“I am Coriander Hobie. I was born in the year of Our Lord 1643, the only child of Thomas and Eleanor Hobie, in our great house on the River Thames in London. Of my early years I remember only happiness. That was before I knew this world had such evil in it, and that my fate was to be locked up in a chest and left to die.This is my story. This is my life.”And it is a wonderful story, quite beautifully told.Coriander writes her story of life in 1650s London by candlelight, with each of her seven chapters ending as one of her seven candles burns out.It’s a fascinating era, under-represented in fiction. The Civil war is over, the king has been executed and the monarchy has been replaced by a commonwealth, led by Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.That world comes wonderfully to life on the page, and an engaging heroine, with a fine supporting cast, keeps the pages turning.Coriander had a happy childhood, but then her mother died and her father was quickly remarried, to a strict Puritan widow.It’s shocking, but understandable. Remember that England was in turmoil with suspected royalists being denounced, and Puritans holding sway. And Thomas Hobie was a silk merchant, allied with the losing side. Maybe he thought he was doing the best thing for his child, ensuing her safety in the new world order.But he wasn’t. When he had to go away his new wife called in a fundamentalist Puritan preacher and the pair of them waged war on the frivolities of the household. They to take away the name that Coriander’s beloved mother had given her, and re-christen her with the more suitable, plain and sensible, name of Ann. Villains indeed!Horribly believable villains, and they allowed Sally Gardner to say an awful lot about politics, religion, and the wrongs that may be done in their names.It’s fortunate that Coriander had good friends to show that there was love, understanding and tolerance in the world too.Coriander stood up for herself, but she could not win. Eventually she would be shut away in a chest and left to die.But she didn’t die. She escaped into the fairy world that her mother had come from years earlier.Yes, Coriander’s mother was a fairy. I might have mentioned it earlier, there were signs that Coriander was being called to her mother’s world, but for me it was the least interesting element of the story.She meets a handsome prince and she learns more about her past, why she has been called into that world, and what she must do when she returns to her own world. It’s lovely, beautifully written and cleverly constructed, but just a little under-developed. And the rest of the story was so good that, I’m afraid, nothing less than perfect would do!Coriander returns to her life six years after she left, causing much consternation. She is changed, the world is changed, and events build to a fine conclusion in two worlds.A fine conclusion to a wonderfully rich and absorbing story.Not quite perfect, but perfection was so very near.
This was a lovely little fairy-tale story. I can just imagine reading this to little girls, who will inevitably beg for just one more chapter before having to go to bed. It's so easy to imagine said little girls dreaming of being a fairy princess, even though this isn't your typical fairy princess story. From the very start, this story reminded me strongly of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Except, this story was much more entertaining, and fun, and concise. And not a single footnote! There was a lot of stuff to love in this story. It catered to my love of historical fiction. I always enjoy well-written stories that are set back in time a ways. Generally, the further back the better. I love immersing myself in a different time with different mentalities and ideas and concepts, and I especially love it when there is a strong character I can identify with that's going with me. Coriander was absolutely strong, and I loved her. She never let anyone take her dignity and identity away from her, even in a time when women were considered property and were thought to be nothing more than feeble-minded breeding house-keepers. Coriander refused to let herself be put into that particular box, and I loved her spunk for it. This book also placed a lot of emphasis on religious and political persecution. This always interests me, because I'm a "Live and Let Live" kind of girl. I don't care what you believe, as long as you don't try to foist that belief on me against my will. I guess this makes me a little morbidly curious to read about people who just have to "cleanse", "convert", "fix" the "unbelievers" around them. I was really kind of fascinated with Maud Leggs and Arise Fell in this story because of that. Of course, they couldn't care less whether you believed. They just derived a sick pleasure out of the conversion process. I definitely enjoyed reading this story. It was interesting and fun, and was a well-blended mix of history and fairy-tale. I think it would have been 5 star quality if it had wrapped just a few things up a little better, like who Medlar was, and how the time system worked, etc, but I think this is a solid 4 star book, even lacking those things. I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a light, fun read.
Do You like book I, Coriander (2007)?
This is a wonderful fairy tale novel. Coriander, growing up in the era of Cromwell's protectorate after the Royalist defeat in the Civil War, is the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Her mother is well known as a herbalist and healer, and, Coriander learns, is from Fairyland.Coriander's mother dies, and since rumours are abounding of his sympathies, her father is advised to marry a good Puritan woman. So Coriander acquires a wicked stepmother in Maud, and a cowed, frightened stepsister in Hester.
—Alison
Like _The Perilous Gard_, this is a variation on the Tam Lin story. And like _Perilous Gard_, it is set in a historical period that is vividly and convincingly drawn. I, Coriander is set in the Puritan period in England and the early years of the Restoration. Spoiler ahead: Master Hobie, Coriander's father, is in danger because of his support of Charles I, which causes him to leave his Thameside home and his outspoken daughter in the care of his vicious Puritan second wife, Maud. Maud is surely the most repugnant character I have encountered in the last year. She, and her equally repellent paramour, Arise Fell, torment not only Coriander, whom they stubbornly refer to as "Ann," but Maud's own daughter, the spineless, but sympathetic, Hester. Their harshest punishment ironically opens the doorway into Fairyland, into which Coriander escapes. Her days in Fairyland are not nearly as convincingly written as the London sections. This is in contrast to _The Perilous Gard_, in which the land of Faerie is just as alive as the real setting. I heard the audio book, delightfully read by British actress Juliet Stevenson.
—Carolynne
Coriander lives in London at a time of political instability. Charles I, King of England has been beheaded and now Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans hold the country. But this means little to Coriander for her world only contains her parents and their friends. But when a pair of silver shoes arrive at the house the outside worlds begin to encroach on hers.By the light of seven candles, Coriander tells her story. It is a tale of silver shoes, a stuffed alligator, lost treasure and fairies; for Coriander is the daughter of a fairy princess who fled her kingdom. Now, Coriander must find the courage to put things right in the fairy realm, while combating the evil schemes of her Puritan stepmother and the evil Arise Fell.Read by Juliet Stevenson, this audiobook is a delight. Part fairy tale, part historical novel the characters are full of vigor and colour. London and the fairy realm are bursting with life as this historical fantasy with a little romance weaves smoothly between the two.
—Jenne
