Katherine Arden, the bestselling author of the Winternight trilogy and THE WARM HANDS OF GHOSTS, combines royal intrigue with shimmering fantasy in THE UNICORN HUNTERS. 

Orphaned at a young age, Duchess Anne of Brittany has watched for years as her court, kingdom and other royals have underestimated and overlooked her. Her esteemed father lost his life defending their beloved Brittany, “a fair green jewel rich with the wealth of the sea,” and she promised him on his deathbed to continue to fight for their kingdom’s independence. But following his death and the belief that Brittany --- led by a child, and a girl at that --- would be unstable, Anne was quickly promised to King Charles of France, who covets not only a pure, queenly wife, but Brittany itself. Fortunately for Anne, she was a bit too young for marriage, so her wedding to the king was put off. Until now. 

Just as Anne is carousing with her handmaids and advisers, an envoy arrives from France, led by none other than Guillaume de la Trémoille, lieutenant-general of France and former architect of the conquest of Brittany. Though Trémoille serves the king as his primary duty, he also harbors a notorious desire to wash his hands of Brittany once and for all, meaning that he will stop at nothing to ensure that Anne’s marriage to King Charles happens. The time for Anne to enjoy her childhood and avoid annexing her kingdom has come to an abrupt end. Or has it?

"Unicorns, forgotten lands, dark magic, and a biting, unforgettable heroine: it’s all here, and it’s all the more powerful for Arden’s dedication to making every bit --- from the courtly intrigue to the sea monsters --- as real and believable as the history itself."

Little known to all but her closest advisers, Anne --- fair of skin and with plump curves and shimmering hair --- is no silly child or a puppet on a bankrupt throne. Rather, she’s cunning, coiled and intent, and just as France has been biding their time until the appropriate moment for a wedding, so too has she been waiting…and plotting. Most recently, she has secured a betrothal to Maximilian of Austria, heir to the Holy Roman Empire and in possession of no particular desire for Brittany. But the world of 1490 is not just one of royal and courtly intrigue and political alliances. It also is one of magic, and in the kingdoms of both France and Brittany, that means diviners, men with the power to uncover secret knowledge and relay it all over the continent. Anne knows that a diviner in the French court easily could uncover her secret betrothal, so she devises a distraction: a unicorn hunt.

With a messenger from Maximilian hiding in her chambers, Anne tells Trémoille that a unicorn has been spotted in the dark woods of Brocéliande, a raw, magical place brimming with legend. It would make a fabulously impressive wedding gift for the king, if only they can slay it. Though the hunt will be dangerous, Trémoille needs Anne to complete it. Unicorns are famously drawn to the pure and virtuous. And who could be purer than a virgin duchess promised to the king? The unicorn is pure fantasy, of course, as Anne has another plan entirely: to wed Maximilian by proxy through his messenger, Baron Volfan de Polheim, in a convent just outside Brocéliande. The wood’s magic clouds its happenings from diviners, ensuring that Anne will be married to the Austrian king long before Trémoille has even realized that the unicorn hunt is a wild goose chase.

But on the evening of their journey to the magical wood, strange apparitions begin to appear around the duchess: ghostly wailing women, a light-filled entity posing as an abbess, and items long thought lost. And then the unthinkable: a real unicorn, one filled with light, who dances between this world and the shadow world, and who seems to beg Anne to join it. With it come even more harbingers of the magical world at the center of Brocéliande: the Lost Lands. Legend has it that the Lost Lands were once the haunt of Merlin himself and now hold dark magic, wild and raw, ancient and eternal, as well as mythical beings, including a faerie queen and a sea monster. Although the unicorn hunt began as a ruse, it soon becomes clear that the Lost Lands have begun creeping closer to Anne, and in them lives an evil enchanter who seeks to topple her kingdom.

Anne is a wonderfully brilliant and witty protagonist to follow as she traces the magical fault lines of the far reaches of her kingdom. In alternate chapters, we hear from a host of other characters as they observe the machinations of the duchess and her attempts to avoid marriage. From her younger sister, Isabeau, to a surprisingly wise peasant girl named Elesbed, and even Marguerite, King Charles' sister, Arden employs multiple viewpoints to masterfully set the historical and political stage, populating her set-building with gorgeous, luxurious descriptions of everything from food and dress to battle and weaponry. 

Arden also adds to the mix the chivalrous and devilishly handsome Louis of Orleans, who is sent by Marguerite to betray Anne but would much rather protect her. Though there’s something to love in each of them, readers no doubt will fall head over heels for Elesbed, who becomes something of a spiritual adviser to the young duchess, even as she struggles to learn about the world around her with her limited vocabulary. Pairing the political with the mystical, Arden pushes her protagonist to her wit's end, even as she begins to fall for an unlikely suitor. All the while, the evil magic hiding at the center of Brocéliande continues to sabotage and upend her every move.

It is easy to forget that most of what our predecessors thought of as “magic” was merely science undefined. Something as simple as a bolt of lighting must seem like witchcraft when you don't have the word for it. In THE UNICORN HUNTERS, Arden plays into this idea brilliantly, firmly grounding her readers in the historical detail of 1490 France/Brittany to remind us just how naturally magic lived alongside fact, sorcery alongside science, all in a time when political and royal upheaval could change your life in a heartbeat. It is into this world that Arden thrusts us: firmly ensconced in the royal court, yet keenly aware of the kingdom’s far reaches and their raw, fraying borders. 

That’s not to say that the magic at the heart of the book is not real --- it’s nearly impossible to read about the majestic unicorn and not be moved --- but in Arden’s hands, it plays against the issues of state and government, gifting her readers with something extraordinary: permission to believe. Her descriptions are so vivid and beautifully rendered that you almost think she possesses magic herself, and Anne’s encounter with the Lost Lands is every bit the Arthurian quest, but with real heart and determination. 

Unicorns, forgotten lands, dark magic, and a biting, unforgettable heroine: it’s all here, and it’s all the more powerful for Arden’s dedication to making every bit --- from the courtly intrigue to the sea monsters --- as real and believable as the history itself.