★★★

First things first: this is a children’s book, and I was never under any illusions about that. The cover caught my eye about four years ago, with its glorious sweep of peacocks’ feathers, and I’ve found myself coming back to admire the design ever since (it is much more beautiful than the covers of other editions I’ve seen on LibraryThing). In the end I bought it because, after all, it is a historical novel, set in the medieval period. I’m completely out of practice in judging the correct reading age for a children’s book, but I would hazard a guess that this would probably be best suited for nine to twelve-year-olds. From an adult perspective it’s charming but painted in rather broad strokes.

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