Also by this author: The Peasant's Dream, Castle of Refuge
Series: A Dericott Tale #1
Published by Thomas Nelson on January 5, 2021
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Historical, Young Adult
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From New York Times bestselling author Melanie Dickerson comes a reimagining of the Wild Swans—the first book in a new series of fairy-tale retellings set in medieval England!
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 by their father 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 lady-in-waiting for the new queen so she can be near her brothers in the Tower of London and help them escape. When she runs into Sir Henry, 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 Henry is the oldest son of an earl 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 Henry 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?
“Where there is wealth and power, there is also someone who is willing to do anything to take it.”
In medieval England, there was very little middle class. You were either poor or rich and that’s pretty much how it stood for years. But for some people, rich just wasn’t enough. They also wanted power as well.
Delia Dericott is the only sister to seven brothers. Their father, the Second Earl of Dericott, gave them good lives, until their mother died. Then their worlds came crashing down when their father married a woman who was bent on taking away everything from them in order to gain power.
When Delia’s stepmother has all seven of her brothers falsely accused of treason against the king, they are sent to the London Tower to await their fate. Only Delia can help them by being their outside help as she becomes a seamstress for the king. Along with the help of the knight, Sir Geoffrey, they try to come up with a plan to save her brothers.
In all the years that I have been reading historical christian fiction, I have never read anything from the medieval time period. It’s my daughter’s favorite time and Melanie Dickerson is her favorite author. So when she asked me to check out some of her books, I was intrigued. Court of Swans was written for a young adult audience so the wording and overall theme of the book is gentle enough even for younger teens. I really enjoyed the writing style of the book as well because it was easy to follow. But I was most impressed with the fact that it was a clean read for teenagers which is almost impossible to find in today’s time.
The book itself is roughly based on the fairytale, The Wild Swans in which a sister has to save her brother’s from a spell that has turned them into swans. Although there was no magic in this book, Melanie Dickerson was able to weave a few of the parts from the fairytale into her own style. If you know the basis of the fairytale, you will understand when you see them in the book. I liked the fact that she was able to bring the characters to life but still make it an easy read for the younger generation. As a parent, I really enjoyed reading Court of Swans and think this series is perfect for teens and young adults.
