THE BAKER'S DAUGHTER

by Margaret Tabor ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1979

An untidy gobbet of supernatural invention worth its weight in feathers. Mina, 20-year-old daughter of a hotel keeper and baker on a northern Scottish island, sees her sister take off from those stern shores--and knows then that she too must leave. So she persuades visiting TV-producer Richard, a recent widower, to take her to London as his housekeeper. Rough luck for Richard, since Mina--whom he regards as a passive, timorous creature--happens to believe that she is an owl, and perhaps is rapidly becoming one; and it's certainly bad news for the mousies and other wee things whose blood will soon be discovered beneath Mina's fingernails. It takes Richard and his friends some time to catch on, even when Mina is mobbed by hysterical sparrows; is visited by a black raven and a snowy owl who turn out to be her parents; and is seen to be flicking about eating rare--nay, raw--meat. And when there's yet another infant murder, Richard, who is by this time bound to Mina by glorious sex (at such moments she is, as it were, in full plumage), unwisely decides to take her home rather than to the loony bin. Terrible mistake--as they push on through a white fog and predators all of a grisly feather. Birdy it ain't--or even The Birds; and gothic fans will find there's too much pastry loading down this one-bird pie.

Pub Date: April 1, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION