The Magician's Daughter

by H. G. Parry

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Raised on an isolated island by a magician, a young woman discovers things aren’t as they seem and must embark on a journey to return magic to the world. A lush and lyrical historical fantasy that’s filled with humor, wit, great characters, and dreamy writing.

"That most rare and precious thing: a brand-new classic, both wholly original and wonderfully nostalgic."  —Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author

In the early 1900s, a young woman is caught between two worlds in H. G. Parry's spellbinding tale of miracles, magic, and the adventure of a lifetime.

Off the coast of Ireland sits a legendary island hidden by magic. A place of ruins and ancient trees, sea salt air, and fairy lore, Hy-Brasil is the only home Biddy has ever known. Washed up on its shore as a baby, Biddy lives a quiet life with her guardian, the mercurial magician Rowan. A life she finds increasingly stifling.
 
One night, Rowan fails to return from his mysterious travels. To find him, Biddy must venture into the outside world for the first time. But Rowan has powerful enemies—forces who have hoarded the world’s magic and have set their sights on the magician’s many secrets.
 
Biddy may be the key to stopping them. Yet the closer she gets to answers, the more she questions everything she’s ever believed about Rowan, her past, and the nature of magic itself.
 
Praise for The Magician's Daughter

"Brilliantly imagined. Parry blends mythic elements with wit and heart." —Lucy Holland 

"A compelling journey into a world of fading myth and mystery. The old magic runs deep in Parry’s veins.” —Cameron Johnston

For more from H. G. Parry, check out:

The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep

The Shadow Histories
A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians
A Radical Act of Free Magic
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316383707
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	02/28/2023
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	149
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

H.G. Parry lives in a book-infested flat on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand, which she shares with her sister, a cat, three guinea pigs, and two over-active rabbits. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from Victoria University of Wellington and has taught English, film, and media studies.

Editorial Reviews

12/05/2022

Parry (A Radical Act of Free Magic) continues her hot streak of well-researched historical fantasy with this mix of bildungsroman and love letter to the 19th-century English canon. Sixteen-year-old Bridget “Biddy” Adler has lived her entire life on the hidden, enchanted island of Hy-Brasil with her adoptive father, the Irish woodmage Rowan O’Connell, and his rabbit familiar, Hutchincroft. Then the British Council of Mages comes after Rowan for stealing magic at a time when the magic-granting schisms have all closed, and the Council wants all magic conserved. Biddy departs the isle for 19th-century London, aiming to set a trap for the Council members—only to be captured by them herself, and told that everything she knows about herself and Rowan is a lie. The novel inexplicably treats Rowan’s former fiancée, Morgaine, much more harshly than other, more culpable members of the corrupt Council, creating a weird imbalance in the portrayal of the villains, but the magic system—which posits magic as a nonrenewable resource—works wonderfully as a metaphor for capitalism after 19th-century industrialization. Parry’s fans will not be disappointed. Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Assoc. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"The Magician's Daughter is that most rare and precious thing: a brand-new classic, both wholly original and wonderfully nostalgic. It's an absolute treasure." —Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January

"[D]elightful and whimsical...Another gem of a novel from a talented writer." 
 —Kirkus

"Brilliantly-imagined. I love the way Parry blends mythic elements with wit and heart. A fast pace, period detail and an intriguing cast of real, flawed people make The Magician's Daughter a book to be absolutely devoured."—Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong

"The Magician's Daughter is innovative fairy tale and deftly researched historical fiction in one, full of captivating magic and richly drawn characters. HG Parry crafts an evocative world rife with a struggle for equity, justice, and the occasional miracle that readers won't be able to forget."—Rowenna Miller, author of Torn

"A compelling journey into a world of fading myth and mystery, evoking the magic of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by way of The Dark is Rising. The old magic runs deep in H. G. Parry's veins. The Magician's Daughter is a true delight."—Cameron Johnston, author of The Maleficent Seven

"Draws you in and makes you believe that magic does exist. Animal familiars, an island that only appears on certain days, and a young heroine who learns the depths of her strength. I absolutely adored it!"—Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter

"The Magician's Daughter casts a spell with its warm and subtle prose. Parry has created an enchantment of a novel―a coming-of-age story teeming with magic, with characters striving to change an unjust world―this is a book to be savoured."—E. J. Beaton, author of The Councillor

"[F]illed with heartbreak and wonder. Highly recommended for fans of heroine's journeys, steampunk alternate worlds, and stories about what happens after the magic goes away." —Library Journal

"Parry continues her hot streak of well-researched historical fantasy with this mix of bildungsroman and love letter to the 19th-century English canon...The magic system—which posits magic as a nonrenewable resource—works wonderfully as a metaphor for capitalism after 19th-century industrialization. Parry’s fans will not be disappointed."—Publishers Weekly

"Parry has written another winning fantasy novel full of adventure, found family, and magic. This is a fully realized world that feels like a homage to the classic fantasy tales of Diana Wynne Jones...For readers who love a great fantasy adventure."—Booklist

"Beautifully crafted...Even devotees of fantasy’s darker corners will take solace in The Magician’s Daughter, a little paean to storybook endings and happily ever afters."—BookPage


"The Magician’s Daughter is a delightful little fantasy that pulls at all the right heartstrings...For those who fondly remember the works of Frances Hodgson Burnett or Lewis Carroll, this novel will definitely be your (bread, butter and) jam."—Wall Street Journal

"The Magician’s Daughter is a splendid piece of writing...If you’re looking for something to recapture some magic in your life, something that touches the bit inside all of us that dreams impossible dreams, then I can’t recommend this book enough."

—Lightspeed

"A charming romp of an old-school coming of age fantasy about family and magic that will take your heart for a wild ride."—NPR

From the Publisher

★ 11/01/2022

Parry (A Radical Act of Free Magic) writes a coming-of-age fantasy set in an alternate 1912 London filled with heartbreak and wonder, as protagonist Biddy has to literally spread her wings and fly to save her guardians and magic itself. It's also a found-family story where Biddy is forced to question everything she has ever believed about herself and magic. The magic started draining out of Biddy's world long before she was born, but the legendary Hy-Brasil, where she was raised, has a bit of it left. That magic, Biddy's magical guardians, and Biddy herself are pursued by a Mages' Council determined to steal what little is left—unless Biddy and her guardians take the fight to them in one last desperate gamble to find the place magic has hidden. Either they let magic loose again in a world condemned to gloom and deprivation, or it will be hoarded and abused by those who have been chasing Biddy—because she holds the only key. VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of heroine's journeys, steampunk alternate worlds, and stories about what happens after the magic goes away.—Marlene Harris

Library Journal

★ 2022-12-14
A sheltered girl must brave the evils of the world to save her family in Parry’s latest fantasy adventure.

Biddy has only ever known the magical island of Hy-Brasil, where she lives in a crumbling castle. Hy-Brasil is hidden by ancient magic, so it’s the perfect home for Biddy and her eccentric guardian, Rowan, a magician who won’t tell Biddy exactly why he needs to hide out on a secret island. Rowan and his familiar, a rabbit spirit named Hutchincroft, have provided Biddy with a wonderful, loving home, but as Biddy nears her 17th birthday she starts to feel some growing pains. Why is Rowan so resistant to letting her go to the mainland? What does Rowan do on his mysterious nightly trips off the island? And is Rowan’s story about Biddy washing up on shore as an infant even true? When Rowan can no longer shield Biddy from the truth about his dangerous enemies. Biddy realizes that in getting her wish to leave Hy-Brasil, she may be in for more than she bargained for. Parry's greatest gift as a fantasy author isn’t her ability to create magic systems that are both easily understandable and also detailed and immersive. Nor is it her knack for settings, as in the delightful and whimsical images of Hy-Brasil. Instead, it is how she takes those worldbuilding skills and uses them in service of deeply felt characters. As Biddy fights to help Rowan battle his enemies, she learns how people and problems are always more complex than they seem but that courage and a good heart will always win the day. What more can you ask for from a coming-of-age story?

Another gem of a novel from a talented writer.

Kirkus Reviews