Patricia C. Wrede

1953-

Reviewed by Rebecca Fisher,
Kat Hooper, Ruth Arnell

Patricia C. Wrede writes fantasy for young adults.

Click covers to view available formats, including audio & Kindle.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles — (1985-1990) Young adult. A boxed set is available. Publisher: Cimorene is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart... And bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon... and finds the family and excitement she's been looking for.

book review Patricia C. Wrede Enchanted Forest: Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, Talking to Dragons

Available for download at Audible.com

fantasy book reviews Patrica C Wrede The Enchanted Forest Chronicles Dealing with Dragons Dealing with Dragons

Princess Cimorene is tired of embroidery, etiquette, and protocol classes. She wants to take Latin, fencing, magic, and cooking lessons instead. But, that's just "not done." So to avoid a betrothal to a handsome and charming (but not particularly bright) prince, she runs away to become housekeeper for a dragon. As a dragon's princess, Cimorene gets the freedom to cook and clean and to organize libraries and treasure rooms. She also has to fend off persistent knights who come to rescue her, and investigate the actions of a couple of sneaky wizards.

Patricia C. Wrede's Dealing with Dragons is a refreshing change from some of the more recent fantasy epics aimed at teenage girls. It's light, fun, and often hilarious as it pokes fun at several fairy tales and fantasy clichés. The plot moves rapidly and the writing is clear and precise. The dialogue is particularly good.

I listened to Dealing With Dragons on audiobook. Listening Library does an excellent job recording this with a full cast of actors; I highly recommend this format. —Kat Hooper

Lyra — (1982-1997) Young adult. Publisher: In Alkyra, children's tales are told of a time long past when humankind shared the land with folk who had magic in their blood and bones: the small, fierce Wyrd of the forests; the proud Shee in their mountains citadel carved of ice-white rock; and the shimmering Neira of the dark sea. As a child, Alethia had shivered in delicious fright when the bards sang the lays of Alkyra's mythical past. But as a grown woman her nightmares come from the world of human reality: the spreading discontent in a land ruled by querulous noble families, and the soft rumors of war. As a daughter of one of Alkyra's leading families, she has no time now for children's tales. Until she learns that they are all true.

Patricia Wrede Lyra: Shadow Magic, Daughter of Witches, The Harp of Imach Thyssel, Caught in Crystal, The Raven Ring

Cecelia and Kate — With Caroline Stevermer. (1988-2006) Publisher: A great deal is happening in London and the country this season. For starters, there's the witch who tried to poison Kate at the Royal College of Wizards. There's also the man who seems to be spying on Cecelia. (Though he's not doing a very good job of it — so just what are his intentions?) And then there's Oliver. Ever since he was turned into a tree, he hasn't bothered to tell anyone where he is. Clearly, magic is a deadly and dangerous business. And the girls might be in fear for their lives... if only they weren't having so much fun!

Sorcery and Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, The Grand Tour, The Mislaid Magician: or Ten Years After

book review Patricia C Wrede Cecelia and Kate Sorcery and Cecelia The Enchanted Chocolate Pot Sorcery and Cecelia (The Enchanted Chocolate Pot)

To best understand Sorcery and Cecelia one has to first flick to the back of the book in order to read the authors' afterword in which they explain the format and history of their story. After hearing of a game called "The Letter Game," Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer decided to have a go — each took on the persona of two young women in a more magically favoured 1800's, and wrote to each other concerning their activities. Patricia Wrede plays the role of Cecelia Rushton, living in the country and somewhat envious of her cousin Kate Talgarth (Caroline Stevermer) who is being presented to Society in London. And so the correspondance began, each woman drawing on the magical angle of their created world as well as a 'Jane Austen' flavour, so tell each other of the gradually more dangerous escapades that they both get up to.

Kate in London is well into the process of socialising and mingling, despite being overshadowed by her far more beautiful sister Georgy. But whilst watching a neighbourhood wizard Sir Hilary being installed at the Royal College of Wizards, she comes across a little door in the building that leds to a cloistered garden, where a woman named Miranda Griscombe tries to kill her via chocolate poured from a bright blue chocolate pot! It becomes increasingly difficult when her cousin (Cecy's brother) Oliver disappears while at a night time function, and everywhere she goes she seems to run into the odious 'Mysterious Marquis', a one Thomas Schofield, whom seems to be the target of Miranda's malice.

Cecelia meanwhile has come into contract with Dorothea Griscombe (any relation to Miranda?) who unintentionally seems to attract men to her like flies to honey, in particular James Tarleton, who prowls around behind bushes and under trees with very little skill at such activities. Finding herself quite accomplished at the magical arts, despite her Aunt Elizabeth's hearty disapproval, Cecelia begins to take lessons, 'borrowing' several books from Sir Hilary's library which may lend clues to Kate's situation in London...

Such does the story go, expanding with each letter, with each girl helping the other along, though in the entire course of the tale neither of them come face to face. It is a highly original way of telling a story, and for the most part works very well in presenting a tale. If there is one trouble, it is that we are never in any concern over the girls' safety in their escapades, as we know that they remain intact in order to write the letters chronicling their dangers. Furthermore its difficult to keep track of the myraid of characters that keep pouring into the storyline and their relationships with one another — three-quarters of the way through the book I gave up and began again from the start!

But Sorcery and Cecelia (why Kate is excluded from the title is a mystery since I found her story and attitude far more enjoyable than Cecelia's) is a funny, witty, exciting read, filled with magic, interfering aunts, enchanted chocolate pots, romance, adventure and a certain tone that reminds us continually that it is real letters that we are reading — we never really find out what the story was behind that goat that the girls are continually alluding to! —Rebecca Fisher

book review Patricia C. Wrede Cecelia and Kate The Grand Tour The Grand Tour

We last saw the cousins Cecelia and Kate at the conclusion of Sorcery and Cecelia:The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, in which they had foiled a devious plot and found true love with their new husbands, Thomas Schofield and James Tartleton. The story was unique because it was told in the format of letters between the two cousins, each one telling the other about their separate adventures; and as they did with their previous collaboration, the authors Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer each take a character (Wrede is Cecelia; Stevermer is Kate) and write to one another, each one adding aspects to the story till they join up at its conclusion. Things are a little different this time around considering the authors write in the format of a journal and a testimony, instead of letters.

The Kate and Cecelia stories (so far there have been three) are set in a parallel dimension; a magically inclined 18th century world where Leonardo da Vinci is known as a great wizard as well as a great inventor, Napoleon invaded Europe with the help of magicians, and there are constant references to a Royal College of Wizards. Inspired by Jane Austen's delicate style and wit, Wrede and Stevermer must be commended for their world-building technique. The world that they've created is completely realistic, as well as highly enjoyable to explore within the context of the story.

The two couples are setting off for their honeymoon on the Continent, visiting the famous sights of Rome, Milan, Paris and everything in between. However, when a mysterious woman delivers an equally mysterious package, Kate, Cecelia, Thomas and James find themselves caught up in another international plot, this one including old foes, new foes, stolen royal regalia, ancient artifacts, magic spells, and a fiendish plan to seize control of Europe. The plan that the couples uncover is successfully conceived and plotted throughout the course of the story, and turns out to be rather ingenious. Several of the villains are motivated for different reasons, and naturally there is a mastermind behind it all that is playing a game all their own.

Attempting to negotiate their social commitments with their investigations, as well as the minor inconveniences of travel (where *do* Kate's gloves keep disappearing to?) the two young women are eventually caught up in a chase across the Continent. Stevermer and Wrede fill their book with interesting examples of how magic is worked, such as game cards that — when shuffled — tune out the noise of the party around the players, the creation of `focuses', seemingly ordinary objects that serve as the source of magician's powers, and charmed earrings that can never be lost.

The Grand Tour is more Kate's book than Cecelia, considering that we are reading Kate's private journal and Cecelia's official statement. As such, Kate is free to divulge in more personal detail, particularly in her loving relationship with her husband Thomas, whereas Cecelia is writing an official document and simply stating the facts of her experience. However, there is a definite human element to the story that is very touching, particularly in the love between the four main characters. Thomas and Kate share a romantic marriage, whilst Cecelia and James have a more tempestuous one, and the friendship between the four of them is beautifully portrayed (I especially liked the big brother/little sister bond between Thomas and Cecelia). This of course leads to the wonderful wit that is strewn throughout the tale; wry little comments and amusing in-jokes that fit the characters perfectly — readers of the first book will understand Kate's reaction to an endangered goat!

I personally enjoyed The Grand Tour more than its predecessor Sorcery and Cecelia. Because the story isn't switching back and forth between two separate situations of the two heroines, it's more fluid and organized; as well as much less confusing (it was hard to keep track of events when constantly switching between the two letters). In any case, whatever your preference, all Wrede and Stevermer collaborations are highly recommended. If you enjoy Jane Austen or Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, then you'll love these collaborations too (though they are obviously written for a slightly younger audience). Keep your eye out for the third installment which is amusingly hinted at in the conclusion of this book: "We'll just have to wait ten years and see..." —Rebecca Fisher

Magic and Malice — (1991-1997) Publisher: Kim doesn't hesitate when a stranger offers her a small fortune to break into the travelling magician's wagon in search of a silver bowl. Kim isn't above a bit of breaking-and-entering. Having grown up a waif in the dirty streets of London-disguised as a boy!-has schooled her in one hard lesson: steal from them before they steal from you. But there is something odd about this magician. He isn't like the other hucksters and swindlers that Kim is used to. When he catches her in the act, Kim thinks she's done for.Until he suggests she become his apprentice. Kim wonders how tough it could be faking a bit of hocus pocus.But Mairelon isn't an act. His magic is real.

Mairelon the Magician, The Magician's Ward Magic and Malice Patricia C. Wrede

Mairelon the Magician, The Magician's Ward

Frontier Magic — (2009-2011) Young adult. Publisher: Eff was born a thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son. This means he's supposed to possess amazing talent — and she's supposed to bring only bad things to her family and her town. Undeterred, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school perilously close to the magical divide that separates settlers from the beasts of the wild. With wit and wonder, Patricia Wrede creates an alternate history of westward expansion that will delight fans of both J. K. Rowling and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Patricia C. Wrede Frontier Magic 1. Thirteenth Child 2. Across the Great Barrier

fantasy book review YA Patricia C. Wrede Frontier Magic Thirteenth Child Thirteenth Child

Imagine what the settling of the West would have been like if, along with hunger, drought, and malaria, the settlers also had to deal with dragons. Patricia Wrede’s Thirteenth Child is a sort of a magical version of Little House on the Prairie. Eff is the titular thirteenth child, which means she is a beacon of bad luck and will curse all those around her as she ages. Her twin brother Lan is a seventh son of a seventh son, which traditionally means that he will be incredibly lucky and magically powerful. When she’s four years old and Eff’s uncle accuses her of cursing his house, her family moves to the frontier, where her father has accepted a position as a professor of magic at a new land grant university.

This is an engaging tale. Having grown up in a large family with a wide range of ages, I can say that the family dynamic rings true. In a world where everyone can do magic, Wrede creates three separate systems of magic with different strengths, purposes, and rules for each, and speculates about the emergence of a fourth. She also has created the Rationalists, a group that rejects the use of all magic, and a wide range of new and interesting animals (swarming weasels, anyone?) that make a familiar landscape seem foreign and strange.

My biggest criticism has to do with the concept of the Thirteenth Child. We’re told that the thirteen child is unlucky, but we’re not really told why. There are lots of historical figures that are turned into powerful magicians in this story — Plato, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson spring to mind — but we’re not given a similar historical grounding for why thirteenth children are unlucky. Miss Ochiba, the teacher of magic at the local school, explains that being thirteenth is only unlucky in the Avrupan system of magic (Avrupan is European) that is the predominate understanding of magic by her family, but in the other systems of magic (Aphrikan or Hijero-Cathayan — African or Asian) there are different ways of seeing who she is, beyond just being the thirteenth child. This is the underlying theme of the novel — that there are different ways of seeing, and the more ways you can see an object, the more you understand about it, which is key to solving the problems the settlers undergo at the end of the novel. All this adds up to a source of conflict that fizzles out without much impact on the story.

There is a lot of controversy about Wrede’s choice to write a tale about the settling of an American West that doesn’t include Native Americans. I understand why people might think that excluding Native Americans contributes to the “white-washing” of American history, but I encourage readers to give Wrede the benefit of the doubt. In the Thirteenth Child, Wrede informs us that the First Peoples never crossed the Bering Land Bridge because they were too busy fighting dragons in Asia. She has thoughtfully considered the changes to European (and in this novel, African) colonization of the American continents that might have occurred if the Native Americans had not been here — and those changes make a very different American West than existed historically.

I enjoyed Thirteenth Child, and am looking forward to future books in the series, assuming that after the firestorm this first novel ignited that there will be a publisher for future installments. —Ruth Arnell

Across the Great Barrier

Eff is back in this alternative magical history of the settling of the West. After the encounter with the mirror bugs that almost destroyed most of the settlements across the Great Barrier and came close to killing Eff’s brother and father, Eff gets hired on to a small expedition to chart the extent of the mirror bugs’ devastation. What they find surprises everyone — magic has completely disappeared from the soil and all the magical plants and animals are gone. As their journeys continue, they find further evidence of large scale migrations of animals as they respond to the changes in their habitat. But what is even stranger is that it looks like animals are fleeing something in the unexplored West — something that has the capacity to turn animals to stone in an instant. Animals… and humans.

Across the Great Barrier, the sequel to Patricia Wrede’s The Thirteenth Child, is a fast-paced adventure of a fantasy tale. Eff has come to terms with her past as an unlucky thirteenth child and has started to make a place for herself in the frontier college town. When she has the opportunity to cross the Great Barrier she jumps at the chance to go explore new territories. Out on the frontier, though, she has to come to grips with her own power, and her mixed and muddled training in multiple schools of magic makes her power even more unpredictable.

I particularly enjoyed Eff having to really deal with all of the emotional baggage of her upbringing. Too many times in fantasy novels, the hero has the ah-ha moment and then everything changes in the blink of an eye. Even through Eff knows intellectually that she isn’t cursed, it takes her the whole book to work through the effects that her own upbringing has had on her training. And when it comes to having to confront the disastrous effects of her brother’s magic use, it is her willingness to work through the problems that she has had in the past that allows her to see a solution that other people have overlooked.

I also enjoyed Wrede’s attention to ecological detail. The landscape is a major character in this series of books, and watching it deal with the traumas dealt to it in the previous book with an attention to scientific detail is gratifying. I have a soft spot for academics as characters, and appreciated the accuracy with which Wrede is able to depict the internecine relationships of practicing academics, regardless of time or place.

The ending is a little pat, but it looks like this is the middle book in a trilogy — or second book in a longer series — as the ending is put in place through opening up the possibility for greater adventures. As a middle book, it does have some of the problems familiar to tales in that place in the sequence, but avoids the frequent flaw of having no interesting or necessary action take place that creates an interesting story in its own right. This fast reading tale — it doesn’t feel anything close to its 300+ pages — is a great adventure story for young adult readers. Even though the hero is female, the Western setting and original characters will draw in some of the more open-minded boy readers as well. I fully expect Wrede to revisit this setting in the future and look forward to additional adventures with Eff and her family. —Ruth Arnell

Stand Alone Fantasies:

The Seven Towers — (1984) Publisher: Eltiron, Prince of Sevairn: caught in the web of his father's intrigues. Crystalorn, Princess of Barinash: promised inmarriage to a prince she's never seen. Ranlyn, the desert rider: forced to choose between friendship and honor. Jermain, the outlaw: exiled from court for the crime of telling the truth. Vandaris, the soldier: who left the life of luxury to wield a sword and lead an army. Carachel, the Wizard-King: who does not understand the awesome power he commands and Amberglas, the sorceress: who may not be quite as fuddleheaded as she seems... Seven players in a game of deadly magic. Seven Kingdoms at the edge of destruction. Seven Towers holding a dark and dreadful secret.

fantasy book review Patricia Wrede The Seven Towers The Seven Towers

I was strangely dissatisfied by The Seven Towers but really couldn’t figure out what exactly was the problem until I sat down to write the review. I normally start with a plot summary, and I couldn’t figure out how to summarize the story. A lot of stuff happens, and a lot of characters run around and do a lot of things, but there is a fundamental disjointedness to the story that is exacerbated by the multiple points of view.

The Seven Towers is the story of one world’s attempt to defeat the Matholych, a magical beast that reappears at long intervals and eats magical power. The most power is gained from killing people, so the beast wreaks havoc when it appears. The seven nations must join together to defeat the creature, but this time of turmoil is also used for various people to advance agendas of their own. The sorcerer Amberglas may be the only one who can bind the seven nations together, but she’ll need Prince Eltion to figure out the secret of the seven towers scattered throughout the nations.

I had two big problems that detracted from my enjoyment of the book. First, Amberglas is an annoying character to read. Her style of dialog is so longwinded, vague, and confusing that I found myself skipping anything longer than one line that she said. As she is a major character, and a major explicator of backstory, that is incredibly problematic. Secondly, in a book entitled The Seven Towers, we only see two of the towers. If you are going to name the book after something, I want it to actually be a part of the story in a significant way.

This is a fairly standard fantasy pulp novel, and is one of Wrede’s earlier books that has recently been rereleased by Firebird. There are wizards and sorcerers, wild princesses, shy princes, corrupt advisors, magical creatures, and noble nomads from the desert. Any Wrede fan will recognize the precursors of her later books, but it lacks the finesse and humor of her later books, like The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. The Seven Towers is a satisfactory book, but doesn’t live up to the standards of Wrede’s later work. —Ruth Arnell

Snow White and Rose Red — (1989) A retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Publisher: Snow White and Rose Red live on the edge of the forest that conceals the elusive border of Faerie. They know enough about Faerie lands and mortal magic to be concerned when they find two human sorcerers setting spells near the border. And when the kindly, intelligent black bear wanders into their cottage some months later, they realize the connection between his plight and the sorcery they saw in the forest. This romantic version of the classic fairy tale features an updated introduction by its editor, Terri Windling.

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