Daughters of Nicnevin by Shona Kinsella reimagines the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland through a historical fantasy lens. While it is true that many women and children of the Highlands were left to farm, subsist, and defend their homes and villages after many Jacobite soldiers were killed in battle, executed, or taken prisoner by government troops, Kinsella poses the “what if” magic could help these people survive? Enter natural witches Mairead and Constance, women from two very different backgrounds. Mairead is a lone wolf drifter, moving from village to village as a healer to avoid detection and persecution. Constance, on the other hand, has repressed her natural power by following the conventions of the time: get married, have children, keep house.
Constance life is drastically and irrevocably changed when Mairead arrives in her village just outside Inverness, Mairead having felt a strong pull of magic Constance didn’t know she was giving off. Constance and her children have been making ends meet while Constance’s husband, Iain, is off fighting with the Jacobites–a position nearly all the women in the village are in. Mairead befriends Constance, first working as a housekeeper and nanny but soon forming a deeper relationship with Constance. Ultimately, through Mairead, Constance awakens a part of herself long repressed and goes on a journey of self discovery that is both empowering and self-destructive (and harmful to those around her.) With the help of Witch Goddess Nicnevin, Mairead and Constance magically create the “Albans,” or men made from earth animated for manual labor and protection of the village against government soldiers.
I found magic, and its relationship to both Mairead and Constance, to be an allegory for sexuality. Where Mairead has always embraced herself and her truth, Constance has repressed it. The deviation, however, comes when Constance’s magic continually harms people, even Mairead. I viewed the romantic relationship between Mairead and Constance to be rushed and stilted; I never really “felt” it, but maybe the reason for that is the reader’s discovery of Constance using her magic for manipulation. Constance does a series of not-so-great things, but still we’re made to believe that Mairead and Constance should end up together. In my opinion, the relationship was not healthy and Mairead should have left!
DoN has a great, creative premise, but ultimately it fell a bit short for me and felt like something was missing.
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