Quest for a Maid

Someone at my book club was staggered that I hadn't read this growing up, so I tracked down a copy from the library - and it was fantastic. I should have read this right between The Boggart by Susan Cooper and The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. It's got a little bit of magic and a lot of adventure, with a gutsy young heroine and her loyal friends: Peem Jackson, a cottar's boy whose life she saved (and who, in turn, saved her life several times over), and Davie Spens, a clever young boy with a harelip that prevents others from understanding them. Meg can understand him, though, and they wind up betrothed at a young age. Meg's oldest sister Inge was a particularly interesting character, possibly the most complex of any of the others. show more I'd read a whole other book from her point of view.

The author does a wonderful job making the historical aspects seem natural (they seem natural to the characters, even if they would be unusual now), and incorporating the Scots dialect (there's a glossary in the back). The author's note in front distinguishes the real from the made-up.

Quotes

"When I see something in the air, is it something that must be, or something that only may be? When I use my power, am I using it truly, or maybe being used by it? Can I do anything that's not written for me? I sometimes think I can't." (Inge to Meg, 62)

"We may hurt worst the thing we love best, my pet." (Inge to Meg, 63) show less

4.5
been chasing the high of perilous gard for years--this is maybe almost on par with it. really genuinely loved this book, Meg (fantastic protagonist) and Davie and Peem and Marie. Inge is FASCINATING. high adventure and wild fantastical elements wrapped up in a historical medieval Scottish setting--much fun, and surprisingly dark.

I realize now I just love this bygone genre of children's/YA lit.

Tells the story of the Maid of Norway, Margaret who was named Queen of Scots as a young girl, and sailed from Norway for Scotland in 1290, at the age of eight, to be crowned. The story is told from the point of view of a somewhat older Scottish girl, also named Margaret (Meg), whose older sister Inge had the Sight and certain powers, as well as considerable ambition. Much of the book is about Meg's growing up and her adventures, but Inge and the Maid are strong forces just off stage.

The picture of early 13th-century life is fascinating. Meg and her companions are strong and sympathetic characters. It is a very enjoyable read.

Read during Summer 2003

A well-written and very enjoyable children's story about a bit of Scottish history I knew nothing about. King Alexander dies suddenly in an accident and a struggle for power ensues among various royal family members. The King of England deciedes to solve it by bringing the very young Princess Margaret of Norway to wed his son and rule the country. The heroine is Meg, daughter of a Norse shipbuilder. Her oldest sister, Inge, becomes involved in the struggles for power via her witchcraft and Meg via her bethrothal to a merchant's son. The merchant is called to transport the Maid of Norway to her new home but Inge plots her death instead. I think Brittish kids would get more from it and I would have liked a map of show more Scotland in front of me but very enjoyable. show less

This wee bittie book is a powerful re-imagining of a couple of different historical events which dovetail nicely here. I saw some of it coming, but not all by any means. The characters are finely drawn, especially Meg and Davie and Peem. Sir Patrick Spens is a hoot. The plot moves along at a brisk clip, and keeps one engaged throughout.

It did start off a bit slow, with a good deal of telling in the 'As you already know, Bob' vein, but once through that, it soared.

Set in 13th Century Scotland, the story opens with the death (murder via witchcraft) of King Alexander III. This is the story of Meg, a well-to-do girl of almost marriageable age who is in the wrong place at the right time again and again to watch (or shape) the way history unfolds.

A friend gave me a copy of A Little Princess for my 10th birthday, a book I already owned, so we took it back to the children's bookstore from which it had been purchased. At the time I pretty much only read Sci-Fi/Fantasy, the books my mother read, and was spectacularly uninterested in books aimed at my age-range. But I needed a book and we didn't have much time and it advertised kings and magic and adventure... I loved it. It's fun, and a fast read, and show more it's richly researched. And then it sat on my shelf for 18 years until, this last month when I resolved to cut my library by a third. "I should read this again before I go to Scotland!" I thought to myself. It's still as lovely as it was then -and- it's set in Inverkeithing, now Inverness, the city I'm going to visit :o)

Note: This book makes free, historically accurate, use of the word "bitch." It's never used as a weapon ("'Wake up, you wee bitch, you dare die on me now and I'll kill you!'") but it does seem, to the modern ear, like quite strong language compared to the rest of the book ("Drat that, I thought. And changed my mind: No, this is an emergency; To hell with that!"). show less

This is a historical fantasy, about the kings of the British Isles and what might have happened if magic existed. And it's a good story, about a young girl with more compassion and strength than she realizes - she runs around willy-nilly saving lives and befriending outcasts, not even realizing that she's doing unusual things.