Quest for a Maid - Hardcover

Hendry, Frances Mary

4.07

2,506 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374361622 ISBN 13: 9780374361624

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1990

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Aware of her older sister's powers of sorcery, which have been used to help secure the Scottish throne for Robert de Brus, Meg realizes she must try to protect the young Norwegian princess who has been chosen as rightful heir.

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-8-- Adventure, derring-do, and magic keep the plot of this historical novel rolling along at the brisk pace set by the opening sentence--"When I was nine years old, I hid under a table and heard my sister kill a king." The king is Alexander III of Scotland. The time is the late 13th century. How the fight for succession affects Meg's life; her betrothed, who is the youngest son of Sir Patrick Spens; and her family is the heart of this tale that spans seven years. The rightful heir to the throne is an eight-year-old Norwegian princess, known as the Maid of Norway, and Meg is part of the entourage sent to accompany her home. The fateful trip and unnatural storm that climax in death and disaster has been recounted in the famous Scottish ballad. The likable heroine and the two lively men in her life are young, hopeful, and inventive enough to make a fresh start out of their sorrow. Hendry takes a few liberties while vividly recreating a turbulent historical period. The author's note in the beginning puts the story in perspective and the glossary at the end is helpful, but not crucial. An intriguing and well-told tale. --Amy Kellman, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Life isn't easy in medieval Scotland, especially if you're a nine-year-old girl who is witness to a "witchcraft murder," betrothed to a five-year-old and almost drowned in a shipwreck. But Meg Wright, with the help of her servant, Peem, and future husband, Davie, bears up remarkably well under the circumstances. By saving the life of the future queen, she even alters the course of history. Through Meg's first-person narrative Hendry paints an intimate portrait on a dramatic, larger-than-life canvas. Myths and actual events are blended well, and the many details about the rigors and joys of everyday life make the complex history accessible to the reader. Meg herself remains somewhat one-dimensional and a bit too heroic, but her story is fast-paced, inventive and--especially for fans of Celtic legends--well worth reading. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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