Wise Child
   Monica Furlong
  1989 Borzoi Sprinters-Alfred A. Knopf NY USA
   ISBN: 0394825985


In a remote Scottish village an abandoned girl is taken in by a stern, solitary woman who teaches her reading, herbal lore & the beginnings of magic. It is a good if frugal life.

The ways of an isolated village are given clearly & without self-pity. Wise Child is a bit of a brat with airs apparent to everyone but herself. So when her Grandmother finally dies & she's all alone in the world, custom dictates she will be auctioned by the parish priest to whichever household wanted or needed an extra set of hands.

Trouble is Wise Child is not skilled at any domestic chores nor likes them. She is also no sewer or spinner, in fact her worth is rather low & noone bids for her until Juniper, the local wise woman, speaks up.

Wise Child is both nervous & pleased to be selected by this aloof & strangely beautiful woman & so begins her years of learning to be useful, self-reliant & obedient. Wise Child also learns about herbs & healing & something about the making magic.


Then, when Wise Child enters womanhood, a woman appears in her life who declares she is her mother. This devastatingly beautiful woman offers a life of ease & luxury in exchange for her loyalty, her supernatural powers &, as Wise Child soon finds out, danger.

How Wise Child fares in her mother's world, what choices she makes & what dangers she survives tests this young woman's sense of ethics, loyalty & compassion.

An absorbing, interesting & wise read from Monica Furlong, do check out her prequel: Juniper recently reviewed by Karrie G.
(08/22/99)

Rebecca