The Wizard's Daughter

by Barbara Michaels

A penniless yet strikingly beautiful orphan, Marianne Ransom's indomitable spirit has enabled her to survive a cruel life on the backstreets of Victorian London. But it is her gift of second sight that carries her into the world of money and privilege—a power brought on by a strange twist of fate. In the opulent home of a wealthy duchess, Marianne is being called upon to summon her late father—a noted mystic—from the grave. But Marianne's exceptional abilities have become a perilous trap. And suddenly knowing too much could prove fatal.

Genres: Mystery, Gothic, Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Gothic Romance, Historical

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Barbara Michaels was a pen name of Barbara Mertz. She also wrote as Elizabeth Peters, as well as under her own name.

She was born in Canton, Illinois and has written over fifty books including some in Egyptology. Dr. Mertz also holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in Egyptology.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barbara Michaels wrote Gothic Romance/ Mystery novels starting in the late 1960's all the way up until the late 1980's. The genre was at it's peak during the 1970's when Ms. Michaels wrote many tales of mystery, suspense, and the supernatural. However, the genre began to falter in popularity during the 1980's. Barbara Michaels and Victoria Holt, two to the authors that defined the genre the best were the only ones able to write Gothic Romance with any real sucess during that time. In fact , Victorica Holt wrote into the early 1990's, although her books lacked the paranormal or supernatural element that Barbara Michaels normally employed. If you pull out any of these books today, you may find yourself irritated with the female protaganist. The females were often in danger, in need of male rescue. At times the female was downright stupid. In this case Marianne Ransom was naive to a fault. However, we must remember this book was written as a historical novel, and many young girls in that time period were that naive.
Set in the mid 1800's Marianne Ransom found herself orphaned and broke. She must take a position somewhere, probably as a governess, however, she longed for a career on the stage. She briefly finds a job as a singer, but then realizes what kind of establishment it is she works for and leaves immediately.( after a really frightening struggle) Then, she approached by a lawyer she met earlier about a meeting with an aging, very wealthy duchess. The Duchess believes Marianne is the daughter of a famous spiritualist. Everyone doubts this is true, but humors the Duchess. Marianne is asked to participate in a seance to see if she has inherited any of her "father's" gifts. Turns out she may have the ability to channel spirits.
Then the Duchess takes a turn health wise and the two men closest to her, a doctor and the lawyer decide it's time the duchess should think of making a will. This hurries the plot along since someone is in a hurry to inherit from the duchess.
The mystery was predictable, the romance was understated, which was common in these novels. The book had the feel of a regency period historical romance/mystery, with a slight feel of a cozy mystery. Much lighter than any of the other Barbara Michaels books I have read so far.
It was fun mystery. It wasn't the best of Barbara Michaels but quite enjoyable.
Overall a B-

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally like for fictional heroines to be more intelligent and spirited than the naive and insipid Miss Marianne Ransom. Fortunately, the mysterious and ghostly plot of this book was enough to keep me from tossing it across the room. While I wouldn't go so far as to pronounce her Too Stupid To Live, Miss Ransom put herself in quite a lot of daft situations, such as wandering on the stage of a London theater one day after arriving from the country and bursting into song, fantasizing that she would immediately become a Famous Actress. This does not happen of course, but what does happen, a duchess decides she is the long-lost child of an old friend (who was a spiritualist) and takes her in as a companion (and makes her perform table turning)is almost as far-fetched. So, is she really? Or is someone playing tricks? The answers to these questions are not what I expected; however, had I given this author a little more credit I probably would have figured it out. Upon reflection, there was certainly enough foreshadowing. I just expected the ending to be less of a revelation. My mistake.
I'm not terribly tempted to check out more of this author's work, although I wasn't unimpressed. I would recommend this only to fans of chaste gothic romances.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of Michaels' best, but an entertaining light read, and a very gentle parody of gothic conventions. Marianne finds herself destitute after her wastrel father's death, but is taken up by an ailing duchess, who believes that she is really the daughter of a famous psychic and has inherited his powers. A crumbling Scottish castle packed with eccentric characters, an evil nobleman bent on divesting our naive heroine of her virtue, and a dashing lawyer to save her from a fate worse than death complete the picture.

[Marian Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The usual cast of characters: plucky heroine, various dreamboats who turn out to have feet of clay at best, rude man who turns out to be The Good Guy. I fall into a Barbara Michaels book like climbing into a warm bath. No nasty surprises, all good stuff.

I scored a sackful of Barbara Michaels romance/mysteries at the library book sale, and I'm a very happy person. :)

[Nita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical Barbara Michaels read. Even not at her best, it is still entertaining and suspenseful even if the protagonist is rather a limp dishtowel at times (many times).

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually written/first published back in 1980. But it's by one of my favorite writers (now deceased) and I'd never read it so I figured why not. It was available via Kindle Unlimited.

It's a historical semi-paranormal/gothic/romance/mystery -- kinda hard to define. Time is mid 1800s when 'table turning' and 'spiritualism' was all the rage. A young man from America, David Holmes, is touring England as a medium of some renown, garnering the attention of quite a few females. But he goes missing mysteriously while in Scotland.

Fast forward some 18 years and Marianne Ransom has just been left homeless and nearly penniless on the death of her father, widowed some years before. She's been more or less cared for by kindly Mrs Jay who is, however, unable to take her into her home. So she is sent to a respectable rooming house for young ladies in London.

Marianne is ridiculously naive, having no understanding at all of how the world works, how men might behave toward her, and what she really ought to be doing. She does a lot of daydreamingflirts fairly outrageously, completely oblivious to how it comes off to men and simply assumes everyone she meets means her well. She is, fairly quickly, made aware that this is not always the case. And her adventures begin.

As a story, it was a bit uneven, but, in the end, I do think all the connections were there. I found I couldn't really like her much but she did mature a bit and I was satisfied with her 'happily ever after'.

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't say I was at all impressed by this book. I found that overall very little happened, and when something did actually happen it was rushed through. The lead female acted about 12 years old most of the time, with the mental capacity to match. The lead guy spent most of the book acting angry and rude, so when the pair got together at the end, it didn't fit at all. It was as if it was an afterthought for the author to actually get them both together. Overall I thought the book lacked planning, with sloppy characters and story-line. I don't recommend the book at all.

This was the first book by Barbara Michaels I have read, and other people have said that this is not one of her better ones, so I may give her another chance. I hesitate to, though.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite B. Michaels by a long shot!!! Although I would put this in gothic fiction genre...the setting was right (an old Scottish castle) mysterious comings & goings, secret passages, spiritualism etc; I just didn't feel it. I thought the main character was not worth worrying over at all. Just a disappointment. Oh well, win some, lose some.

[Anumita Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoy reading this kind of stuff when I am not in ‘serious reading’ kind of mood. I wouldn’t really recommend it to anyone but I relish em light gothic mysteries and if one has a taste for this kind of thing then the book is a page-turner. Strictly for one-time read preferably in one or two sittings.

[Carolynn England · Rating 4 out of 5]

be warned: potential spoilers ahead. cute story centered on seances at a rich lady's whim and the tricks involved, though i was hoping for more magic with a title like Wizard's Daughter. Still, i'm glad it didn't revolve around a girl falling in love. in fact, the title character outright rejected a number of suitors for being too pushy for her own comfort.

[Sarahandus · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one wasn't one of Barbara Michaels better efforts. I do love most of her stories and the earlier Elizabeth Peters books though. Then again maybe I just wasn't in the right mood.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of 2.5 stars but I wouldn't give it 3

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dragged a good bit; not as interesting as some of her other books.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely Gothic novel with some medium characters mixed in with the romance.

[Karen L.]

I was disappointed. It was very tepid. I actually didn't finish it.

[Lisa Shower · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a favorite

I love the authors books but this one, not so much. I can not explain why that is, it puzzled me as well.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty predictable but a fun read from the historical era of seances and occultism.

[Mare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun!

[Stephanie Lacroix · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I really wanted to like this more but it was so anticlimactic. I am a big fan of Barbara Michaels and this one just didn’t do it for me. It was slow and the ending was mid.

[Kat Lebo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wizard's Daughter
by Barbara Michaels

And my late summer Peters/Michaels binge continues! The Wizard's Daughter is a classical gothic. It is set in Victorian times, in England, complete with old Castle like estate replete with secret passages and lots of intrigue. The main character, a naive young woman named Marianne Ransom, has lived a charmed life until her 18th year. Her mother passed away when she was much younger, but her father, Squire Ransom, who was much too busy drinking, gambling and womanizing, to keep a close eye on her, spared little expense for her comfort, making sure she had up to date upper crust wardrobe (and plenty of it), fine horses to ride, and the company of a "good" woman, the widow of the local vicar, Mrs. Jay. Unfortunately, when the Squire dies, it becomes obvious that he was living on money he did not have. His creditors, being many, came to cart away what good furniture, paintings and other belongings were left to claim, including the seamstress, who collects the new winter wardrobe she has sewn for Marianne. Mrs. Jay takes Marianne in for a time, but being fatally ill herself, she arranges for Marianne to go to London to the boarding house of a friend of a friend, where she will have to find a job to earn her keep. There are adventures to be had during this time frame, to be sure, but they culminate in a) her being the target of a very vengeful and very wealthy man, and b) becoming the possible searched-for heir to a well-known medium (it is the Victorian era, after all) who was much beloved by an elderly Duchess. Since the medium's disappearance, she has searched far and wide not only for him, but for any offspring he may have. Marianne's hair coloring, eye color and complexion have convinced her that she has at last found an heir of her lost love, David Holmes. (BTW, Michaels states that her main character was inspired by the real life Daniel Dunglas Holmes -- find out more about him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_...)

From there we are treated to a series of seances, seemingly ghostly appearances, household intrigue both among the servants and among family members, an overzealous vicar, the Duchess' attorney, who she had raised when his parents died, a doting physician, a bored and overactive young boy, and the return of that vengeful man from London. Is Marianne who the Duchess thinks she is? Whatever will happen to our heroine? If you love a good gothic where nothing is for sure and everything is at stake, this book will make you happy.

The plotting is wonderful. The pacing was at time a bit slow, but always ended up giving you an important part of the story. Editing and proofreading were good (I did find a couple of proofing errors -- always a surprise when it's in a book from the "old" days of publishing, when proofing was provided to authors). Michaels builds each adventure to a fever pitch, and plunges the reader headlong into yet the next thing that could go wrong.

Some things that made me smile:

Page 140 (market paperback): Marianne threatens the young Duke that if he doesn't do as she tells him, he will take him by the ear and remove him from the room. It's nice to know that some customs are worldwide, as my mother (in Indiana in the 1950/60s) used precisely that method when she was mad.

Page 99: Piercing of the ears --- Marianne has to have her ears pierced when she comes to live with the Duchess. Her father had never thought to have that done, and it was necessary if she was to wear the precious jeweled earrings the Duchess gives her. I guess I hadn't thought about the clip-on or screw-on earring not having existed during the Victorian era.

The entire book: References to limbs rather than arms and legs and other Victorian ideas of decency. I'm not usually a fan of historical gothics, but this one was fun.

Also, there was a reference to the young Duke's rooms being high up in the castle, and that this was common "in hopes of the child being not seen and not heard." Interestingly, just today I was working on a sewing project, with a Netflix movie playing called "From Time To Time," a time-travel/ghost story set in an old Estate in WWII England, but with travel to the same Estate in the Victorian era. And sure enough, the youngest child's rooms were high up in the mansion, making saving her during a house fire quite a feat. Serendipity. BTW, that movie reminded me of another old movie that used to play on cable every Christmas (why Christmas? I cannot fathom), called "The Amazing Mr. Blunden." I've been trying to find it on dvd for years, with no luck.

Back to the book at hand! Easy read. Fun way to pass the hot, humid days of August!

[Eppie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book couldn't seem to decide if it was a satirical comedy or gothic thriller, and kind of fell flat on both counts. It takes a long time to get to the gist of the plot, which really fails to live up to its potential.

It starts out as something of a comedy of manners when a well-bred young woman goes off to London and decides to join the theatre. She seems to have some strange power over men that she is aware of but not aware of...never made clear what was going on there but given the title it is kind of a red herring as it suggests that she does have special powers over others, but turns out it's probably just that she is irresistibly attractive? And the whole theatre set up, which takes several chapters, is really just a pretense to put her in the path of the antagonist, and to create the potential for an entirely underdeveloped and anti-climatic subplot. The romantic lead seems to drag her into the situation against her will, convince her to stay, and then cast aspersions on her motives. We never do know what happens to the protagonist's friend--she just disappears...the list goes on.The plot had so many holes in it you could use it to catch a fish.

It was clear to me early on who was behind the hijinks, but the protagonist never seemed fully bothered by the sinister nature of her situation. She was basically kidnapped and emotionally blackmailed into staying, assaulted, drugged, and generally placed in an uncomfortable situation and seems to blow it all off. The romance was predictable and without spark. I normally enjoy Michels, even if she is a bit predictable, but this was a real let down.

[M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in the mood for a ghost story, and the back cover of my edition of The Wizard's Daughter described this book as such.

Well, it wasn't much of a ghost story, although I did enjoy it. It has bits of the supernatural here and there, but primarily it is the story of a young Victorian woman, Marianne Ransom, who finds herself orphaned and now trying to find her place in the world. A move from Yorkshire to the heart of London opens her eyes to a new world where all that glitters is most certainly not gold.

A chain of shocking and unpleasant events leads her to Devenbrook Castle, where in the lap of luxury the adage about looking twice at all that glitters reoccurs when Marianne finds herself torn by those that need her help and others that view her with the utmost suspicion. She is told by some that she is a medium through which specters from another plane communicate, and by others that she is a fraud and possibly not even the person she believes to be. The truth is more sinister than she ever imagined.

This book has healthy helpings of mystery and romance and provides a nice window into Victorian life in London. There is a surprising twist at the end, too, but for some reason I was expecting a bit more in the gothic chills department. I won't say I didn't take to the characters; Michaels as always fills them with color and life, and I do wonder what became of them after the final chapter. I so admire the ability Barbara Michaels had to create a little world within the pages of a little book; I have some other books she's written on my shelf that might promise a bit more in the spooky department and will get to those in the near future.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just okay. Not one of the best I've ever read, but okay.

It has an interesting mystery, with the traditional foils of a remote English [well, actually, in this case it's in Scotland - but the principals are all English!] castle, apparent ghostly hauntings, a mischievous child, several potential villains, several potential heros, and a beautiful young female orphan, around whom many of the mysterious happenings seem to revolve and for whom the hero applicants are vying.

The story is a fun, entertaining romp, and moves along in a good arc towards the inevitable climax.

My objections were that a) the story and many of it's components were very predictable and a bit over-used, and b) I really didn't like the heroine Marianne very much, right up to the end, so it was a bit difficult to root for her and hope for the expected happy ending on her behalf.

Luckily, I liked very much most of the other characters in the story - even the ones who turn out to be villains. Not a bad read, just not the best one ever.

[Robert Fontenot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering how much I used to read and reread Barbara Michaels when I was in my teens, it should’ve been telling that I remembered nothing about this going in. It is utterly forgettable and possibly one of her worst books. As an author, she was never particularly good at historical settings and while the spiritualism plot should have made this more interesting, she never quite finds an interesting angle on it. The main character is particularly useless, constantly fainting and needing to be saved. Quite egregiously, at one point she finds a secret passage, but never bothers to explore it and occasionally seems to forget that it’s there. She constantly locks her bedroom door for her own safety. What does nothing to address the secret passage that people keep using to get into her room. It is really hard to root for her or for her to get together with the love interest, who is obnoxious even for the genre. He suspects her, belittles her, and doesn’t admit even the remotest interest in her until after she’s inherited a large sum of money. All in all, a dismal read.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters is my favorite author, and in her memory, I picked this up from the library book sale.
This book is entertaining, but lacks the haunting feel of her usual Gothic romance. The Wizard's Daughter implies it would have something to do with the supernatural, and Gothic romances typically have a spooky element that this one does not. Having said that, I absolutely adored the main character's joy for life, even in her tragic circumstances. I appreciate her desire to do and be good, even though she does not always know what that means. She's an easy character to like, even through her naivety.
The ending did provide a nice twist that was so unexpected, I had to go back and reread that section. I thought I missed a page, the surprise came so suddenly.
Not my favorite author's best work, but it's still good clean fun, and worth the read, if for no other reason than it is written by Barbara Michaels.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a different type of book for me. I'd call it historical / paranormal / fiction. The main character, Marianne Ranson, is a very naive, young woman who's father dies suddenly, leaving her with nothing. Almost everything from her house was confiscated to pay off these debts, leaving her with pretty much just the clothes on her back and a coat. Her aunt, I believe her deceased mom's sister, takes her in, but only long enough until she finds a boarding house for her. The boarding house is in London, and since she's only ever lived in the country, suddenly being in the city is very exciting for her, but filled with dangers that she is unaware of...

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if this book was trying for sarky or straight.

Marianne Ransom is a complete cliché, orphan, innocent abroad who falls into a job that means that she's put in danger, with a wealthy roue looking for her "virtue" she ends up with a Duchess who believes that she has occult powers and that she can help her find her lost love, believed dead.

Shenanigans ensue.

Entertaining but sometimes it felt like too much.

[Lisa Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know from beginning this one that I definitely have not read it yet. So far, it's quite interesting in painting Victorian era France.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. With its focus on religion, the occult and the usual romantic encounters and mysteries, it is vintage Michaels. This one is in my top three.

[Megan L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly picked this up thinking it was a fantasy novel (hee hee), but I have nothing against romance as a genre. I was disappointed that this is a rather old-school plot involving a hopeless ninny heroine falling for a man who calls her names when he's frustrated. I'm sure they'll be very happy together.

[Anna From Gustine · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is probably the last Barbara Michaels book I'll ever read. I've tried about 5 and they've ranged from mildly entertaining to downright lame. This particular book has a really naïve heroine making head-smacking decisions. The plot was paint-by-numbers too with stereotypes aplenty. I've seen this too often in gothic fiction. Permanent pass on this author.