Elizabeth Hopkinson's Hidden Grove

It's almost 2018, and here I am with my Christmas/birthday book haul. Possibly the best ever. I thought I'd post this now, at the threshold to a new year and revisit it later when I've read all the books in the pile, so you can hear my verdict on them. So, here's the list: To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child.  Strange things happen when a husband goes to explore the interior of Alaska and his wife is left behind. At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald, author of my beloved Phantastes . Classic Victorian fantasy about a boy and a cab horse. The Paper Magician by Charlie N Homberg. First in a series about a student magician. The Iron Age by Arja Kajermo. A fairy-tale memoir of Finland and Sweden. Recently mentioned by booktuber Jen Campbell. The Less than Perfect Legend of Donna Creosote by Dan Micklethwaite, one of my fellow Fogotten & Fantastical authors. A modern fairytale of the inner city. The Travellin...

I have always loved "Women in Towers" stories.   Rapunzel , Marie de France's Yonec , and especially Tennyson's Lady of Shallo t.  Even Disney's Tangled .  (What's not to like about Flynn Rider?) The woman in the tower has always been a figure I can relate to.  Sometimes for negative reasons - being too shy and anxious to communicate with the world, or knowing the "invisible bubble" that separates you from the world during periods of intense depression.  Sometimes for positive reasons - I associate the tower with the Inviolate Female, and the symbolism of virginity, chastity and asexuality.  I have always wanted to live in a tower and, even now, can't imagine not choosing to have my bedroom in the attic. This week, my very own "Women in Towers" fairy tale, The Ice Queen and the Mer-King , was re-released in Venn , an anthology from Unstapled Press devoted to different ideas of gender and sexuality.   The Ice Queen  is very...

Just recently, I read Flame of Sevenwaters by my all-time favourite author, Juliet Marillier .  Juliet is the writer I look up to most in my own work.  She has been very helpful with Silver Hands , giving it a great review on the Top Hat Books site .  When Silver Hands came out, I sent her a copy and she sent me a lovely card, promising to read it.  So it was strange to think that we might both be reading each other's works at the same time, especially as both were about a girl without the use of her hands. This wasn't deliberate.  Although I am a big fan of Juliet, and Silver Hands is in some ways inspired by her writing, I didn't know she was also going to be writing about a handless maiden.  It's interesting to make some comparisons. (Warning: possibly spoilers).  Juliet's Maeve hasn't lost her hands completely, but has had them burned in a fire as a child, so they are scarred and immobile.  She faces some of the same challenges as Marg...