Patricia A. McKillip
Language: English
ISBN
Fantasy
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Published: Sep 1, 2009
An unseen bell haunts a seaside town and a magical mansion in this delicate fable from World Fantasy Award winner McKillip (_Od Magic_). Inside the baffling Aislinn House, young chambermaid Emma, opening an ordinary cabinet door, might find a rack of towels or encounter knights, crows and a lonely princess. As Lady Eglantyne, the ancient matron of the house, lies dying, her long-lost grand-niece is sent for. The townspeople are delighted by wealthy, city-bred Miranda Beryl, but suspicious of her eagerness to make herself at home and inherit the house—spellbound bell and all. Meanwhile, vacationing academic Ridley Dow's interest in Aislinn House hints at another motive for his visit to the village beside the ocean. Romantic intrigue and touches of this fantastic make this light mystery an easy and pleasant read. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The small seaside town of Sealey Head is home to a few families, an inn, and Aislinn House, an old mansion with a special power—its doors sometimes open onto the world of faerie, where princesses like young Ysabo occupy their time with a complex ritual and knights exist to marry the princesses. Each day at sunset, a bell sounds, heard by everyone, yet its whereabouts and the identity of its ringer remain unknown—until a few strangers arrive to unlock an ancient past. McKillip (_Song for the Basilisk_; Solstice Wood) weaves elegant modern fairy tales from simple themes, drawing the mythical and everyday worlds into an enchanted union. Elegant, deceptively spare prose and well-developed characters make this a good choice for adult and YA fantasy collections. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Description:
From Publishers Weekly
An unseen bell haunts a seaside town and a magical mansion in this delicate fable from World Fantasy Award winner McKillip (_Od Magic_). Inside the baffling Aislinn House, young chambermaid Emma, opening an ordinary cabinet door, might find a rack of towels or encounter knights, crows and a lonely princess. As Lady Eglantyne, the ancient matron of the house, lies dying, her long-lost grand-niece is sent for. The townspeople are delighted by wealthy, city-bred Miranda Beryl, but suspicious of her eagerness to make herself at home and inherit the house—spellbound bell and all. Meanwhile, vacationing academic Ridley Dow's interest in Aislinn House hints at another motive for his visit to the village beside the ocean. Romantic intrigue and touches of this fantastic make this light mystery an easy and pleasant read. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
The small seaside town of Sealey Head is home to a few families, an inn, and Aislinn House, an old mansion with a special power—its doors sometimes open onto the world of faerie, where princesses like young Ysabo occupy their time with a complex ritual and knights exist to marry the princesses. Each day at sunset, a bell sounds, heard by everyone, yet its whereabouts and the identity of its ringer remain unknown—until a few strangers arrive to unlock an ancient past. McKillip (_Song for the Basilisk_; Solstice Wood) weaves elegant modern fairy tales from simple themes, drawing the mythical and everyday worlds into an enchanted union. Elegant, deceptively spare prose and well-developed characters make this a good choice for adult and YA fantasy collections.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.