fantasy – Page 5 – What Cathy Read Next…

My Buchan of the Month for July is The Gap in the Curtain, John Buchan’s only full-length novel with a supernatural element. Written between March 1930 and February 1931, it was published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton on 7th July 1932 and in the US by The Riverside Press on 27th July 1932. The book is dedicated to his friends, Sybil and Lambert Middleton.

Featuring Sir Edward Leithen as narrator, the book is a series of interconnected stories in which a group of guests at a country house party are each given a glimpse of the future by way of an item in The Times dated a year hence. The guests, who include a politician and a financier, react in different ways to the foreknowledge they are granted.

Buchan scholar, David Daniell describes The Gap in the Curtain as a ‘satirical’ book in which Buchan takes aim at the world of international finance and politics. Ursula Buchan, the author’s granddaughter and his latest biographer, suggests the “brilliant, lengthy and disillusioned description of British politics at that time” reflects Buchan’s own experiences as a Member of Parliament.

Andrew Lownie feels that, although the idea of being able to look into the future was not new, Buchan was able to give it a new spin. He also finds it significant that the action of the book takes place at Easter citing its exploration of the redemptive power of love, the nature of Free Will and the concept of predestination.

The book received some warm reviews upon publication, notably from J.B. Priestley who praised Buchan’s “gallant versatility” and recommended it as a book that could be read “with excitement and profit”. Janet Adam Smith, Buchan’s first biographer, reports that The Gap in the Curtain had sold 78,000 copies up to 1960. Look out for my review of the book later this month.

Handheld Press will be publishing a new edition of The Gap in the Curtain in October 2021, available for pre-order now from their website. Pre-orders will be posted as soon as the book is received from the printer which is likely to be two to three months ahead of the publication date.

Sources:

Janet Adam Smith, John Buchan: A Biography (OUP, 1985 [1965])
Ursula Buchan, Beyond The Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan (Bloomsbury, 2019)
David Daniell, The Interpreter’s House: A Critical Assessment of John Buchan (Nelson, 1975)
Kenneth Hillier and Michael Ross, The First Editions of John Buchan: A Collector’s Illustrated Biography (Avonworld, 2008)
Andrew Lownie, John Buchan: The Presbyterian Cavalier (Constable, 1995)

About the Book

Irisa’s parents are dead and her younger sister Kassia is away on a journey when the sisters’ mysterious customer returns, urging Irisa to leave with him before disaster strikes. Can she trust him to keep her safe? How much does he know about the fate of her father? Only a voyage across the Eastmor Ocean to the land of her ancestors will reveal the truth about her family’s disturbing past. Once there, Irisa steps into a future she has unknowingly been prepared for since childhood, but what she discovers is far more sinister than she could have ever imagined. Will she have the courage to claim her inheritance?

Format: Paperback, ebook (417 pp.) Publisher:
Published: 1st September 2017 Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, YA

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Amazon.com ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The King’s Daughter on Goodreads

My Review

The King’s Daughter is the sequel to The Scribe’s Daughter but as the events run largely in parallel to the events in the earlier book it can definitely be read as a standalone. However, personally I would recommend reading the series in order. You can read my review of The Scribe’s Daughter here. It’s now also available as an audiobook.

Whereas The Scribe’s Daughter concentrated on the exploits of younger sister, Kassia, The King’s Daughter focuses on her older sister, Irisa. The Scribe’s Daughter was full of the excitement of Kassia’s adventures and initially I found I missed that element in The King’s Daughter. Having said that, the first chapter provides a cliff-hanger opening in which Irisa finds herself in a (literally) precarious position. What follows is a flashback to events in the two years leading up to that point. The reader must wait until close to the end of the book to find out if and/or how Irisa manages to extricate herself.

Like Irisa, I soon became immersed in the politics and intrigue of the court of King Bellek and – again like Irisa – was occupied with trying to work out who were the ‘goodies’ and the ‘baddies’. That turned out to be easier said than done in some cases with a few surprises skilfully delivered by the author late on in the book. “What does it all mean, this game of kings and their thrones?” Before long Irisa is learning sometimes contradictory things about her family’s past, hints of yet more secrets still to be uncovered and some surprising things about her future. ‘Everything I thought I understood was wrong. Nothing was as it seemed and never would be again.’

I’ll confess that, in the beginning, I found Irisa somewhat passive compared with the feisty, adventurous Kassia, and a bit naïve as well, rather careless about the safety of others who daily risk exposure. She finds herself influenced as well by her heart and begins to doubt the path that seemed so obviously right to begin with. However, after a while, the author lets the reader witness the development of Irisa’s character as she begins to find ways to exercise influence, at first in small ways but all which demonstrate her humane attitude to those around her.

Events unfold in an increasingly dramatic way as the book progresses culminating in some exciting scenes that involve treachery, unexpected reunions, sad partings and close escapes. There is also a tender love story which unfolds as the book progresses. Most excitingly, the book ends with tantalising hints about a story line relating to events in the life of Kassia and Irisa’s mother, Naria, offering the prospect of a prequel at some point (soon, I hope).

Described as ‘fantasy that reads like historical fiction’, The King’s Daughter is a sort of Game of Thrones without the gore and violence…or the unnatural relationships between family members! The setting is an imagined world and, although no time period is specified, the clothes, buildings and weapons suggest the equivalent of the early medieval period in our world. There is some tremendous world building with evocative descriptions of the landscape of Agrius – mountains, cliff-top fortresses, vast forests, and thriving seaports – and its population of lords and vassals, slaves, merchants, traders, brigands and pirates.

The King’s Daughter is an entertaining mix of historical fiction and fantasy with an interesting cast of characters and plenty of intrigue and secrets to uncover. If my review is not enough to tempt you, you can read an extract from The King’s Daughter – the exciting opening scene mentioned above, no less – here.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author in return for an honest and unbiased review. The King’s Daughter is the fifth book in my 20 Books of Summer (click here to see my full list).

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In three words: Engaging, dramatic, lively

Try something similar…The Scribe’s Daughter by Stephanie Churchill

About the Author

When Stephanie was a child, she was curious about everything, particularly as it related to “old stuff.” And because in those days there was no internet, when she was bored or wanted to learn something new about history or anything else, she could be found sitting on the floor at home reading an encyclopaedia. Her fondest memories are of wandering her grandparents’ farm in rural Nebraska, daydreaming and telling herself fairy tales, usually with a medieval twist.

Upon reaching adulthood, Stephanie developed a love of reading history and historical fiction. But never once did it occur to her to become a writer. Working in the field of law instead, it took a nudge from her favorite author suggesting that she try her hand at becoming an author.

Evoking the essence of historical fiction but without the history, Stephanie’s writing draws on her knowledge of history even while set in purely fictional places existing only in her imagination. Filled with action and romance, loyalty and betrayal, her writing relies on deeply drawn and complex characters, exploring the subtleties of imperfect people living in a gritty, sometimes dark world. Her unique blend of historical fiction and fantasy ensures that her books are sure to please fans of historical fiction or epic fantasy literature alike.

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