Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms―there are no secrets in this house―and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him.
But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t evil sorcerers.
When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older Squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother's next victims. But Cordelia feels at home for the very first time among these people, and as her mother's plans darken, she must decide how to face the woman who raised her to save the people who have become like family.
352 pages
Published August 6, 2024
It can't be easy to take the bones of a fairy tale and turn them into something that feels wholly original, but that does seem to be a particular skill of T Kingfisher's. While A Sorceress Comes to Call is apparently a retelling of Grimm's The Goose Girl (is it right to attribute that to the Brothers Grimm, when they were folklorists collecting the stories of the region?), having never read it before, I wouldn't have guessed it was based on anything other than the author's fantastic imagination. Not knowing part of the inspiration didn't detract from my experience or understanding of the story, though I'm now curious to see the narrative overlaps.
Cordelia's story, her slow progression of trying to survive her mother into trying to thrive despite her mother, was one that held deep resonance for me. My childhood wasn't as oppressive as hers was, but I still experienced a struggle to discover who I was and who I could become in spite of what my parents attempted to mold me into. I experienced a sheltered childhood where questions were frowned on and speaking my mind was treated more often as something to be punished than encouraged, so Cordelia's growth wasn't just one I could appreciate reading about, but it was read with so much hope for who she might be after the book ended, after she found a better place, and in turn what that could mean for my own experience.
It's amazing who we can become, when we're given what we need and encouraged to grow.
A Sorceress Comes to Call isn't just a coming-of-age story involving the daughter of a strict sorceress, however. The novel starts off with a moment of subtle horror, with Cordelia being "made obedient," where her mother essentially controls Cordelia's body, making her appear to be the model child who doesn't talk out of turn or fidget in church or do anything that her mother wouldn't want her doing. Being forced down in your own body, being made to sit so still for hours at a time, the muscles ache piling up and up and then cascading to the surface when you're graciously allowed to control yourself once again... There's absolutely horror in that, the lack of control, the pain, the fact that someone would do that to their child, sometimes to enforce good public behaviour but sometimes also as punishment, was terrifying in a way that's very down-to-earth, very real. There are parents out there who would do that to their children if they could, and that's stomach-churning in a way that carnage and gore just isn't.
A Sorceress Comes to Call absolutely does have gore, and some scenes that are quite disturbing in a classically horrific way. But some of what stuck with me the most was Cordelia's struggle against her mother's powers, and how horrifying it also is to be in such a situation.
That being said, there are wonderful beacons of hope and light in the darkness of Cordelia's life. Once Cordelia's mother gets her hooks into the Squire, aiming for a socially-advantageous marriage not only for herself but also eventually Cordelia, the two of them encounter a trio of friends who aspire to help Cordelia out of a very bad situation: Hester (the Squire's sister), and her friends Penelope and Imogene. While at first they don't believe in sorcery (more on that in a moment), they do see that Cordelia is in a predicament, and conspire to rescue her from her mother's clutches, or at least to give her some knowledge and security so that she can stand up for herself. Hester is a solid delight, with her sharp mind and intolerance for bullshit, and Penelope, well! Once you encounter Penelope in the story, she makes an amazing impression, and I love her attitude. Not that Imogene is bland or boring, but it's the other 2 who made the strongest impression on me.
Now, on to sorcery. Sorcery is a known element of the world the story takes place in, but only in small ways. Hiding skin blemishes, making an old horse look in better condition than it is, that sort of thing. Cordelia's mother has far more ability than that, and uses it both often and to her advantage, using the fact that people don't expect that kind of magic in order to hide in plain sight, at least for the most part. When something mysterious and horrendous happens, nobody believes magic could be involved, because magic just doesn't do those things. Except that it does, and part of Cordelia's struggle is to convince her newfound allies that she's telling the truth, that her mother's powers really are that strong, leading to the question of how to undo it and save not only herself, but the Squire, and Hester, and everyone else now concerned with Cordelia and her mother.
I don't want to spoil the story for anyone more than I already have, because it's a deep, dark, and delicious fairy tale retelling that blends magic and demons with the mundane lives of realistic characters, and deserves to be experienced properly by reading it for oneself, not just reading a review and seeing one person's opinions. A Sorceress Comes to Call is a fine example of T Kingfisher's storytelling, her ability to delight and horrify in equal measure, and to also to provide that ray of hope that shines through the stormclouds. Fans of historical horror and dark fantasy will find something truly special here.
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