Book review: The Thief on the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas
An intriguing book with magic woven through it, and an enjoyable tale of the dominant characters getting their comeuppances.
The blurb
“The Kendrick family have been making world-famous dolls since the early 1800s. But their dolls aren’t coveted for the craftmanship alone. Each one has a specific emotion laid on it by its creator. A magic that can make you feel bucolic bliss or consuming paranoia at a single touch. Though founded by sisters, now only men may know the secrets of the workshop.
Persephone Kendrick longs to break tradition and learn the family craft, and when a handsome stranger arrives claiming doll-making talent and a blood tie to the Kendricks, she sees a chance to grasp all she desires.
But then, one night, the family’s most valuable doll is stolen. Only someone with knowledge of magic could have taken her. Only a Kendrick could have committed this crime…”
My review
I came to this book with high expectations, having loved The Psychology of Time Travel. I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed. I flew through it in four or five sittings too: it was a lovely book to sink into, given the current real-world situation.
It’s an instantly intriguing setup: the Kendrick family (and its sub-branches) business is making dolls that have ‘enchantments’ to make you feel certain emotions when you touch them. A stranger claiming to be descended from the same line turns up and… well, it’s no surprise that trouble ensues.
One theme from The Psychology of Time Travel has been flipped: in that book, women were very clearly in charge. In this book, they’ve been sidelined: even though the original founders of the doll factory were sisters, nowadays it’s the men who are its ‘sorcerers’ and who control the secrets of enchanting the dolls. How this gets overturned is a key part of the plot.
I enjoyed Persephone, the main character, for her grumpiness and extreme social awkwardness and her… not-fitting-in-ness right through to the point where she’s driving change at the factory. Hedwig too, who plays a big role in the plot. The men are… not quite so enjoyable. Vanity, foolishness, arrogance, defensiveness and more. The comeuppances are all the more rewarding.
I liked the way the magic is woven throughout the book without ever being the sole driving force: that’s very much the people instead. In places the book reminded me of Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield and in others of Andrew Caldecott’s Rotherweird series (fine company in both cases!) with their tight-knit communities.
The ending seemed to come very quickly: a few of my questions were left unresolved, and I wished there could have been a proper confrontation with one character. Other things that are left open — the Thief himself — might be better that way. Maybe not wrapping everything up neatly is a plus point! It does leave open possibilities for more stories from this world: I don’t know if that’s Mascarenhas’ plan, but if she does return to Paxton’s Eyot, I’ll definitely be reading.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advanced reader copy (ARC) via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
