Read Women discussion

This month, we will read and discuss the 2025 Hugo and Nebula Award nominee for best novel: A Sorceress Comes to Call by award-winning author and illustrator, T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon). It's described as a dark, contemporary, perhaps offbeat, retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl, rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic. And a despicable mom. It qualifies for our Q2 Sci-fi/Fantasy challenge if you're participating.

Ursula Vernon

Vernon writes children's books (including the Dragonbreath series and the Hamster Princess series), along with horror, fantasy and romantasy novels intended for adults. Her website https://redwombatstudio.com/about-the...

Excitement: she lives 15 miles or so away from me! in Pittsboro, NC!

I loved this 2023 interview transcript with grimdark mag, which has zero spoilers about our book but offers a lot of Vernon's personality and approach.
https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/an-i...

Anita will lead. Let us know your thoughts if you've previously read Sorceress as well as if you plan to read with us and participate in the discussion.

I enjoy her books. This hold came in early from the library ( a first for me this year) so I read it a little over a week ago. Excited to discuss this with everyone.

Fingers crossed my library hold takes less than the estimated 5 weeks! I've been curious about this author and I like the sound of this story.

I picked up my hold yesterday and am excited to start it , probably a Monday after I finish a couple of books. This sounds not only fascinating but a venture into the unknown (for me), which carries its own excitement.

Unlike my perception of the current dominant fantasy and romantasy landscape of 600+ page novels, this is a perfectly doable 362 pages which tempts me even more. Thank you, author!

Thank you for setting this up Carol! I’ve got my copy to start tonight or tomorrow. I only first discovered the story of the Goose Girl a few years ago and am excited to read this take on it.

Does anyone have any initial thoughts on this book or any by T. Kingfisher?

I started this today and was pretty much immediately sucked in to the story. If you’ve read the blurb then you already know that somehow the mother controls the daughter’s body. And that is just wild. I’ve also met an elderly lady, Hester, who I already adore. Looking forward to how this story plays out. From the original story as I know it, the Goose Girl was a princess sent to be married and was tricked into switching places with another girl. I believe to save herself she lays low as the palace’s goose girl. I seem to remember her horse, Falada, talks. There was a bit of a macabre twist in the other version I read (by Shannon Hale) where I believe they hung the horse’s head over a gateway and it still spoke to her… there is a Falada in this book, but so far it hasn’t spoken to Cordelia and his head has remained on his body. Granted I’m only 7 chapters in.

I love that it is set in Regency England. The social norms of the ton just add fun to see the sorceress has to try and fit into this new environment. Obviously her daughter is also in a new environment, but then she has been sheltered all her life so has no idea what to think.

An audiobook became available! Started yesterday and it drew me in right away. I've just gotten to the point that Beth is talking about- they're arriving at the new environment.

I'm not familiar with the original story but Anita's got me curious how Falada's role will unfold. So far, (view spoiler)[it was sad to discover he is the mother's familiar and not Cordelia's friend. Speaking of which, I hope it's not the last we see of Ellen (hide spoiler)]though they've relocated.

I also enjoyed the introduction of Hester and am liking the perspective has shifted to hers a couple times. I'm only up to chapter 5 so I don't know if that continues throughout but I think I would like that.

This selection and the comments have me curious. I am also hopeful my library hold will be early. 😊

Jen wrote: "An audiobook became available! Started yesterday and it drew me in right away. I've just gotten to the point that Beth is talking about- they're arriving at the new environment.

I'm not familiar w..."

I was unhappy with that revelation about Falada as well, Jen, but I’m honestly holding out hope that we just can’t trust her mother. I have some suspicions a little further along in the book (I’m in chapter 14) but we'll see! Hester’s brief inner monologue about her geese at another estate has me curious if that was just the homage to the original story, or if somehow Cordelia will end up there. Truly enjoying this one though so far. An easy to enjoy read. So many of the characters are well developed, it’s almost laughable that we know so little about the Squire himself. I’m also really enjoying the Downton Abbey vibes I’m getting from the relationships of the household.

Anita wrote: "Jen wrote: "An audiobook became available! Started yesterday and it drew me in right away. I've just gotten to the point that Beth is talking about- they're arriving at the new environment.

I'm no..."

I'm holding out hope too, re: Falada!

I reread the Goose Girl just to refresh my memory. I thought the handkerchief with the dots of blood was more important, but really it was a red herring.

Back to the horrible mother and our Cordelia.

Carol - do you recommend reading The Goose Girl beforehand?

Sophie wrote: "Carol - do you recommend reading The Goose Girl beforehand?"

I think you can always enjoy a retelling on its own terms, but it takes so little time in this instance, why not? Here’s a link: https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm089...

Ooh, Thank you! 😊

I am starting chapter 8 and am SO GLAD HESTER entered the stage. Living in the Evangeline- Cordelia world was so upsetting and then the (view spoiler)[Falada reveal (hide spoiler)] almost took me out. But now there’s Hester and kind lady’s maids to restore my spirit.

Carol wrote: "Sophie wrote: "Carol - do you recommend reading The Goose Girl beforehand?"

I think you can always enjoy a retelling on its own terms, but it takes so little time in this instance, why not? Here’s..."

Oh goodness. That was quite dark lol but thank you for sharing.

So happy everyone is enjoying Hester and the other secondary and tertiary characters. I find in many of her books those characters are well developed and add so much to the story.

〰️Beth〰️ wrote: "So happy everyone is enjoying Hester and the other secondary and tertiary characters. I find in many of her books those characters are well developed and add so much to the story."

They make all the difference to me. I love imagining dinners where each participant is so real to me. Plus I’m now invested in the Hester-Richard romance, and the butler sounds like John Gielgud as Hobson.

I finished tonight. That was as tremendous fun. When a few others are done and ready discuss, I have questions. Because I’m that reader that is compelled to understand the rules of the world presented.

Carol wrote: "I finished tonight. That was as tremendous fun. When a few others are done and ready discuss, I have questions. Because I’m that reader that is compelled to understand the rules of the world presen..."

Oh wow I love that you finished and enjoyed it!! I’m hoping to finish this weekend. I really enjoy it and am switching between audio and kindle so I can listen while doing some mindless tasks as well.

Ok, I’m on about chapter 25 and (view spoiler)[ was already shocked at the suddenness of Penelope’s death,, but now she’s a ghost?! Did not see that coming. Although I’m glad because I really liked her character. Knowing she’s not totally written out yet is a nice surprise. (hide spoiler)].

Also, getting a lot of green flags on the Hester-Richard front and honestly terrified for them.

I’m also wondering about the general sorceress lore of this world and hoping their visit to Richard’s estate and library will satisfy our curiosity. I find it interesting that Evangeline seems keen on having a small ceremony, and with the mention of the rituals breaking spells, I’m also curious what kind of enchantment she’s allegedly placed on the Squire, OR if there are other enchantments she’s worried about, like maybe on Cordelia or Falada?

I had honestly thought that (view spoiler)[ the voice was Falada (hide spoiler)]

Anyone else having thoughts or questions as we go? Just general commentary. How is everyone liking all the side characters? I’m hoping to get some more development on Imogene as well. I’m loving that a fairytale springing from the story of young princess off to be married to her prince has kind of turned into a regency gothic murder/mystery solved by elders.

SPOILER ALERT

I am a big Imogene fan, from the card games to her practicality. Whenever I got a bit weary of hearing about Hester's knee (not that it's her fault that she makes 50 sound like 70), Imogene would say or do something intriguing and I'd be right back in the fold.

Penelope as Ghost. So many questions.

I don't understand Penelope as a ghost. Fine, she becomes a ghost. But what's the mechanism for her to be in Cordelia's head, but no one else's? And does Cordelia have to utter something audible in order for Penelope to hear her or does she only have to think about a response? I think Cordelia has to talk aloud. Why? (I kept thinking about Harry Potter and his ability to hear Voldemort's conversations and the eventual explanation of what's going on, what it indicates, why it's an issue, and it was entirely clear how the connection functioned.) Then, during the marriage ceremony, Penelope has the ability to pull at physical objects but not successfully control/move them, and Doom senses her presence. Never again does Penelope try to move a physical object (at least I don't think so). That's a bit convenient for me. If an author gives a character an ability, I want it to be in her wheelhouse for the remainder of the book and not only in one scene to tip of Doom. When they go to Richard's house, there's a suggestion that she might not be able to communicate with Cordelia due to distance, but then I think she does. Is distance a limiting factor or isn't it? Then we have our happy ending. What happens to Penelope? Does she stick around? If not, why not? Does she get to choose or are there rules around how long she can stay and under what circumstances? None of these are barriers for me enjoying the book, but I am confident you all can help me interpret what we've got in a sensible way that doesn't require me to just accept it without questions.

Carol wrote: "SPOILER ALERT

I am a big Imogene fan, from the card games to her practicality. Whenever I got a bit weary of hearing about Hester's knee (not that it's her fault that she makes 50 sound like 70), ..."

I finished this one last night. I really enjoyed it. Your comment about Hester making 50 seem like 70 made me laugh and I realized I had just accepted she was that old of an old lady. Modern luxuries (even the idea of healthcare as a luxury makes me lol) have made 50 seem not so old at all anymore. SPOILER ALERT GOING FORWARD


Penelope as a ghost was one of the things I questioned about the author’s choices. I thought her death was sudden and unexpected considering how careful Evangeline said she needed to be about her sorcery. The only idea of an answer I have for all of your questions is magic. I think Evangeline, Penelope, and Cordelia all have magic of varying degrees. The amount of times Evangeline questions Cordelia about pushing back or taking over made me think that she was purposefully keeping Cordelia in the dark about her powers. Evangeline also said that Penelope was using her minuscule powers to beguile people.
It seems that because of their magic, they can sense and see magical objects, like the water, the wine, the salt and each other. I’m guessing everyone or everything has a little magic since they’re seen as blurry dull lights to Penelope, but the more magical the item the brighter it is- hence Falada who is probably pure magical being. Also, wow what a turn from the original there, right? Penelope also did say that she was wandering in the dark for a few days (a week?) so I do think distance plays a part. Since Penelope has magic, she could participate in the ritual after her death because she could still see and manipulate the wine. It was as unclear to me as it was to Penelope as to why she stayed after death other than the idea that she was outside of her body when it happened.
In the end, Penelope tells Cordelia to tell everyone goodbye for her. So I took this as she was crossing over.
Probably the one frustrating aspect of this book, for me, was the lack of answers we got about Cordelia. I almost expected her to not be Evangeline’s daughter at all. That she had been kidnapped and was being drained for her beauty or powers or something. We do get the sense that Evangeline had spells on her since she felt them stripping away when they did the ritual in Evangeline, but we never get any definitive answers. Also, who is her dad? I’m so curious.
This is supposedly a standalone, so we won’t know. But I definitely enjoyed it.

Thank you so much, Anita. Your comments helped a lot.

I was confused about whether Cordelia has any magic powers, too. We didn’t see any evidence of it, other than her ability to make adults like her which seemed disproportionate to her social skills and far beyond what pity would have generated.

I did, too. I want to read a book about Imogene next. Although I’m permanently scarred by Falada 😞🤣

Just finished the audiobook. I always enjoy interpretations/retellings of other narratives. This was definitely an interesting take but I did feel parts become predictable during the climatic scenes. The characters are the more interesting component of the story, the read as though the author put a great deal more effort into fleshing them out to improve the story. Evangeline is predictably evil but the horse and the aristocrats they are almost like Gatsby characters.

I’m glad you enjoyed it Naomi! I agree the character development was top notch in this book. The ending, and especially Falada, felt like a weird fever dream where not much was explained and a lot happened all at once. As someone who leans heavily on character development, I really appreciated the cast in this one.

I do wish we had gotten a little more development in Evangeline and Cordelia though. As strange as it sounds, these two pillars of the book left me with so many questions about their relationship. I think we would have benefited from an Evangeline backstory and development.

Is anyone else still reading this and having thoughts? I’d love to hear your impressions whether you’ve finished or not.

I'm only ~40% through the audiobook and been getting increasingly bored by it unfortunately. Considering discontinuing... For me, the cast is cute, I guess?, it's kinda fun to see Evangeline's efforts now getting thwarted by the effortlessly savvy Ms. Green... I guess?, the modern feminism and friendship of these other women is I guess kinda fun... But I've been feeling disappointed the characters don't seem to develop, feeling pretty flat to me... Maybe it's something I'd enjoy more as a movie or TV but in a book I want more.

I've been away from my computer for a few weeks now but enjoying reading all of your comments and thoughts and catching up! I finished this one several weeks ago (my library copy came in unexpectedly early and it was a quick read).

I agree about there being so many questions. It wasn't a short book by any means, but I feel like we could have had several more chapters in there. I, too, would have liked more information on Cordelia, the spells put on her, maybe something about her father.

I finally got a copy from the library and am trying to catch up. It doesn't take much effort because I'm really enjoying it. We had a road trip this weekend and I am able to read in a moving vehicle (I'm not the driver ; ) )
I'm up to chapter 17 and like everyone else, I love Hester as well as the maid Alice. Although I was afraid for Alice after what happened to Ellen.
@Anita - Definitely Downton Abby vibes.
I started reading all your comments but decided to stop and wait until I am done.
The humour between the characters is helping alleviate the feeling of dread.

Sophie wrote: "I finally got a copy from the library and am trying to catch up. It doesn't take much effort because I'm really enjoying it. We had a road trip this weekend and I am able to read in a moving vehicl..."

I was such an Alice fan, and worried about her in the same way I typically worry about favorite dogs in stories where there's a vengeful character.

I finished the book a few days ago. (Summer guest season so I get distracted : ) )
@Anita - The ending, and especially Falada, felt like a weird fever dream where not much was explained and a lot happened all at once. As someone who leans heavily on character development, I really appreciated the cast in this one.
I liked the characters too, especially the witty humor.
Fever dream is the perfect description for the Falada events.
I enjoyed the read overall.