Bronwyn the Bold was cursed as a liar at her christening by a bewitched jack-in-the-box (don’t worry: it will all be explained) and is unable to tell the truth. She towers over her retainers (due to the frost giant ancestry of her father, King Roari), wears full armor, and carries an antimagic shield. Bronwyn spends her time perfecting her fighting skills.  Her father is away at war and her mother is expecting, so Bronwyn is sent to her aunt’s family home to keep her out of danger and to meet her cousin Carole (for the story of the family’s earlier adventures, see The Songs of the Seashell Archives 1).

Carole, already a talented hearthwitch like her mother, accidentally knocks Bronwyn into the Blabbermouth River. Carole and Bronwyn encounter Anastasia the Alluring, a swan who is actually yet another enchanted princess, and Jack the gypsy, who is also related to royalty and can understand the speech of animals.

These four set out to disenchant the two enchanted princesses in a rather picaresque series of adventures involving mermaids and a sea serpent, pirates,  the elegant daughter of an ogress, and a young man who from time to time shifts his appearance and personality when possessed by his father the duke (the villain of the piece). Carole’s musical magic, Jack’s ability with animals, Anastasia’s knowledge of how things work in fairy tales, and Bronwyn’s strength come in handy.

The book is notable for its colorful characters. The story is episodic (you never know what’s coming next) but well plotted, as they move from place to place meeting quirky characters and odd challenges. Some unpleasant villagers are described as looking like wolverines “who had suddenly lost their fur, stood on their hind legs and donned clothing.”  Scarborough devotes loving attention to the details of how the magic works (it’s very persnickety, as is often the case) and makes good use of the folktale/fairy-tale elements with a twist. The Princess Daisy-Esmeralda, for example, must periodically kiss her husband to keep him from turning back into a frog.

Best quality: Seemingly effortless inventiveness. L. Sprague de Camp called Bronwyn’s Bane “delightful” and envied Scarborough’s “fertility of imagination in thinking up amusing” twists.

Drawbacks: Not for you if you prefer epic to light fantasy (although Scarborough generally avoids the sometimes annoying puns of many light fantasists). Lots of fun with likeable characters and very lighthearted (which I personally don’t consider a drawback).

Other authors in this vein: Esther Friesner (often urban fantasies, featuring puns and jarring titles such as Chicks in Chainmail, but she’s funny) and Craig Scott Gardner (A Difficulty with Dwarves and other alliterative titles).

This is one of four books in a series. The first two relate the adventures of the generation before Brownwyn, Carole, and Jack. In the sequel  (The Christening Quest)  Bronwyn’s firstborn is kidnapped. Each book is freestanding and can be read alone, but they share a world of characters and are similar in tone. She has recently started publishing a steampunk (!) continuation of the series (starting with The Dragon, the Witch and the Railroad).

Scarborough’s early works are light/humorous fantasies, including The Drastic Dragon of Draco, Texas; The Gold Camp Vampire; The Harem of Aman Akbar or the Djinn Decanted; and The Godmother’s Apprentice (all of which are amusing). She then turned to more serious subjects, including the 1989 Nebula award winning Healer’s War. Thus some of her books are quite different from others. She collaborated on 16 novels with Anne McCaffrey.

Songs of the Seashell Archives 1

vol. 1: Song of Sorcery

vol. 2 The Unicorn Creed

Songs of the Seashell Archives 2

 vol. 1 : Bronwyn’s Bane

 vol. 2: The Christening            Quest

1983 paperback

current ebook

Elizabeth Ann Scarborough official website: http://scarbor9.wix.com/beadtime-stories

Bronwyn’s Bane (1983) by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough