Juliet Marillier: Daughter of the Forest. Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd.
	Is it fantasy, is it historical fiction, or is it a novel length fairytale? One could easily posit that Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest is all this and more. Daughter of the Forest, the first novel from Australian author Juliet Marillier, is the first book in the wonder-filled Sevenwaters trilogy. In a synoptic sense Daughter of the Forest is a re-imagining of the Celtic Wild Swans legend, but do not be mistaken, this highly accomplished novel is a tome of well-crafted storytelling and historical working. Set in Ireland in the twilight of the Celtic age, Marillier creates a cast of unforgettable characters. Sorcha, the youngest child in a family of seven, is the only daughter of the widowed Lord Colum. Lord Colum is the master of Sevenwaters; a prosperous estate nestled in a wild windswept valley. Protected from the invading Saxons and Britons by the dense forest surrounding it and the fey folk guarding it, Sevenwaters has prospered despite the hostilities of nascent Britain. But when Lord Colum returns from abroad with a new wife, the pernicious Lady Oonagh, the easy harmony of Sorcha’s life is destroyed. A gifted healer and alchemist, Sorcha and her six brothers sense Lady’s Oonagh evil, but before they can act Lady Oonagh casts a sorcerous spell that turns all six brother’s into swans. Bereft and afraid, Sorcha flees to the safety of the forest and it is there she learns that the fate of her brothers is literally in her hands. Captured by the invading Britons, Sorcha’s fate is as harrowing as it is heart breaking, and the story carries us swiftly along the sea of her trials. Ultimately she is forced to choose between her home and her family, cursed and lost, and an aloof warrior who offers the promise of the future. Marillier is a gifted folklorist and a talented narrator. Substituting bombastic prose for magical lyricism, Marillier has created a masterful tale well worth reading. No matter what you think you know about the Wild Swans story, Daughter of the Forest will sweep up into it’s pages and leave you wanting more.
Reviewed by Heidi Sullivan, 3 March 2003.