She's one of those authors who has the knack of writing a book that I love to read again and again. 'Outlaws of Sherwood' is a particular favourite. I've never even been particuarly interested in the Robin Hood legend and so it was quite a surprised to discover myself being drawn to the the lifelike, humorous characters who like all McKinley creations are somehow down to earth despite their extraordinary situations.
In this retelling of the Robin Hood story, Robin is an ordinary young man who wants nothing more than to live a peaceful life. The last thing he wants is to be forced into a life of infamy and notoriety. The last thing he wants is to be Robin "Normanslayer" or "Sheriff's-bane". It is with great chagrin he learns that he is called Robin "King of Sherwood" and he is a reluctant hero. I love the host of secondary characters - Marian, Much, Will Scarlet, Cecil, Little John and the rest of the outlaws of Sherwood.
Rose Daughter
Booklist - Sally Estes Copyright© 1997, American Library Association
"Almost 20 years after her well-received, award-winning Beauty (1978), McKinley reexplores and reexpands on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. This is not a sequel, but a new novelization that is fuller bodied, with richer characterizations and a more mystical, darker edge. Although the Library of Congress catalogs it in the 398s, the book really belongs on the fiction shelves alongside Beauty.
The familiar plot is here, but the slant is quite different, though Beauty's sisters are once again loving rather than hostile as in de Beaumont's original version. A few scenes are reminiscent of Beauty. For example, in the dining room scenes in the castle, Beauty eats but the Beast merely is present: 'I am a Beast; I cannot eat like a man.'
In Rose Daughter, Beauty has an affinity for flower gardening, particularly roses, because of her memories of her deceased mother; it is a talent that serves her in good stead as she nurtures the Beast's dying rose garden. Also, in some nicely done foreshadowing, Beauty suffers from recurring dreams of a long, dark corridor and something -- a monster? -- waiting for her at the end. Rose Cottage, where Beauty and her family settle after the father's financial downfall, and the nearby town and its residents, as well as the opulence of the Beast's castle and the devastation of his rose garden, are vividly depicted. Among the fantasy elements are a prescient cat, the spirit of the greenwitch who willed Rose Cottage to Beauty's family, unicorns, and preternatural Guardians. There is more background on the Beast in this version, allowing readers to see how he came to be bewitched, and Beauty's choice at the end, a departure from that in Beauty, is just so right. Readers will be enchanted, in the best sense of the word."
Spindle's End
Luc Duplessis review at Amazon.com
"Probably best known for the fantasy novels The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley also has a gift for the skillful retelling of folktales. Although her work appeals to both adult and young adult readers, her themes, as in Deerskin, can occasionally be disturbing. This is not the case in Spindle's End, which is a delightfully light, though never superficial, reimagining of Sleeping Beauty.
"In a land where magic is as thick as dust and about as much of a nuisance, the Queen announces she is about to give birth. To make sure magic doesn't interfere with proceedings, no fewer than 21 fairies are invited to be godmothers at the princess's public Naming Day. Katriona, an apprentice fairy from the rural village of Foggy Bottom, is in the crowd during the ceremony, and witnesses the appearance--in a clap of thunder--of the wicked fairy, Pernicia, who delivers a curse: one day before her 21st birthday, the princess will prick her finger on a spindle, fall into a poisoned sleep, and die. Katriona flees to Foggy Bottom with the infant princess in order to save her.
"For the next 20 years, the princess, known now as Rosie, grows up with Katriona. In describing daily life in the village--the spells, the animals, the ups and downs of human romance--McKinley gives us pitch-perfect dialogue, hard-headed whimsy, and a cast of vital human and animal characters. The plot is stirring and deft, and always overlain with the author's sharp-eyed wisdom. The ending is a happy one--mostly. McKinley understands that nothing ever turns out exactly as hoped, and that a little sorrow makes life's triumphs that much sweeter."
Beauty is a very delicate and delightful retelling of the classic fairytale 'Beauty and the Beast'. The story itself is well-known enough to require no plot synopsis on my part, but McKinley manages to imbue what can often be a silly Gothic novel with charm and magic.
When Beauty's father picks a rose at the castle of the Beast, little does he realise that he has entered into an irrevocable contract with the master of the magical castle. Beauty, far from being a lovely, fragile heroine is a down to earth woman with a love of books and animals. The Beast is a tragic figure with the form of a wild animal and the eyes of a trapped human and the story which unfolds is as compelling as it is novel.
Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast must have borrowed heavily from McKinley's Beauty, and there is a delightful juxtaposition of pragmatism while sorcery and enchantment peer out from behind the trees. The characters are likeable, the writing concise yet evocative and I highly recommend this novel. On a frivolous note - there are some great descriptions of delicious food in this book!!!!
Blurb from 1993 Harper Trophy Paperback Edition:
An unfortunate nickname.
Sixteen-year-old beauty has never liked her nickname. Thin, awkward, and undersized, with big hands and huge feet, she has always thought of herself as the plainest girl in her family - certainly not nearly as lovely as her elder sisters, Hope and Grace. But what she lacks in looks, she makes up for in courage. When her father comes home one day with the strange tale of an enchanted castle in the wood and the terrible promise he has made to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows what she must do. She must go to the castle and tame the Beast - if such a thing is possible ...
Here is the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple: Beauty ... and the Beast.
Amazon:
This much-loved retelling of the classic French tale Beauty and the Beast elicits the familiar magical charm, but is more believable and complex than the traditional story. In this version, Beauty is not as beautiful as her older sisters, who are both lovely and kind. Here, in fact, Beauty has no confidence in her appearance but takes pride in her own intelligence, her love of learning and books, and her talent in riding. She is the most competent of the three sisters, which proves essential when they are forced to retire to the country because of their father's financial ruin.
"The plot follows that of the renowned legend: Beauty selflessly agrees to inhabit the Beast's castle to spare her father's life. Beauty's gradual acceptance of the Beast and the couple's deepening trust and affection are amplified in novel form. Robin McKinley's writing has the flavor of another century, and Beauty heightens the authenticity as a reliable and competent narrator.
"This was McKinley's first book, written almost 20 years ago. Since that time she has been awarded the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown and has delighted her fans with another retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fable, Rose Daughter. Still, McKinley's first novel has a special place in the hearts of her devoted readers, many of whom attest to relishing Beauty time and again."
What others have said:
A captivating novel - ALA Booklist
A splendid story - Publishers Weekly
The Blue Sword
It doesn't take much for me to be inspired to re-read a Robin McKinley book, and now that I think about it, I've always taken my somewhat battered, well-thumbed ten year old copy of The Blue Sword with me whenever I've travelled anywhere.
The first Robin McKinley novel I read was Beauty and I loved it. I mentioned it to a friend who had The Hero and the Crown so we swapped novels and read, and then it was a race to see who was able to get The Blue Sword first.
Order of books
I'm extremely embarrassed, but I cannot remember which book I read first. Sometimes I think it was The Blue Sword, sometimes I think it was The Hero and the Crown.
Robin McKinley has previously stated at the Readerville Forum:
Also, there isn't anything I can do about this, but it makes me kind of nuts that the world keeps second guessing me. I wrote SWORD first and HERO second BECAUSE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO READ THEM IN THAT ORDER, but because HERO is a 'prequel' lots of people, especially people like the marketing department of your friendly local publisher, and library and bookstore list-makers, think they're going to be clever and helpful and tell potential readers to read the books 'in order' ie HERO first. Wrong. One of the big things I'm trying to fool around with is the concept of the 'hero': Harry has to live with the idea of the seven-league-boots Aerin who must have been Perfect. Then you read about Aerin and find out that it wasn't like that at all from her perspective.
The Blue Sword was Newbery Honor Book in 1983, ALA Best Book for Young Adults in 1982 and ALA Notable Children's Book in 1982. Chronologically, The Blue Sword is set after the events in The Hero and the Crown, but it was actually written before it. McKinley has created Damar, a land of beauty and enchantment. The lush, rather wild world described in The Hero and the Crown and Aerin have entered the mythology of the country, and Damar is a land very much in need of its heroes. The comparatively benign evil of colonialism by the 'Outlanders' is an interesting contrast to the barbaric and rather more honest invasion by the Northerners who are led by a powerful evil mage.
Some of the descriptions I have read that purport to summarise The Blue Sword don't quite seem to capture it - in my view anyway.
For instance, Booklist says:
Harry Crewe, kidnapped by the king of the mysterious Free Hillfolk, learns that she possesses untrained magic powers and is destined to follow in the footsteps of a legendary female warrior. "A zesty, romantic heroic fantasy with an appealingly stalwart heroine, a finely realized mythical kingdom, and a grounding in reality that enhances the tale's verve as a fantasy.
Or worse still, Ingram says this:
Harry, bored with her sheltered life in the remote orange-growing colony of Daria, discovers magic in herself when she is kidnapped by a native king with mysterious powers
Makes her sound like some sort of fruit orchard super heroine or something. OK, here is a deeply dodgy review that always makes me cringe. What is with the factual errors?
Critique of Margery Fisher's Review of the Fantasy Novel - The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Margery Fisher, in an article in Growing Point Magazine, offers a colorful review of the fantasy novel The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. Although she could provide more concrete details from the book, Fisher's effective approach and clever audience appeal entice readers' curiosity. If Fisher provided a clearer view of the characters like explaining that Harry Crewe is an orphaned young woman living with her aunt and uncle in a barren desert, and Corlath is the fiery, fierce, yet short-statured king over the foreign land Damar the concrete information would revitalize her colorful images of warfare and landscape. If she explained that Corlath's kelar, or his psychic power, commanded him to take Harry to the land of Damar to train her as a warrior, the awkwardness of the situation would clarify the fact that the romance between Corlath and Harry was sharply suggested yet barely expressed by McKinley. But these few details were the only things missing in Fisher's review to make it effective.
Fisher sparks the readers' curiosity about the setting, characters, and plot by employing the same rich language McKinley himself used. Readers will find themselves wanting to know for themselves the richly depicted scenes and the sharply suggested moods, about Harry Crewe and Corlath and the diplomats and soldiers, about the chivalric warfare, and three-cornered conflict in the novel. She tastefully involves the reader by presenting the most intriguing aspects of the book the setting of war combined with beautiful landscape, the underlying, implicit romance between Harry Crewe and Corlath, and the conflict and unclear line between good and evil and lets the reader decide which is the most important She knows her target audience well: Readers who will enjoy The Blue Sword will also like other fantasy adventures, and from the outset Fisher draws connections to other fantasy authors like Kipling and Ethel M. Dell. Readers who will be intrigued by McKinley's rich language will first be drawn to the same language employed by Fisher. On the whole, Margery Fisher does a fine job giving readers a taste of McKinleys compelling piece of fiction.
It's also hard to get a feel for the novel from the review 'quotes' that abound:
"A new language, a new landscape, and a new people -- all unforgettable!"
- Horn Book
"Any book that, at one point or another, reminded me of The Sheikh, Gunga Din, Islandia, and The Lord of the Rings, can't be anything but a true original."
- Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
"McKinley knows her geography of fantasy, the nuances of the language, the atmosphere of magic..."
- The Washington Post
"This is a zesty, romantic heroic fantasy with an appealingly stalwart herione, a finely realized mythical kingdom, and a grounding in reality that enhances the tale's verve as a fantasy."
- ALA Booklist (starred review)
"McKinley has reworked many familiar mythological motifs into a tale that is completely fresh; her spare and eloquent prose is sheer delight. The novel succeeds not only as a fantasy/adventure, but also as a compelling portrait of the vibrant, wryly humorous Harry."
- School Library Journal (starred review)
"It is a fresh and interesting setting for a novel of high fantasy. Like the desert air, the tone is open and bright and brilliant."
- Marilyn H. Karrenbrock, Dictionary of Literary Biography
I think the blurb from the Ace paperback edition captures the flavour rather well.
This is the story of Corlath, golden-eyed king of the Free Hillfolk, son of the sons of the Lady Aerin.
And this is the story of Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl who became Harimad-sol, King's Rider, and heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan, that no woman had wielded since the Lady Aerin herself bore it into battle.
And this is the song of the kelar of the Hillfolk, the magic of the blood, the weaver of destinies... THE BLUE SWORD.
"What have swords and -" Harry gulped, for she loved the horse Sungold already - "and war-horses to do with me?"
"When you tasted the Water of Sight you saw a war-party coming to battle," replied Corlath. "I and all my Riders heard you cry out - in the ancient tongue of our forebears, the tongue that was spoken when Damar was one land, a great and green land, before . . ."
Before my people came, Harry thought, but she was not going to say it aloud if he was not.
I also quite like the blurb from the Orbit / Futura paperback version:
Damar. A land of mountains and plain, of fertile valleys and great forests, of streams as clear and sparkling as the air its people breathe. a frontier land, squeezed between the Homelanders' stuffy empire and the demon-ridden kingdoms of the North. A land of mystery and legend, of Hillfolk with strange powers they can barely control, to whom honour is a living thing, and courage an essential of humanity.
The Blue Sword is the first in a series of fantasies set in that enchanted land. It tells of Harry (Angharad) Crewe, and how she came by mysterious ways to Damar and its kind. There she came under the protection of fire-haired Aerin, fabled queen of long ago, and learned to wield Aerin's Gonturan, the Blue Sword, Dragon-killer, agains the legions of the North. And so became herself a legend, to Damar's weal, and demons' woe.
So there you have it, Harry (Angharad) Crewe is a young woman who has recently been orphaned and comes to join Richard, her only living relation in 'Daria', the Homelander name for the land annexed and occupied by the Homelanders. The novel describes Harry's discovery of both herself and of her new home.
Daria is the name given to the desert land by its conquerors and Damar, the wild land in the hills is all that remains of the 'free' lands. Homelander society appears similar in many ways to Victorian England, and the Homelanders are clearly a Colonial power with "Home" being Mother England. "Outlander" is the name used by the Damarians when referring to the invaders.
As someone who doesn't "fit in", Harry takes a little time to become accustomed to the strangeness of her new life, but in time discovers that she has an inexplicable fondness for the inexplicably familiar land which most Homelanders dislike or at best learn to tolerate with grim acceptance.
Blue Sword versus Hero and the Crown
There tends to be an interesting split between people who prefer The Blue Sword and those who prefer The Hero and the Crown. I am staunchly in the camp that prefers The Blue Sword as I think that the characters in The Blue Sword are much more down to earth and likeable.
When I read The Blue Sword, I was completely entranced. I really liked the characterisation I read recently of The Blue Sword being 'yellow like the desert' and The Hero and the Crown being red.
For me, The Blue Sword was a wonderful, exhilarating read - almost like having your own adventure. The Hero and the Crown has never been a favourite, but that has not been because it was a bad book. It's a much darker book, when I think about it. We have a land of demons to the North, a woman who is willing to sacrifice her life to bear an all important child. This is a woman who is bitterly disappointed with the child's sex and literally dies of despair. The story has elements of extreme isolation, humiliation, loneliness and disappointment. Coupled with that, evil pervades the book and even at its conclusion, there is a bittersweet notion of Aerin 'settling' with Tor when her destiny and her love is dual.
By comparison, The Blue Sword is an optimistic book. Throughout the novel, Harry and Corlath remain unshaken in their resolve. 'The Hero and the Crown' on the other hand has moments where the characters are shaken with incredible self doubt - for instance, Maur's dark and subliminal influence, Aerin's inner struggle when confronting her uncle, and also her own choices about staying with Luthe or returning to Tor and her mortal responsibilities. Harry has always seemed much more likeable and fallible to me, whereas Aerin's 'hero' status, separated her from ordinary people. Combined with that, I've always disliked love triangles, Arthurian or otherwise. Disliked is probably too tame a word, I loathe love triangles with a passion. It's only because I adore McKinley's work so much that I continue to re-read The Hero and the Crown even though the love triangle always makes me ache. Robin herself had this to say:
Robin McKinley - 11:49pm Jul 14, 2001 PST (#155 of 637)
"I wasn't at all sure what was going to happen between Aerin and Tor after she realised she was in love with Luthe. (I like Tor a lot, by the way: I don't consider him second best. He's just stuck with circumstances, the way a lot of us are.) My own belief is that any writer who knows EXACTLY the way a story goes has a dead story. This is in the FAQ. But the point here is that by virtue of their own live energy your characters are going to surprise you. "
As someone who absolutely adored Tor, didn't think he was boring and was very sad on his behalf that Aerin never really seemed to fully appreciate him for - I'll keep re-reading Hero and the Crown and wish each time that Aerin would open her eyes earlier on.
I think that I'll always like The Blue Sword more. Even when I'm re-reading, I read every single word, but in The Hero and the Crown, I am conscious of moments where I'll hurry along and skim parts of which I am not particularly fond. The Blue Sword also had a number of very likeable secondary characters - Senay, Terim, Colonel Dedham, Mathin, Kentarre and Senay's little sister Rilly who I imagine would have grown up to be a Damalur Sol herself.
Corlath
Another extremely shallow reason I liked Blue Sword more is that I love Corlath. I know that some people didn't like Corlath. I've heard him very unjustly described as: "a stubborn, stupid, contolling [sic] twit". The same reader went on to say:
I love the book and have reread it many times and each time I don't get any hint that Corlath thinks anything of Harry other than bewilderment, frustration and upon occasion, protectiveness like an older brother. And I think that Harry feels that she has to prove herself to him much like a younger sister proving to an older brother that she is finally a woman and to quit bugging her. No I am not a Corlath admirer and I probably never will be.
It just goes to show that there can be so many different interpretations of the same set of words.
First encounter between Harry and Corlath
I've always loved this scene. Robin McKinley has the whole paragraph extracted on her website. What happens is this - Corlath is at the Homelander Residency to attempt to seek co-operation from the Homelanders in a defence against the Northerners. The clash of cultures and understandings results in an impasse, the talks fail and Corlath leaves in fury. This is Harry's (and the reader's) first glimpse of Corlath.
...The man in white was tall, though no taller than Richard or Sir Charles. But there was a quivering in the air around him, like the heat haze over the desert, shed from his white sleeves, cast off by the shadows of his scarlet sash. Those who stood near him looked small and pale and vague, while this man was so bright he hurt the eyes. More men came quietly out behind the Homelanders and stood a little to one side, but they kept their eyes on their king. He could be no one else. This must be Corlath.
Take that, oh reviewer who said that Corlath was "short-statured".
Harry took a deep breath. He didn't look insane or inhuman. He did look uncooperative. He shook his head and frowned at something someone said, and Sir Charles looked very unhappy. Corlath shrugged, and made a sweeping movement with his arms, like a man coming out of a forest gratefully into the sunlight. He took a long step forward to the edge of the verandah.
The whole scene reads like a long moment in time which takes place when you're holding your breath in suspense. There's a heightened sensitivity and awareness - Harry is completely mesmerised by Corlath's presence, barely daring to move or breathe. In fact, it appears as if all the Homelanders are enspelled by the presence of the Hill King.
Corlath swung around again, and set his foot on the top stair, and no one moved to stop him. Five men in the loose robes of the Hillfolk separated themselves from the verandah shadows and made to follow. Harry found she could not take her eyes off the king, but from the corners of her eyes she noticed that the other men too wore vivid sashes: gold and orange and green and blue and purple. There was nothing to indicate the king but the glitter of his presence.
Harry stood only a few feet from the bottom step, holding her pony's bridle. Cassie and Beth were somewhere behind her, and the stable boy stood frozen a few steps from her elbow. Corlath still had not noticed them, and Harry stared, fascinated, as he came nearer. There seemed a roaring in the air that beat on her ear-drums and pressed against her eyeballs till she blinked. Then he looked up abruptly, as if from some unfathomable depth of thought, and saw her: their eyes met.
It's a wonderful, amazing moment when these two meet for the first time. Quite a change from the cliched "their eyes met across a crowded room ….." scenario.
The man's eyes were yellow as gold, the hot liquid gold in a smelter's furnace. Harry found it suddenly difficult to breathe, and understood the expression on Dedham's face; she almost staggered. Her hand tightened on the bridle, and the pony dropped its head and mouthed the bit uncomfortably. The heat was incredible. It was as though a thousand desert suns beat down on her. Magic? she thought from inside the thunder. Is this what magic is?
The passage contains one of my favourite quotes from the novel:
I come from a cold country, where the witches live in cool green forests. What am I doing here?
Duel between Harry and Corlath
This is the favourite scene of a lot of people. I have so many 'favourites' in this book and this is indeed one of them. How gratifying that Robin herself likes the scene too:
Robin McKinley - 09:13am Jul 10, 2001 PST (#100 of 637)
Oh, and no, the business of slicing your opponent's sash off as proof that you are the neater and more precise swordsperson is my idea--it may exist somewhere, but this Damarian contest presented itself to me without the prompting of real-world research.
I also, just by the way, love that bit, when Harry realises she's totally outmatched and decides to try something a little different, and rather than going for the sash, which is what she's supposed to do by the rules of the duel, tries for the scarf instead, to 'unmask' whoever it is. And then it turns out to be Corlath. Phew! This is one of my favourite scenes.
What don't I like?
Not a lot. I love every word that's in this book. The only shortcoming is that it's too short. I agree with some of the reviewers who have said that the battle scene itself seemed somewhat short and that there was a large build-up and a very brief climax. Then again, it's possibly consistent with the novel in the sense that the conflict between Corlath and Harry was that while he was focussing on the 'big picture', he was missing his possible Achilles Heel ie the Madamer Gate. Therefore, it's not really a shortcoming at all. Even if this novel was as long as War and Peace it probably wouldn't have been long enough for me.
A little thing that has always nagged me about the ending of 'The Blue Sword' - and it's really just a silly little thing:
They took the children with them - Aerin was followed by Jack, and Jack by Hari, as the years passed - for Luthe was fond of children.
What about poor little Tor Mathin? Didn't he get taken to the valley as well? I certainly hope that they didn't leave him behind simply because Luthe disliked his namesake. I must say I was never very impressed with Luthe's disdain towards Tor even though it was to a certain extent understandable in view of his affection for Aerin.
What happens to Damar?
I've always wondered about the eventual fate of 'Damar'. The Damar mentioned in The Blue Sword as a result of colonisation by the Homelanders is a much smaller and limited Damar than the one that existed in days of old. While conquest may have been traded for treaty, the eventual encroachment of the Homelanders seems inevitable when you think about the path of most colonies. I often wonder whether the pitiful remains of Damar in the Hills would have existed for much longer. Would a third book about Damar be about its end? Damar is only likely to get smaller rather than larger, and perhaps Damarians themselves would eventually become extinct. What a depressing thought.
Favourite quotes
"She had never cared much for beauty, although she was aware that she lacked it and that her position might have been a little easier if she had not."
"They say that in Corlath, the old kings have come again." (Dedham)
"She was accustomed to hearing the other young people refer to 'that hateful desert' and 'the dreadful sun'"
"…tried to separate those like herself who actually enjoyed being scratchy with blown sand and headachy from glare, from those like Cassie and Beth who were merely cheerfully adaptable."
"Avoid the Outlanders, if you can. They can't, or won't, understand us; they don't recognize horses from oxen, and will try to put the yoke on you that they have hung on the rest of our land. But their strength is the strength of numbers and of stubbornness and persistance; do not underestimate it."
The above quote was Corlath's father about Outlanders and reminds me of a quote from the Daniel Day Lewis' character Nathaniel from the movie "The Last of the Mohicans":
Chingachgook told me, "Don't try to understand them; and don't try to make them understand you. For they are a breed apart and make no sense."
"And if the Outlanders won? Corlath did not know how many troops the Outlanders had to throw into the battle, once the battle was engaged; they would learn, terribly, of kelar at Thurra's hands. But even kelar was limited at last; and the Outlanders were stubborn, and in their stubbornness, courageous; often they were stupid; oftener ineffectual, and they believe nothing they could not see with their own eyes. But they did try hard, but their lights, and they were often kind. If the Outlanders won, they would send doctors and farmers and seeds and plows and bricklayers, and within a generation his people would be as faceless as the rest of the Outlander Darians. And the Outlanders were very able administrators, by sheer brute persistence. What they once got their hands on, they held. There would be on rebellion that Corlath would ever see."
"But he hated to see his people unhappy - because he was a good king, not because he was a nervous one…"
"Then to the horror of the other two men, the puzzlement of Fireheart, and the surprise of Harry herself, Corlath knelt in the sand and offered her his cupped hands. She put a sandy foot in the hands, and was tossed up as easily as if she were a butterfly or a flower petal. She found this a bit unnerving."
"…and Corlath threw her into the saddle again while his men bit their lips and averted their eyes."
Deerskin
In Deerskin, McKinley tackles her most 'adult' novel to date. Based on the old fairytale 'Donkeyskin', Deerskin describes the events in the life of a young princess named Lissa, whose mother, the Queen, was the most beautiful woman in the world. The Queen upon her deathbed made her handsome husband swear a terrible vow that he would not wed again unless the woman was as beautiful as she is. The Queen then dies, safe in the knowledge that her husband will never wed again.
To Lissa's profound misfortune, she grows into a young woman who equals and exceeds her mother's renowned beauty. Like many of McKinley's heroines, Lissa is a lonely woman with only her nurse and her beloved dog Ash for company. As Lissa grows in beauty, the King is enspelled and the results of his unnatural lust are tragic and inevitable.
Lissa flees from the palace, half-maddened by grief, pain and shock and finds herself in a primative cabin in the middle of a forest. Sheltered by this safe haven, she is able to rediscovery her sanity and her own body and her voyage of self-discovery is as painful as it is necessary. After confronting what has happened to her, Lissa encounters a mysterious woman who appears to be watching over her plight and when she awakens, discovers that her dark hair has turned as white as the moon, her amber eyes as black and unfathomable as the night and her short-haired dog Ash has grown a long, curly coat. She also discovers that she is wearing a white gown of deerskin which like her hair and eyes, is a disguise to shield her terrified soul from the outside world.
Leaving her haven and re-entering the world, Lissa's unearthly appearance makes people think that she is the Moon-Woman, a woman of myth who was raped by a spurned suit and left to die. In a new kingdom far from her old home, new friends allow her to gradually trust again and when she is given a job at the palace tending the doomed puppies of the Prince's beloved bitch. The prince is an awkward, clumsy and unspectacular young man, but his devotion, kindness and dedication further help to ease Lissa's mistrust of the world.
In a fashion similar to McKinley's heroine Aerin, from 'The Hero and the Crown', Lissa travels the kingdom doing good deeds, further convincing the people that she is indeed the Moon Woman.
Deerskin is an extraordinary juxtaposition of darkness and light, despair and hope. Lissa's life in the old kingdom is contrasted with the new life she has made for herself and this book is the epitome of the old adage: 'Do not fear the shadows, for they mean that there is light nearby'. This book isn't 'enjoyable' in the commonly accepted sense of the word, but it is detailed and very well-written and it is also highly recommended.
The Hero and the Crown
'The Hero and the Crown' should read like a myth or legend, but it somehow manages to escape being lengthy and ponderous. I found it a much darker novel than The Blue Sword as Aerin the fiery-haired heroine was forced to confront Evil in a way that Harry did not. Perhaps the darkness of dragons and despair pervaded the novel.
The storyline is simple enough. A frail, young woman crosses the border from the North into Damar. She is beautiful and the King of Damar falls in love with her and marries her despite the instinctive distrust of his people. The woman is dying and longs desperately for a son, for she believes that only a son is capable of wielding the power which will defeat her brother, the evil Ruler of the North. When she is delivered of Aerin, a girl-child, the hope leaves her spirit and she dies, leaving her child behind to its fate.
Aerin grows up as an isolated and awkward young child into a misunderstood and lonely young woman, beloved only by her nurse who mothers her, her father who does not understand her, and Tor her childhood friend who has always defended her and loved her - yet been constrained by his position as a nobleman of the court. Lacking 'kelar', the magic of royalty, she is reviled and mocked, particularly by the beautiful, malicious Galanna whose ambiton is rivalled only by her stupidity.
The novel tells of Aerin's struggle to discovery acceptance in a world which regards women and foreigners with distrust.
Blurb from 1985 Orbit paperback edition:
"It was not that she left what she loved to go where she must, but that her destiny, like her love, like her heritage, was double."
Aerin was the only child to the king of Damar. But her mother was a witchwoman of the North, and no true Damarian could trust one with blood so tainted.
Yet Aerin - tall, awkward, independent, red-haired - was destined to become Aerin FIre-Hair, wielder of Conturan, the Blue Sword, slayer of Maur, the Black Dragon, and of the evil mage Agsded, restorer to the royal line of the Hero's Crown: an inspiraiton and a legend to her people, memorably human, but rather more than mortal.
What others have said:
As richly detailed as a medieval tapestry ... the flavour of ancient legend permeates the style without overpowering the plot. Vibrant, witty, compelling ... the stuff of which true dreams are made - The Horn Book
A dazzling lesson in fantasy-spinning, a completely rounded world of the imagination.... a journey of the spirit. - The Guardian
Outlaws of Sherwood
Blurb from the 1989 Ace paperback edition
Robin McKinley, Newbery Award-winning author of The Hero and the Crown, brings to life the classic tale of Robin Hood and reveals the legendary characters as they must have been: flesh and blood outlaws who risked the gallows and the sword for the sake of justice . . . Let the rich and wicked beware!
Blurb from the 1989 Orbit paperback edition
In the reign of Richard the Lionheart, a young forester set out for Nottingham Fair, but never reached there. Instead, he strode into myth and legend as Robin Hood, England's greatest champion of the poor and oppressed.
Robin McKinley, award-winning author of The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword has woven a brilliant retelling of the Robin Hood myth, featuring all the well-loved characters. Like T.H. White in The Once and Future King, she has taken a classic English folktale/myth/reality and turned it into a fable for the Twentieth Century.
What others have said:
McKinley knows her geography of fantasy ... the nuances of language, the atmosphere of magic. - Washington Post
In the tradition of T.H. White's reincarnation of King Arthur, a novel that brings Robin Hood and his men delightfully to life. - Kirkus Reviews
A solid piece of tale-weaving ... a rousing good time ... ingenious! - Publishers Weekly
"The dazzling prequel to The Blue Sword follows the adventures of the Damarian king's daughter, Aerin, as she fights to claim both birthright and love. Splendid high fantasy . . . superb, filled with tender moments, good characters, satisfying action and sparkling dialogue." - School Library Journal
"The classic tale of Robin Hood gets a new lift as real flesh-and-blood outlaws, on the lam from the gallows and the sword, fight for the sake of justice. Robin and his merry cohorts swing through the forest in these fresh additions to the timeless stories."
My thoughts
As I've said, I re-read Robin McKinley's books with great regularity. She's one of those authors who has the knack of writing a book that I love to read again and again. 'Outlaws of Sherwood' is a particular favourite. I've never even been particuarly interested in the Robin Hood legend and so it was quite a surprised to discover myself being drawn to the the lifelike, humorous characters who like all McKinley creations are somehow down to earth despite their extraordinary situations.
In this retelling of the Robin Hood story, Robin is an ordinary young man who wants nothing more than to live a peaceful life. The last thing he wants is to be forced into a life of infamy and notoriety. The last thing he wants is to be Robin "Normanslayer" or "Sheriff's-bane". It is with great chagrin he learns that he is called Robin "King of Sherwood" and he is a reluctant hero. I love the host of secondary characters - Marian, Much, Will Scarlet, Cecil, Little John and the rest of the outlaws of Sherwood.
Rose Daughter
Booklist - Sally Estes Copyright© 1997, American Library Association
"Almost 20 years after her well-received, award-winning Beauty (1978), McKinley reexplores and reexpands on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. This is not a sequel, but a new novelization that is fuller bodied, with richer characterizations and a more mystical, darker edge. Although the Library of Congress catalogs it in the 398s, the book really belongs on the fiction shelves alongside Beauty.
The familiar plot is here, but the slant is quite different, though Beauty's sisters are once again loving rather than hostile as in de Beaumont's original version. A few scenes are reminiscent of Beauty. For example, in the dining room scenes in the castle, Beauty eats but the Beast merely is present: 'I am a Beast; I cannot eat like a man.'
In Rose Daughter, Beauty has an affinity for flower gardening, particularly roses, because of her memories of her deceased mother; it is a talent that serves her in good stead as she nurtures the Beast's dying rose garden. Also, in some nicely done foreshadowing, Beauty suffers from recurring dreams of a long, dark corridor and something -- a monster? -- waiting for her at the end. Rose Cottage, where Beauty and her family settle after the father's financial downfall, and the nearby town and its residents, as well as the opulence of the Beast's castle and the devastation of his rose garden, are vividly depicted. Among the fantasy elements are a prescient cat, the spirit of the greenwitch who willed Rose Cottage to Beauty's family, unicorns, and preternatural Guardians. There is more background on the Beast in this version, allowing readers to see how he came to be bewitched, and Beauty's choice at the end, a departure from that in Beauty, is just so right. Readers will be enchanted, in the best sense of the word."
Spindle's End
Luc Duplessis review at Amazon.com
"Probably best known for the fantasy novels The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley also has a gift for the skillful retelling of folktales. Although her work appeals to both adult and young adult readers, her themes, as in Deerskin, can occasionally be disturbing. This is not the case in Spindle's End, which is a delightfully light, though never superficial, reimagining of Sleeping Beauty.
"In a land where magic is as thick as dust and about as much of a nuisance, the Queen announces she is about to give birth. To make sure magic doesn't interfere with proceedings, no fewer than 21 fairies are invited to be godmothers at the princess's public Naming Day. Katriona, an apprentice fairy from the rural village of Foggy Bottom, is in the crowd during the ceremony, and witnesses the appearance--in a clap of thunder--of the wicked fairy, Pernicia, who delivers a curse: one day before her 21st birthday, the princess will prick her finger on a spindle, fall into a poisoned sleep, and die. Katriona flees to Foggy Bottom with the infant princess in order to save her.
"For the next 20 years, the princess, known now as Rosie, grows up with Katriona. In describing daily life in the village--the spells, the animals, the ups and downs of human romance--McKinley gives us pitch-perfect dialogue, hard-headed whimsy, and a cast of vital human and animal characters. The plot is stirring and deft, and always overlain with the author's sharp-eyed wisdom. The ending is a happy one--mostly. McKinley understands that nothing ever turns out exactly as hoped, and that a little sorrow makes life's triumphs that much sweeter."