I have a weakness for reading books that CS Lewis enjoyed. I have more than one compilation of works that delve into Lewis' favourite classics and works. One such being Precious Bane by Mary Webb. I have been meaning to read this for eons but finally got around to it ( thank you Orillia Public Library). After a ramble down by the harbour yesterday I wandered into the library to see if it was there on the stacks and sure enough an age old hardcover sat waiting for me to pounce. I cancelled my amazon order for it but after my recent finish may have to put the order in again.
I loved it. I had no trouble becoming accustomed to the Shropshire diction that Webb uses and I found the setting more than amicable. It reads almost like a fairytale, its hare-lipped narrator, Prue Sarn the unlikely fairy princess she dreams of being. Her prince, Kester Woodseaves the perfect knight who whisks her off on his horse to a marriage and a sunset.
A dark fairytale to be sure, with a grim brother an abusive temperamental father and a superstitious tribunal of a town waiting to claim our poor heroine as one of the devil's very own. But Prue is full of love and wit and resource. She saves the life of her beloved before she ever engages in conversation with him.
I loved this heroine and I fell hard for the first person narrative. I was ecstatic that today's read, though so varied from yesterday's, was equally as captivating.
And yes, Clive Staples wins again. This duck has a great track record when it comes to good reads. Come to think of it, for writing good reads as well as recommending them. Awww.
1 comment:
I read this recently as well, and I thought it was wonderful. I need to check out her other books, too.
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