The evil fairy Pernicia has set a curse on Princess Briar-Rose: she is fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into an endless, poisoned sleep. Katriona, a young fairy, kidnaps the princess in order to save her; she and her aunt raise the child in their small village, where no one knows her true identity. But Pernicia is looking for her, intent on revenge for a defeat four hundred years old. Robin McKinley's masterful version of Sleeping Beauty is, like all of her work, a remarkable literary feat.

"Full of humor and romance as well as magic and adventure. . . . A spellbinding novel." (Booklist, starred review)

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The Fae Circle (17)

• folklorefantasy1961-presentamerican litchildrenAdult faery taleyoung adultretelling