The Faerie Path

infobox Book |
name = The Faerie Path


author = Frewin Jones
country = United Kingdom
language = English
genre = Young adult
Fantasy
publisher = Eos
release_date = February 6, 2007
media_type = Print (hardcover and paperback)
pages = 320
isbn = ISBN 0060871024
ISBN 978-0060871024

The Faerie Path, a novel by the British author Frewin Jones, is the first book of a series. The story sets a teenage girl in a predicament: choosing what life she wishes - the life she has known since birth or a life she never knew she had, where she is a princess who must save a kingdom. According to a review, this "floral Faerie tale may unspool at a measured pace, but girls will likely take to Anita. ... A well-executed reference to Romeo and Juliet gives the finale a bit more punch than most fantasy romances."cite web |author=Publisher's Weekly |title=Review |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA631282.html?q=The+Faerie+Path]

Summary

On the eve of Anita's sixteenth birthday, boating with her boyfriend Evan, she is in an accident which sends her to the hospital. Upon awakening, she is frightened to find that Evan is not yet awake, although nothing is wrong with him. As the clock strikes midnight, Anita's parents give her one of her presents to brighten her mood. The present, wrapped in a postal envelope with no return address, is a very beautiful book, but the pages are blank.

Anita's parents leave her to rest, but Anita cannot. She explores the book, which suddenly has a story written inside. The story tells about a lost princess, the seventh of seven daughters, who has become trapped in the Mortal World on her sixteenth birthday, the night before she was to marry Lord Gabriel Drake. Anita finds herself needing to check two bites on her back and searches the hospital for a mirror. Once in the bathroom, she grows wings and flies out the window. She flies above London for a moment before London fades away and all she can see is the Thames river and Hampton Court.

Suddenly her wings wither away and she falls. Found in the hospital bathroom by a nurse, she is returned to her bed, still worried about Evan not waking. The nurse brings Anita a gift addressed to her, from Evan's belongings. The gift is a neckless that she quickly puts around her neck. She sleeps, and when she awakens, Evan is gone. A ghostly image appears to Anita, the image of Gabriel Drake, calling her to follow him. Anita does and he leads her out onto a balcony where Lord Drake urges her to focus strongly on him so she can reach him. Anita tries her hardest to focus on him and suddenly their hands meet in the air. Lord Drake pulls Anita from the Mortal realm, and Anita soon learns there is more to her than she ever imagined.

About the author

Allan Frewin Jones has always believed in the existence of "other worlds" that we could just step in and out of if only we knew the way. In the Mortal World, Frewin Jones lives in southeast London with two mystical cats, Merle Oberon and Siouxsie Sioux. [cite web |author=HarperCollins |title=About the author |url= http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/31097/Frewin_Jones/index.aspx]

The Realm of Faerie

The Realm of Faerie is ruled by King Oberon. With the disappearance of his daughter, Tania, and the death of his wife, Titania, King Oberon forces all time to stop in the Realm of Faerie where they live under night for five hundred years. [cite book |last=Jones |first=Frewin |title=The Faerie Path|id=ISBN 978-0060871024 |year=2007 |publisher=Eos |page=60] The Realm of Faerie holds many mythical creatures including unicorns, dragons, and basilisks. The Realm of Faerie is an island shaped like Great Britain, sharing similar geographic features. For example, the Thames River is called the Tamesis River and follows the same path. There are points in the Realm of Faerie and the Mortal realm that almost touch, causing the similarities. [cite book |last=Jones |first=Frewin |title=The Faerie Path|id=ISBN 978-0060871024 |year=2007 |publisher=Eos |page=127]

Tania

Explanation of the character's name

It is not known the significance of Tania's name other than it is a anagram of Anita, her mortal name. [cite book |last=Jones |first=Frewin |title=The Lost Queen|id=ISBN 978-0060871079 |year=2007 |publisher=Eos |page=37] Her name is also part of her Faerie mother's name Titania.

eventh of the Seven Daughters

"One alone will walk both worlds, Daughter last of daughters seven." [cite book |last=Jones |first=Frewin |title=The Faerie Path|id=ISBN 978-0060871024 |year=2007 |publisher=Eos |page=122-123]

Each of the seven daughters is given a gift on her sixteenth birthday or shortly thereafter. In the Realm of Faerie, prophesy tells that the seventh of seven daughters will be given the the ability to walk between the Mortal Realm and the Realm of the Faerie.

"When Faerie soul in mortal lies""it burns too bright, and swift the mortal dies""but if it dwells for sixteen years""the choice is there to make--for joy or tears""If Faerie turns to Faerie true""then Faerie soul is born anew""If Faerie lives 'neath mortal sky""then Faerie soul shall fade and die." [cite book |last=Jones |first=Frewin |title=The Lost Queen|id=ISBN 978-0060871079 |year=2007 |publisher=Eos |page=158-159]

This passage explains that Tania will not be able to continue to live in both worlds. It is unclear whether it means she can no longer walk between the Realms or if her heart must choose which is truly her home. [cite book |last=Jones |first=Frewin |title=The Lost Queen|id=ISBN 978-0060871079 |year=2007 |publisher=Eos |page=159]

Gifts

It is not known if all of the Faerie people receive these gifts on their sixteenth birthdays, but each of the seven sisters receives a gift and that gift is unknown to her until her birthday -- except for Tania (Anita), whose gift was prophesized. The gifts can sometimes take time to develop. [cite book |last=Jones |first=Frewin |title=The Faerie Path|id=ISBN 978-0060871024 |year=2007 |publisher=Eos |page=216]

Seven Sisters

[cite book |last=Jones |first=Frewin |title=The Faerie Path|id=ISBN 978-0060871024 |year=2007 |publisher=Eos |page=215]

References