FROM THE STACKS : WISE CHILD

WISE CHILD

by Monica Furlong, first published in 1987.

This was my favourite book as a child, and reading it as an adult I see how the chapters act as parables, teaching towards a balanced, moral and beautiful life.  Wise Child is an orphaned girl sent to live with Juniper, a pagan healing woman, in seventh-century Dalriada (now Scotland).  A sullen and spoiled girl, Wise Child is soon transformed by Juniper's kind but firm teachings in healing, compassion, astronomy, religion, herbology, spinning, weaving, cooking and cleaning.  Although this story does contain magic, you get the feeling that magic is accessible, mundane and real: just as a plant can heal an infection, so can another plant make you fly – just not on this plane of consciousness.

Wise Child was the first book of fiction written by Monica Furlong (1930-2003).  Her previous work as a non-fiction author and journalist seem to have filled her with the wisdom to write such a rich and effortless narrative.  Furlong was a strong supporter of the ordination of women into the Anglican Church.  Her idea of an inclusive Christianity harkens back to its original source.