Daughters of Nicnevin by Shona Kinsella

Book Review

Sarah Deeming

1745. War has come to the Scottish Highlands, and most of the men from Kilmartin, a small village, have left to fight, leaving the women and their homes unprotected from the raiders and the Black Watch.

Constance and Mairead are powerful witches, hiding their true identities from the village they are trying to protect. But a visit from members of the Black Watch looking for Jacobite rebels causes the witches to reveal themselves. With help from Nicnevin, the fae queen of the witches, they create men from the earth to help with the harvest and convince any passersby that there are still men in the village. But there is a condition. The men cannot cause harm, or it will warp the magic that created them. As the war gets closer and fear seeps in, can Mairead and Constance control the earthmen when they will stop at nothing to protect their village?

Written from Constance and Mairead’s point of view, Daughters of Nicnevin is a powerful, feminist tale of female independence against the backdrop of the Jacobite war. Beautifully blending the little details of day-to-day village life with the supernatural, Daughters of Nicnevin presents magic as something more than just spells and fantastical events, but a deep connection to the land the witches live on, giving the whole book a timeless folklore feel. The descriptions of the landscape and village life are vivid and detailed, showing the harmony of living alongside nature and in time with the seasons. It is a well-crafted, well-researched tale.

This is a story full of pressure points, building tension at a steady pace. I won’t go into detail, so I won’t spoil it for you, but one example is a lady who knows they are witches and is vocally unhappy at their presence in the village, leaving Mairead and Constance forever looking over their shoulder for an angry mob, with this lady leading the way. Each complication layers on top of the others, a powder keg of tension, until you’re not sure which issue is going to light the fuse and explode the whole situation. The story covers a long time period, but the tension continues, bubbling under the surface, threatening to take away everything the women have worked for.

At the centre of the story is the sapphic relationship between Mairead and Constance, one a powerful witch who has had a lifetime of experience, the other an even more powerful witch who has only just begun discovering her power. In the power vacuum created by the absent men, Constance becomes the head of the village, and she must balance that responsibility with her growing powers. Her development is not a smooth one and leads to conflicts between her and everyone else, including Mairead.

Although the story stretches over two years, the pacing doesn’t falter as there are letters and newspaper articles covering the war’s progress, so you never forget that there is as much danger to the women from the war as there is from being outed as witches. I enjoyed these sections as they gave a fresh outlook on the story.

I have always enjoyed Kinsella’s work. The way she connects human life and nature in harmony is truly sublime, and her unflinching portrayal of female hardships during the 18^th century gives voice to those women who would have gone unnoticed before. Daughters of Nicnevin is a masterpiece in feminist folklore, a beautiful story of witches, love and protection. Highly recommended.