A Sorceress Comes to Call
core novel 2024 A Sorceress Comes to Call
Record
| First published | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.03 (66,131 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 321 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9781250244079 |
Synopsis
A Sorceress Comes to Call is a 2024 dark fantasy novel by Ursula Vernon, writing as T. Kingfisher, reimagining the Brothers Grimm tale The Goose Girl and set largely at a Regency-era English manor house and its surrounding countryside. It centers on fourteen-year-old Cordelia, whose volatile sorceress mother Evangeline controls her by magically forcing her to be "obedient," and who poses as a genteel widow in order to seduce and marry the wealthy squire Samuel Chatham for access to his fortune and standing. Samuel's perceptive sister Hester grows suspicious of Evangeline's true nature and gradually recognizes the abuse Cordelia suffers at her mother's hands, prompting her to gather allies, including her former lover Richard and the enigmatic Penelope, to protect Samuel from the marriage and to try to free Cordelia from her mother's magical tyranny before it is too late.
Where it sits
- Universe: A Sorceress Comes to Call
- Series: A Sorceress Comes to Call core; position 1 of 1 in the series' recorded order
- Author: T. Kingfisher
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2025: won; Confirmed via sfadb (the Locus Index to SF Awards' official successor) and independently cross-checked via Wikipedia's own dedicated Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel article, both agreeing on the win.
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2025: finalist; Confirmed directly via thehugoawards.org's own 2025 Hugo Awards finalist page; did not win (The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley won; out of scope for this admission).
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2024: nominated; Confirmed directly via nebulas.sfwa.org's own nominee page; did not win.
Notes
- From the series record (A Sorceress Comes to Call): Standalone; a Brothers Grimm 'The Goose Girl' retelling with Regency/Gothic elements, unrelated to T. Kingfisher's other admitted universes (The Saint of Steel, Nettle & Bone, Thornhedge). Registered per this canon's single-work/LOTR-analogy convention.
Sources
- T. Kingfisher official site
- Wikipedia: A Sorceress Comes to Call
- sfadb: T. Kingfisher Awards
- Nebula Awards: T. Kingfisher nominee page
- The Hugo Awards: 2025 Hugo Awards
- Wikipedia: Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel
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