Deerskin (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Robin McKinley
- First Published: 1993
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy—feminist
- Time of Work: A medieval stage of civilization
- Setting: A fairy-tale kingdom
- Genres: Long fiction, Fantasy
- Subjects: Dogs, Incest, Rape, Feminism, Middle Ages, Fairy tales, Princes or princesses, Amnesia
- Locales: Mythical lands
The Plot
The most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms marries the handsome king of a wealthy realm. They have one child, a daughter named Lissar, who is ignored while the happy couple enjoys an idyllic, self-absorbed marriage. When the queen discovers that her perfect beauty is fading, she orders a portrait and, when it is finished, adjures her husband to marry no one who is not as beautiful as the painting. Smiling in triumph, she dies.
Lissar is first noticed by anyone other than her nursemaid when the prince of a neighboring kingdom—alone of all those who send...
[The entire page is 931 words long]
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