Court of Swans by Melanie Dickerson is a reimagining of the Wild Swans tale and the first book in a new series of fairy tale retellings set in medieval England.
Back cover copy: Delia lives a quiet life as the daughter of an earl in late 14th century England, but that peace is shattered when her seven brothers are betrayed and falsely arrested. Meanwhile, with the Peasants’ Revolt threatening the peace of the kingdom, the king is executing anyone who had anything to do with the uprising. Delia is terrified her brothers will be next, the youngest of whom is only ten years old.
Delia infiltrates the palace as a seamstress so she can be near her brothers in the Tower of London and help them escape. When she runs into Sir Geoffrey, the guard captain who arrested her brothers, she hates him — until she discovers he has been secretly carrying food to her brothers in their prison cell.
Trapped into obeying the orders of his king, Sir Geoffrey is the oldest son of a duke whose estate has been seized by the king and his treacherous advisers. His first mission as captain was to arrest seven brothers for treason, but he had no idea that the brothers were so young or that their sister would be so feisty and beautiful.
In a court where everyone is eager to backstab anyone else to get what they want, how will Geoffrey right this wrong and help Delia and her brothers — especially when Delia hates him? And how will he keep them both from losing their heads to this execution-prone king?
My review: Most of the time when I read a book that’s based around a fairy tale, I’m familiar with the original story so have an inkling of how some parts of the book will play out. That wasn’t the case with Court of Swans since I’m not familiar with the tale of the Wild Swans. I enjoyed that while reading because it meant I wasn’t sure what to expect (other than the usual happily ever after ending that’s always part of Dickerson’s books).
Delia and Geoffrey are sweet characters, though a bit shallow for my tastes. Delia is definitely an innocent, which is probably accurate for many young women her age at that time. But even with her innocence, I would have liked to get deeper into her mind and emotions.
Two threads ran throughout the book: Delia’s grappling with the question of why bad things happen to good people and her learning to trust that God was in control of every situation. Those are real world issues that we all face, which is why I would have liked them explored more.
Delia’s love for her brothers and absolute loyalty to them define much of who she is. She is willing to do anything within her power to help prove their innocence and free them from prison. She does make some mistakes along the way, especially because her personal tendencies to take everyone at their word make her an easy target for less-than-honest people.
There are things we can learn from that as readers, questions we can ask ourselves: How far am I willing to go for the people I love? Do I stand by them no matter what? But, at the same time, does my desire to help blind me to things that seem like obvious warning flags to others? Do I pray for — and wait for — God’s guidance or do I plow ahead on my own?
Bottom line: Although the characters and plot didn’t have the complexity I usually look for in a book, Court of Swans was a nice, lighter read.
Who should read it: Dickerson has a lot of adults in her reader fan base, but most of her books are marketed as young adult. Court of Swans fits that bill: the age of the main characters and the sweet romance make it a good choice for anyone but especially teens.
Book details: Court of Swans
Author: Melanie Dickerson
Genre: Young adult fairy tale retelling
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publish date: 2021