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Requiem for a Princess
While staying in Cornwall, Willow Forrester, dismayed to have discovered that she is adopted, finds herself enthralled by, then in thrall to, the portrait of Isabel de Calverados, a sixteenth century Spanish girl who was also an adopted daughter.
Willow thought she would never recover from the shock of her unexpected discovery. Yet, when, through a series of strong dreams, she came to know a proud, lonely, sixteenth century girl, also adopted, she found answers to questions she had hardly dared ask.
Willow thought she would never recover from the shock of her unexpected discovery. Yet, when, through a series of strong dreams, she came to know a proud, lonely, sixteenth century girl, also adopted, she found answers to questions she had hardly dared ask.
182 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1967
3 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
Ruth M. Arthur
27 books48 followersWorking name of UK writer Ruth Mabel Arthur Huggins, long active as a children's author, her career beginning with Friendly Stories (collection, 1932). Most of her early work, like the Brownie sequence -- The Crooked Brownie (1936), The Crooked Brownie in Town (1942) and The Crooked Brownie at the Seaside (1942) -- is for younger children, but with Dragon Summer (1962) and A Candle in her Room (1966) she began to write the haunting fantasy-tinged adolescent novels for which she became best known. Often featuring first-person narratives spanning multiple generations filled with echoes of centuries past.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 11, 2016
This book captured my imagination as a child...to the extent that I can vividly remember it 30 years later. That's saying something. It's a fascinating approach to the typical 'discovery of self' tale.
October 25, 2018
The daughter of a sheep-farmer and his wife, Willow Forrester’s biggest problem was trying to convince her prosaic parents that her beloved music and piano playing would provide an adequate career - until, that is, she accidentally discovers that she was adopted. Unwilling to question her parents, but unable to forget her new-found knowledge, Willow worries away at the notion of her own identity, making herself ill in the process. When the family doctor suggests a holiday, Willow and her mother go to stay at Penliss, a lovely old house in Cornwall, where Willow immediately forms a bond of friendship with the owner, Rosamund Tresilian.
Although Willow feels a strange connection to the portrait of Isabel de Calverados, an orphaned Spanish girl adopted by the Tresilian family in Elizabethan times, it is not until her mother leaves her at Penliss for an extended visit and she discovers Isabel’s strange medallion buried in the garden, that she begins to dream of this other adopted daughter. The story of Isabel gradually unfolds, as Willow learns that the young Spanish girl was orphaned when her family were killed by pirates, that she herself was rescued by a British sailor named Anthony Tresilian, who brought her to his home in Cornwall to be cared for, and that she was raised and well-loved by Anthony’s father, Cornelius. Hated by the local people because of her Spanish blood, Isabel nevertheless found friendship, in the form of her Breton nurse, Celestine, and the playful dolphin that liked to visit the local bay; as well as the love of a young man named Richard. But after the death of Cornelius Tresilian, the local people’s enmity grew, and when she was accused of witchcraft, Isabel was forced to flee Cornwall with Richard. Believed lost at sea during a terrible storm, Isabel’s tombstone in the local chapel reads: “In memory of Issable de Calverados aged 17 years, dear adopted daughter of Cornelius Tresilian Esquire, supposed drowned 1602."
Arthur’s narrative is absorbing, her prose deeply evocative but never melodramatic, and the elements of the supernatural are handled with her own inimitable style. Willow’s dreams are clearly some sort of connection to the past, but it is left up to the reader to decide upon the exact nature of that connection. Are they some sort of haunting, or a psychic remnant? Could Willow’s “sleep-walking” episode, in which she wakes up with sand on her feet after having dreamed of being at the bay, be evidence of real time travel? Any or all of these could be the answer, but the notion of dreams as connection to the past, which also appears in Philippa Pearce’s classic Tom's Midnight Garden , is one I find particularly convincing.
Although Willow feels a strange connection to the portrait of Isabel de Calverados, an orphaned Spanish girl adopted by the Tresilian family in Elizabethan times, it is not until her mother leaves her at Penliss for an extended visit and she discovers Isabel’s strange medallion buried in the garden, that she begins to dream of this other adopted daughter. The story of Isabel gradually unfolds, as Willow learns that the young Spanish girl was orphaned when her family were killed by pirates, that she herself was rescued by a British sailor named Anthony Tresilian, who brought her to his home in Cornwall to be cared for, and that she was raised and well-loved by Anthony’s father, Cornelius. Hated by the local people because of her Spanish blood, Isabel nevertheless found friendship, in the form of her Breton nurse, Celestine, and the playful dolphin that liked to visit the local bay; as well as the love of a young man named Richard. But after the death of Cornelius Tresilian, the local people’s enmity grew, and when she was accused of witchcraft, Isabel was forced to flee Cornwall with Richard. Believed lost at sea during a terrible storm, Isabel’s tombstone in the local chapel reads: “In memory of Issable de Calverados aged 17 years, dear adopted daughter of Cornelius Tresilian Esquire, supposed drowned 1602."
Arthur’s narrative is absorbing, her prose deeply evocative but never melodramatic, and the elements of the supernatural are handled with her own inimitable style. Willow’s dreams are clearly some sort of connection to the past, but it is left up to the reader to decide upon the exact nature of that connection. Are they some sort of haunting, or a psychic remnant? Could Willow’s “sleep-walking” episode, in which she wakes up with sand on her feet after having dreamed of being at the bay, be evidence of real time travel? Any or all of these could be the answer, but the notion of dreams as connection to the past, which also appears in Philippa Pearce’s classic Tom's Midnight Garden , is one I find particularly convincing.
February 8, 2010
Willow Penelope Forrester was fifteen years old before she discovered that she had been adopted. Why had no one told her? And why did she have to find out now, by accident, just when she was having such a struggle with her parents over the musical career she wanted. She simply couldn't bring herself to discuss with the matter with anyone, least of all her parents. And so she literally worried herself sick, until her unsuspecting mother took her away to recover, to Penliss, a lovely house on the Cornish coast, open to guests.
It was there that Willow discovered the portrait of Isabel, an adopted daughter of the Tresilian family, who had owned Penliss for centuries. Gradually, through a series of strangely real dreams, Willow came to know the story of the lonely, proud 16th century girl. And through this came to understand and accept her own situation.
A Candle in Her Room, Ruth Arthur's last novel, was widely praised for the writing, for the atmosphere of place, and for the sensitive handling of a tender romance. Requiem for a Princess will appeal to older girls for these very qualities as well as for the insight into a fascinating historical period. (inside cover copy)
It was there that Willow discovered the portrait of Isabel, an adopted daughter of the Tresilian family, who had owned Penliss for centuries. Gradually, through a series of strangely real dreams, Willow came to know the story of the lonely, proud 16th century girl. And through this came to understand and accept her own situation.
A Candle in Her Room, Ruth Arthur's last novel, was widely praised for the writing, for the atmosphere of place, and for the sensitive handling of a tender romance. Requiem for a Princess will appeal to older girls for these very qualities as well as for the insight into a fascinating historical period. (inside cover copy)
May 16, 2011
Re-reading an old favorite. This has almost all of the elements of a perfect Ruth M. Arthur book; a mystery, a troubled adolescent protagonist in search of her own authentic life, a scary old witch, a hidden treasure (not to mention a hidden garden), a love interest, and secrets piled upon secrets. The plot is deeply satisfying and the resolution on all fronts delicious.
It's interesting how many plot elements Arthur recycled time after time- and how fresh they seemed to be in her hands.
It's interesting how many plot elements Arthur recycled time after time- and how fresh they seemed to be in her hands.
September 11, 2012
My very favorite book as a child was A Candle In Her Room by the same author - a really creepy story about a doll that haunts three generations of women. Having recently rediscovered that book in my university's children's collection, I decided to check out this book as well as the one I'd loved years ago.
Requiem for a Princess doesn't have the same creep factor, or the same generational aspect that A Candle In Her Room does, but it's still a worthwhile read. Arthur is great at landscaping her stories and making you really feel the Welsh countryside, and I very much enjoyed that aspect of the story. However, I felt the resolution to this one was a bit more predictable than A Candle In Her Room. It's still a great, creepy read, though, good for Halloween! It's out of print and very expensive secondhand, but if you're lucky, your local library will have recognized how great Ruth M. Arthur's books are and will have spared it from weeding.
Requiem for a Princess doesn't have the same creep factor, or the same generational aspect that A Candle In Her Room does, but it's still a worthwhile read. Arthur is great at landscaping her stories and making you really feel the Welsh countryside, and I very much enjoyed that aspect of the story. However, I felt the resolution to this one was a bit more predictable than A Candle In Her Room. It's still a great, creepy read, though, good for Halloween! It's out of print and very expensive secondhand, but if you're lucky, your local library will have recognized how great Ruth M. Arthur's books are and will have spared it from weeding.
January 1, 2013
love this author. discovered her when I had the ambition to read all the titles in the children's section of the library and started at A. love the Margery Gill illustrations about as much as the books.
January 7, 2016
I easily identified with the curious spirit of Willow in Requiem for a Princess. This intriguing novel immersed my hungry mind into a world of mystery, nostalgia, suspense and empathy. I loved it!
November 27, 2020
Loved this author as a high schooler. This book is my favorite and have read it many times. Search these books out, they’re worth it.
January 28, 2021
Read this book as a child and even now some 35 years later it is still in my head. Cant wait to introduce my grand kids to it.
January 30, 2021
This is a reread of a childhood favorite. I still loved it although I find Ruth Arthur's writing less compelling than I did, but her imagination is awesome.
September 24, 2021
Made me cry. Written well
December 2, 2024
Children
February 9, 2016
I remember liking this book. I felt like the ending was pretty abrupt, so not plotted out as satisfyingly as the other work of Arthur's that I have read, but even all these years later I remember it. What I remember specifically is that there was a piano piece she was working on, Pavane for a dead infanta, and she wasn't getting the emotion right, but after caring about and relating to the historical princess, she did. There is something important about growth there, and I suspect I did not appreciate the adoption issue as much as I could have then.
March 17, 2015
Language style is a little bit old-fashioned which adds to this quasi-gothic tale. Heroine enters another young women's live via dreams that become a little too real. Enjoyed.
Another similar story, but much similar and with a younger heroine, is Magic Elizabeth by Norma Kassirer.
See: A Traveler In Time by Uttley, Magic Elizabeth by Norma Kassirer, Requiem for a Princess by Ruth Arthur, The Juniper Game by Sherryl Jordan, Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce.
Another similar story, but much similar and with a younger heroine, is Magic Elizabeth by Norma Kassirer.
See: A Traveler In Time by Uttley, Magic Elizabeth by Norma Kassirer, Requiem for a Princess by Ruth Arthur, The Juniper Game by Sherryl Jordan, Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce.
August 11, 2014
My friend Catherine gave this to me to see if Lauren might like to read it. It was a favorite of hers when she was a kid. I enjoyed it and thought it read like a Nancy Drew mystery which I loved as a girl!! It might be too old fashioned for Lauren - but maybe.
December 6, 2008
Im still reading it,i ve to cause it's listed in my daughter's course this year :(
December 2, 2009
Orphans, sleep walkings, big old houses, premonitions, possibly haunted oil paintings = A+
April 18, 2016
I thought this was a fairly pleasant book with a good mystery to it.
July 10, 2013
My favorite book when I was in the 7th grade. :)
January 24, 2016
I absolutely loved this book growing up and have read it countless times. I still have it and gave it to my daughter to read. It's a brilliant book.
March 6, 2013
One of my very favorite books at age 12 or so. I wish I could find my copy for my daughter!
February 24, 2016
Completely enchanted when I read this at age 10. Read it later as an adult, same effect.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews