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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Princess in Rags, a Dress of Feathers, a Tale Retold..., June 9, 2003
"Malkin" (also published as "Cold Iron") would seem on the surface to have the rag-and-tatter clad Princess as its protagonist, shut away from her grieving grandfather's sight due to his beloved daughter's death at her birth. But it soon becomes clear, that the centre stage does not belong to the Lady Susanna (nicknamed Tattercoats because of her garb), but to her servent and friend Malkin, who would seem to be a mere serving maid in the house of the Baron. The story is told from her point of view, and as the tale progresses, we see that her own unique gifts and mysterious heritage is even more fascinating than the mistreated Tattercoats.But Tattercoats is the key figure in motivating Malkin and the adventure that follows - when the forgotten Princess is invited to Queen Elizabeth's godson's birthday celebration Malkin and the gooseherd Pug are determined that she should inherit her birthright, and perhaps catch the eye of the young Earl of Malmsey. Pug directs Malkin in the fetching of a glorious bundle buried in the garden - a dress of feathers, a cap of moss, and two shoes of pleated grass. The trio set off towards court, gathering on the way the ministrel Gallimaufry, the drummer Tabor and the apothecary Pennyroyal. But other forces are also on the move - the sinister, peacock-like Italian magician Oscuro who is the latest employee of the Baron to find his lost daughter, and who gives Malkin the chills, the glamour and strange workings of the gooseherd Pug, and even deeper magics in the form of the 'Other Country', and the creatures that dwell within it. Sophie Masson mingles the old English fairytale "Tattercoats" (retold at the end of the book in her own words), the Shakespearean play "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and a bit of real English history to create a lovely story that is both new and familiar, touching on age old themes and ideas. Her poetic prose is beautiful to read, capturing every aspect from descriptions of scenery to human emotions elegantly and realistically. In Malkin, she has a strong, captivating heroine, gradually discovering the secrets to her past, and interacting well with those around her. Although Pug (does that name ring a bell? - you've probably already guessed who he is with the mention of a Midsummer Night's Dream) is a nice, enigmatic character, Tattercoats is a little *too* good to be true, and didn't really hold my interest. She sighs in her unhappiness, giggles innocently in her joy and plays the damsel in distress one too many times for her to have any sort of character depth. I much prefer the less-perfect Malkin who has her moments of doubt, jealousy and frustration. Likewise, I could not really see the point of the trio's travelling companions Gallimaufry, Tabor or Pennyroyal - whenever they were in the action the pace tended to slow considerably, and they served no particular function so far as I could see, but to tag along (and their lack of reaction to the magical glamour around them was rather mind-boggling). Gallimaufry is Tattercoat's love interest, but their relationship is barely touched on at all. Again, I was more eager to get back to Malkin, and Sophie Masson could have gotten on much better with her original trio of travellers. However, this is a great little book, beautifully written and created, filled with both old and new ideas, that Massonn shares with the reader in her 'Afterword' at the back of the book. Teachers or parents might be interested in using this book to introduce the Shakespeare play, or perhaps touch on Elizabethan history, but readers who love re-shaped or mingled fairytales will find little to complain about here. If you like this, I definitly recommend "The Perilous Gard", which is in much the same vein as "Malkin".
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