The Swan Maiden, Jules Watson

[Rowan]

A lush, romantic retelling of one of the most enduring Irish legends, reigniting the tale of Deirdre-the Irish Helen of Troy-in a story that is at once magical, beautiful, and tragic.

She was born with a blessing and a curse: that she would grow into a woman of extraordinary beauty-and bring ruin to the kingdom of Ulster and its ruler, the wily Conor. Ignoring the pleadings of his druid to expel the infant, King Conor secrets the girl child with a poor couple of his province, where no man can covet her. There, under the tutelage of a shamaness, Deirdre comes of age in nature and magic.. And in the season of her awakening, the king is inexorably drawn to her impossible beauty.

But for Deirdre, her fate as a man's possession is worse than death. And soon the green-eyed girl, at home in waterfall and woods, finds herself at the side of three rebellious young warriors. Among them is the handsome Naisi.

His heart charged with bitterness towards the aging king, and growing in love for the defiant girl, Naisi will lead Deirdre far from Ulster - and into a war of wits, sword, and spirit that will take a lifetime to wage.

Brimming with life and its lusts, here is a soaring tale of enchantment and eternal passions - and of a woman who became legend.

When I knew that I would be receiving an advanced copy of The Swan Maiden, I sat down to do research. After all, it was being sold as a retelling of one of Ireland's most enduring myths. Unfortunately, being a well-known myth doesn't automatically qualify for premiere internet status. In fact, there's not much information to go on to familiarize oneself with this legend, so when I finally received the book in hand and sat down to read, it was with a fresh eye, knowing very little about the myth and how it might be retold in a unique and exciting way.

I trust Jules as both an author who will keep my attention from the start and as a researcher who will keep true to the evidence available. So it was no surprise to me when I recognised even the smallest bits of the Swan Maiden tale I'd found online sprinkled into the story. In her author's note, Jules gives the name of the original telling of the Swan Maiden's story which I hope to read some day as the tale itself was indeed a beautiful yet tragic one. Just by reading the publisher's summary of the book, those familiar with the story of Helen of Troy will recognise similarities, but at the same time, Dierdre's story is definitely her own.

I highly recommend reading this book for anyone who loves Irish mythology, anyone who has loved Jules' previous books and those who enjoy a love story without all the sugar dripping from every page.

I'd give this book 20 stars out of 20, but the rating system doesn't go that high so I guess 5/5 will have to do.

[diamondlil]

I am really excited at the prospect of reading this book!

[Divia]

I am also interested in this book. Thanks for the review. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy

[Ludmilla]

Almost done... should finish tonight. I'm taking the last 60 pages slowly, because it is... well, so sad! I really do love this kind of tragic love story, and I've always loved books where history buts up against myth. My experience with reading the sagas is mainly confined to the Icelandic ones; I haven't had an opportunity yet to read very many of the Irish tales, but I did find the Yeats/Lady Gregory version over at Sacred Texts which includes the the sons of Usnach (they have nearly everything over there related to myth and lore for most cultures).

I really like the way the story stays true to the spirit and resonance of conflicts you find in sagas, and this is a very earthy and sensual love story. I really appreciate how organic the spiritual and mystical elements are in the story. Just lovely!

I think I'll be reading the Dalriada trilogy next. I have the books.

[amyb]

The Swan Maiden is a novel based on the Irish legend of "Deirdre of the Sorrows", written by J.M. Synge. When Deirdre was a babe, the druid Cathbad prophesied that she would grow into a great beauty and bring about the downfall of their land. Ignoring requests that the babe be killed, the King of the Ulaids, Conor decides to hide the child with plans to marry her when she becomes of age. Conor enlists the help of Levercham, who teaches Dierdre the ways of the Druids. Attempts to dissuade Conor from his mission of marrying Deirdre fail time and again, much to Levercham's dismay. When Dierdre hears of this, she can no longer wait around, being fattened up like a pig for the day when Conor comes to collect her. She runs away and crosses paths with three brothers, Red Branch soldiers famous for their fighting skills, and they decide to help her. When Conor hears that Deirdre has fled and who she is with, he is beyond furious and pulls no stops to get her back. Naisi and Deirdre eventually fall in love and despite the brothers' aching for home and their fellow Red Branch soldiers, they find a place of their own and settle in (for a while at least). They are found and persuaded home with the promises of forgiveness, only to be betrayed by their King, again. The rest you should read for yourself, I don't want to give it all away!

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book!!! See, I even put three exclamation points after that sentence, just to make sure you grasp the emotion! Ha!

What I really enjoyed about The Swan Maiden was the way Jules writes about the connection with nature and animals that Deirdre feels. She describes scenes and it's like you're there (or at least you really, really want to be). I could even stomach the hunting scenes which I usually skim over. So many descriptive words come to mind when I think about this book - mythical, surreal, spiritual, magical, echanting. And the love between Deirdre and Naisi...aaahhh pure magic....the connection they have with each other is so powerful and Jules writes it so well!!

Readers you are in for a treat with this one, you will not want to put it down! Thanks to Jules Watson for sharing such a wonderful story with me, one that I'll remember for a long time!

[Divia]

I am dying to get this book, but the library is on some weird system now so it could take months. I offer it up for BOTM but no one bites.

I think Ill buy it. Sounds interesting. Thanks for the review.

[amyb]

You are most welcome Divia...you won't be disappointed!

[Misfit]

Library has five copies all checked out with two waiting. I placed a hold and will give it a whirl.

[Ludmilla]

Divia,

I think you'll really like this book. You should definitely buy it! It's a book I'll read again.

And the love between Deirdre and Naisi...aaahhh pure magic....the connection they have with each other is so powerful and Jules writes it so well!!

What I liked about the love story element is that they are treated as complete individuals unto themselves. There's none of this, I'm half a person before I meet my lover sort of thing going on (something I get very frustrated with in love stories).

Rowan also reviewed this book. It's linked in the author index.

[diamondlil]

I've merged the two threads together now.

I would say that I totally loved this book, and will hopefully get around to writing something up soon! I am not really writing many reviews at the moment, but this was one of my very infrequent reads that I rated at 5/5, so really should write up!