THE QUEEN OF SPELLS

by Dahlov Ipcar ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 30, 1973

The bonny ""Heir of Linne,"" who was spirited away by the Queen of Spells in 1558, is allowed a brief return to earth in 1858 where the fair rose lady of the ballad of ""Tam Lin"" -- green-kirtled Janet with the milk white steed -- appears in the person of a Pennsylvania farmer's daughter. Janet first meets the wayward bandit Tom Linn at age eleven, when he promises to return in seven days to marry her. At age 18, finding herself pregnant after a second meeting, Janet determines to rescue her ghostly lover and, on Halloween night, swims a churning river to a land beyond reality where she sees the Black Riders of Hell, watches skeletal Mr. La Mort perform in the Circus of Fear, and faces down the Queen of Spells herself. The symbolism of the ""other side"" is heavy going, but the balance between 19th-century reality and the romantic aura of the ballad is nicely struck and Janet herself, with her six sisters, doting father and love of roses, manages to be both farmgirl and fairy princess simultaneously.

Pub Date: April 30, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1973

Categories: FICTION