Robin McKinley Books

It was not that she left what she loved to go where she must, but that her destiny, like her love, like her heritage, was double.

From the "New York Times" bestselling author of "Sunshine" and "The Outlaws of Sherwood"-now in trade paperback. This is the story of Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl who became Harimad- sol, King's Rider, and heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan, that no woman had wielded since the Lady Aerin herself bore it into battle.

"This collection of beautifully crafted tales will find a warm welcome from fans of either author, as well as from fantasy readers in general." - School Library Journal This collection tells five tales of creatures who live and die by fire, tales of the present day and the prehistoric past. There is a confrontation in a haunted graveyard, of the Firespace where only dragons can survive, of a boy who is claimed by Fire, of a young man who chases the fireworm through dark tunnels of dream, and the long history of the Phoenix. With characters and storylines as enigmatic as fire itself, these five enthralling tales by master storytellers Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson are sure to intrigue and delight.

A strange imprisonment Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage. When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?" Robin McKinley's beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple: Beauty and the Beast. From The Back Cover: "Cannot a Beast be tamed?" Beauty, believing herself plain and awkward, loves roses. But when her father goes travelling and plucks just one magnificent, crimson rosebud from the garden of a magical castle, a fearsome Beast demands revenge. Either Beauty's father must forfeit his life - or his daughter must promise to live with the Beast for ever. A captivating retelling of the story of Beauty and the Beast from a Newbery Medal-winning author.

'As Princess Lissar reaches womanhood, it is clear to all the kingdom that in her breathtaking beauty she is the mirror of her mother, the queen. But this seeming blessing forces her to flee to safety from her father's wrath. With her loyal dog Ash at her side, LIssar unlocks a door to a world of magic, where she finds the key to her survival - and an adventure beyond her wildest dreams...' -- cover.

A captivating tale, from bestselling and award-winning author, that reveals the healing power of duty and honour, love and honey. Mirasol is a beekeeper, a honey-gatherer, with an ability to speak to the "earthlines"—the sentient parts of Willowlands, where she lives. The concerns of Master, Chalice, and Circle, who govern Willowlands, have nothing to do with her-until the current Master and Chalice die in a fire and leave no heirs to take their places. The Master's closest relative has been a priest of Fire for the past seven years; he is not quite human anymore. And then the Circle comes to Marisol and tells her that she is the new Chalice, and it will be up to her to bind the land and its people with a Master, the touch of whose hand can burn human flesh to the bone. . . .

Sunshine is kidnapped by a vampire - Far from finding that he wants to kill her, however, she begins to realise that he needs her help.

"Spindle's End" is a retelling of the fairy tale, "The Sleeping Beauty", which takes the reader into a magical world filled with modern characters who encounter adventure, love and loss. The curse placed on Rosie at her christening will hunt her down through the years.

A fantastical collection, available again, of four stories: two stunningly original, and two superb re-creations of favorite tales. "All four stories are linked by a leisurely richness of expression and by their motifs: the temptation of fairy magic versus the joyful acceptance of human mortality and the immutability of love in the face of enchantment."--Horn Book.

Six fabulous tales - vividly imagined and powerfully told.A long-told story of the sea people and their song - and a golden eye, glittering in a pool at the edge of a desert .A ferocious serpent, its body as think as the trunk of a huge tree - and the immense, unknowable Kraken, dark beyond black, cold beyond ice, waking on the ocean floor .

The New York Times bestselling author of Sunshine and Hero and the Crown presents a beautiful retelling of Beauty and the Beast. When their father’s business fails, a young woman named Beauty and her two sisters leave their fine house in the city and move to a tiny cottage far away from everything they’ve ever known. The neglected cottage is engulfed by the long thorny stems of some unknown plant. Beauty patiently tends to them, and when, the following summer, the mysterious flowers are the most beautiful things the sisters have ever seen, an old woman tells Beauty: “Roses are for love. Not silly sweethearts’ love but the love that makes you and keeps you whole…There’s an old folk-tale that there aren’t many roses around any more because they need more love than people have to give them to make them flower…” When Beauty takes her father’s place in the terrifying beast’s palace, she discovers that his beloved rose garden is dying; and because she needs something to do to distract her from missing her family, because she loves roses—and because she pities the Beast—she determines to bring it back to life…

A gorgeously written fantasy about the friendship between a princess and her Pegasus. Because of a thousand-year-old alliance between humans and pagasi, Princess Sylviianel is ceremonially bound to Ebon, her own Pegasus, on her twelfth birthday. The two species coexist peacefully, despite the language barriers separating them. Humans and pegasi both rely on specially-trained Speaker magicians as the only means of real communication. But its different for Sylvi and Ebon. They can understand each other. They quickly grow close-so close that their bond becomes a threat to the status quo-and possibly to the future safety of their two nations. "New York Times" bestselling Robin McKinley weaves an unforgettable tale of unbreakable friendship, mythical creatures and courtly drama destined to become a classic.

Cinque ragazze, cinque protagoniste diverse che cercano di sperimentare i propri poteri: streghe di ieri e di oggi, streghe buone per le quali la magia è una forza naturale e positiva, da usa per diffondere la gioia attorno a sé, ma soprattutto per acquistare la forza, consapevolezze e capacità di amare. Cinque lunghi racconti fantastici che parlano di fiori fatati, innamorati improbabili, matrimoni insoliti, guarigioni possibili, misteriose scatole che riescono a deviare un'autostrada... Cinque storie da leggere per scoprire in se stesse l'ombra degli incantesimi di cui tutte le donne sono capaci.