And I had forgotten about Kate's speech before the teind. I love Kate's spunk and Christopher's bluntness. Not to the extent that, say, Goudge does in her overwrought history of Oxford, but enough to give it a good atmosphere. I also love the history that is painted all over the book. It has a much more useful plot point than that. But what I love about the transformation is that it isn't used for the Eliza /Freddy sort of effect. What follows is a suspenseful tale of old magic and new magic, with a tiny bit of transformation too. Why is it that he lives the life of an ascetic hermit, out by the well? And why do pilgrims throw their precious gold into the well and come away looking so exalted and ecstatic? And why do the women in the village treat her as if she were a witch? And is there some sense in what old Dorothy says regarding "the Fairy Folk"? Life at the small castle is dull and the only thing that sparks her interest is the mysterious behavior of Christopher Heron, the young brother of the master. Kate is banished to Derbyshire by Queen Mary (daughter of Henry and Catherine of Aragon), due to a letter sent by her blundering sister. She only wrote one other novel but the caliber of those novels is higher than most. There are several hidden, almost vintage (at this point), YA authors that I wish had written more and Pope is one of them.
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