CHILD OF FAERIE, CHILD OF EARTH by Josepha Sherman. 1992, 159 pages. Walker and Co., $14.95.

When Rezaila, the Faerie Queen, is told by her son, Percinet, that he has fallen in love with a girl outside of the magical realm, she is dismayed and disappointed. But she tempers her concern when she recalls that she married a human and Percinet is half Faerie, half human.The lovely Graciosa is unaware of Percinet's affection, however, and is only concerned with her father, the Count d'Aulnoy, whose recent betrothal is announced to the mean and rich toadlike woman, Lady Eglatine, dubbed Grognon.

Percinet's ability to transfix himself into Graciosa's world helps save her from the treacherous stepmother and together they visit the land of Faerie. Graciosa shows signs of possessing magic talents but refuses to stay in the serene land of Faerie because of her father.

Lady Eglatine captures Percinet, and only through the combined efforts of Graciosa and the Faerie Queen is the prince saved.

View Comments

"Child of Faerie, Child of Earth" is a charming fantasy with romance, magic and the battle between good and evil, the accordance of beauty and ugliness. It can take its place next to the various versions of "Sleeping Beauty," "Snow White" and other traditional tales. All of the components of "story" are here; people who seek something beyond their means (Lady Eglatine who wants a husband and beauty; the Count coveting her wealth) good and evil, a quest to slay a `dragon' and the honorable person who wins out in the end. There is the proverbial "and they lived happily ever after," which is not unexpected.

Sherman has developed a cast of major characters that are beguiling and beautiful (or ugly, as the case may be) with minor characters that add to the action, such as the ladies in waiting ("they giggled over their embroidery there in the castle's little garden bower as though they hadn't even a trace of noble blood in their veins. Pretty, busy, brainless butterflies.") and those handmaidens with the same responsibility in the land of Faerie ("elegant features, the high cheekbones, narrow, pointed chins, sharply slanted eyes, the same loose, flowing hair . . . stepped back through the suddenly reappeared shimmering and vanished").

The author's contrasting descriptions of the cold, smoky castle ("a squat thing of dark stone, guarded by four thick, square-sided towers . . . and damp . . . the drawbridge was invitingly lowered over the algae-covered moat") that was home to Graciosa and the lovely Faerie land ("warm with trees and fields and gently rolling hills, all as freshly, gaily green as though the color had been newly minted") is memorable and assures the reader that she has indeed found a home of security.

`Child of Faerie, Child of Earth," for readers 12-15, will be a pleasant diversion from the real world.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.