Product Description

A magnificent saga set in the Celtic twilight of 10th century Ireland, when myth was law and magic was a power of nature, brilliantly brought to life: the legendary story of an evil stepmother opposed by a seventh child. A wicked woman, an evil curse, and a love that must triumph over impossible odds Set in the Celtic twilight of ancient Ireland, when myth was law and magic a force of nature, this is the tale of Sorcha, seventh child of a seventh son, the forbidding Lord Colum, and of her six beloved brothers. The keep at Sevenwaters is a remote, strange, quiet place, guarded by silent men who slip through the woodlands clothed in grey, and keep their weapons sharp. For there are invaders outside the forest; raiders from across the seas, Britons and Vikings bent on destruction. But now there is also an invader inside the keep: the Lady Oonagh, a sorceress as fair as day, but with a heart as black as night. Oonagh captivates Lord Colum with her sensual wiles; but she cannot enchant the wary Sorcha. Frustrated in her attempts to destroy the family, Oonagh binds the brothers with a spell that only Sorcha can lift. If she fails, they will die. Then the raiders come, and Sorcha is taken captive. Soon she will find herself torn between her duty to break the curse, and a growing, forbidden love for the warlord who is her captor. Like Marion Zimmer Bradley's MISTS OF AVALON or Jean Auel's CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, this is first-rate historical fantasy that can have the widest possible appeal, taking in also the readership of historical fiction writers like Mary Stewart , Mary Renault and Anya Seton.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18724 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Juliet Marillier's intensely romantic first novel Daughter of the Forest takes the reader to an Ireland on the edge where history and fairy tale meet. Sorcha, seventh child of a seventh son, finds herself caught up in the manipulations of a wicked and sorcerous stepmother, the whims of faerie and the purely human evil of a fanatical British lord. Acts of kindness have the most terrible of consequences and people's strongest virtues are used against them. First volume of a trilogy, Daughter of the Forest is a stunning debut that takes one of the most moving of fairy stories and renders it in vivid painful detail--rarely have the day-to-day consequences of magic's demands been made so directly unpleasant. Sorcha is a figure of fortitude to stand with the great heroines of contemporary fantasy; she does what she has to and takes the consequences at every turn. The author creates a cast of worthy allies and enemies for Sorcha as she travels from a remote Irish fortress to the depths of a forest in a Britain caught between its Celtic and European identities. --Roz Kaveney

Review
'Juliet Marillier's intensely romantic first novel takes the reader to an Ireland on the edge, where history and fairy tale meet ! a stunning debut' AMAZON.CO.UK 'I enjoyed it enormously. It is a fantasy, full of the magic of the Celtic night, but it has that wonderful all-important feel of reality ! a wonderful, riveting story' BARBARA ERSKINE on Son of the Shadows

About the Author
Juliet Marillier was born in New Zealand and brought up in Dunedin, the 'Edinburgh of the South'. She has a passionate interest in Celtic music and Irish folklore. A mother of two daughters and two sons, she lives in a rural area outside Perth in Western Australia.

Customer Reviews

The best book ever...
This is the best book ever written, I beg anyone who reads this not to shed a tear, there are some heart warming moments, some sad.
I read this book in 1 day and the whole trilogy in 3 this is the best out of all the three and I had to go back and re-read this after I had finished I just did not want the story to end.
I initially bought this because it said 'sset in the era of Mists Of Avalon' another book I love but, I personally believe it is just a touch better than Mists.
If you buy this book you will not regret it.
I look forward to more from Juliet Marrillier.

Daughter Of The Forest
This book starts off about the seventh child of a seventh son, only this is a girl who is more or less brought up by her 6 brothers. The children's mother died when giving birth to the seventh child (Sorcha) leaving just the father. Lord Colum (father) then brings home a woman to marry, she is an evil sorceress who puts a spell on the 6 brothers and turns them into swans. It is then Sorcha's task to break the spell, to do that she has to make shirts for all 6 brothers out of 'Starwort' which is done with great difficulty as this hurts her fingers but, through sheer determination she continues despite the pain.
She has to leave the security of Sevenwaters and to fend for herself, she is then discovered my some britons who try to look after her, but she falls for one of them and he takes her to his homeland where she is met with a great deal of hostility.

Her brothers return to her every Mid winters and Mid summers eve.

The story takes on many twists and turns and this is a very powerful story I read this book in one sitting it really had me hooked...

A lovely book that you'll want to re-read again and again!
I read this for the first time about three years ago, since then i have re-read it many times. It' a wonderful book with lovely charecters (especially Red) and a beutiful sometimes tear-jerking plot.I have recommended this book to lots of people and will continue to do so.
Daughter of the forest is the first in a trilogy (son of the shadows is the second book and child of the prophecy is the third)though 'Daughter' is my favourite the other two books are very good too. I have read the authors other series and i didn't enjoy it as much as the sevenwaters trilogy. This has become one of my all time favourites and i highly recommend you buy it!