“A beautifully spun fantasy” of love, war, rebirth, and magical destiny, based on the haunting folklore of England, Ireland, and Scotland (Andre Norton).
In The Ill-Made Mute, a wretched, nameless mute awakens without a memory in a lofty tower upon whose battlements winged horses and flying ships make landfall. The amnesiac longs to escape and roam the wild landscape in search of a past, a name, and a destiny. But the tales the servants whisper by the hearth all turn out to be true: The legendary creatures that plague the world beyond the castle walls are real and innumerable. Travelers in this beautiful, eerie wilderness must beware. . . .
The Lady of the Sorrows begins with a newly minted lady carrying important tidings to the King-Emperor of Caermelor. In her heart, she longs to encounter the king’s ranger Thorn, but upon reaching the royal court she learns that the ruler and his men have gone to war against the forces of wickedness that are threatening the realms of mortals. As the maiden awaits their return, a dreadful suspicion unfolds: The brutal Lord Huon and his monstrous Wild Hunt are attacking again and again—is she the target they seek?
In The Battle of Evernight, the Lady of the Sorrows must save her loved ones from catastrophe by uncovering the secrets of her past. She journeys to the terrible fortress of the Raven Prince in Evernight, despite the Bitterbynde curse that is distorting her memories and the onset of a debilitating malady for which a cure may never be found. As a battle for the destiny of the world begins, the lady must make a fateful decision. If she reveals what she knows, she will liberate 2 worlds—or incite the downfall of everything she loves.
Cecilia Dart-Thornton is the author of numerous bestselling fantasy novels, notably the Bitterbynde Trilogy, which includes The Ill-Made Mute, The Lady of the Sorrows, and The Battle of Evernight. The daughter of an architect and an academic, Dart-Thornton holds a bachelor of arts degree and a post-graduate diploma of education from Monash University. Having started out as a schoolteacher, she became a full-time writer in 2000, after her work was “discovered” on the Internet and brought to print by a New York publishing house. She is a strong supporter of animal rights and her interests include music, the fine arts—particularly Pre-Raphaelite paintings—and edible gardening. Visit her online at www.dartthornton.com and www.leavesofgoldpress.com.