edgeworth's review
4.0
I read this because Philip Reeve named it as one of his favourite books, and I'm surprised it's not more well-known; apparently McCaughrean's more renowned for her children's fiction. But this is very much a novel for adults, a Middle Ages fairytale fantasy about a wicked stepmother, a vanished heir and a mysterious dragon menacing the countryside. She has a beautiful mastery of language and metaphor (the dragon in particular has a great sense of physicality to it) and it's a wonderful little story that upends a number of the reader's assumptions and ticks along to a great conclusion. I'll certainly be reading more of her books.
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