Status
Available
Call number
Description
An alternate early twentieth-century world finds young Faris Nallaneen banished from the land she is supposed to inherit and sent to the College of Greenlaw, where she masters magical powers that will help her reclaim her dukedom. Reprint. K.
Pages
480
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |
Language
Awards
Otherwise Award (Long list — 1995)
Minnesota Book Awards (Finalist — 1995)
Series
Library's review
I liked this quite a lot; it misses 5 stars only because the ending was a bit on the down side. In some ways, it has a similar feel as Pamela Dean's [b:Tam Lin|51106|Tam Lin|Pamela Dean|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309198667s/51106.jpg|49879], in terms of the immersion in and love of
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college/academic life. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member justabookreader
Faris Nallaneen is heir to the Dukedom of Galazon. Until that time, her uncle rules in her place. To get her out of his way, he ships her off to the College of Greenlaw. Fortunately for Faris, the school’s specialty, magic, is something she will come to be very practiced in. When she is
This is a beautifully written book. It’s witty, sarcastic, and there’s enough adventure to give it a fairly wide scope. The politics are also interesting and become the story rather than the magic even though this is a story about magic --- it’s the more the politics of the magical system and how the people and the world function. It did start off a bit slow but Faris, who does her best to be unlikable, is actually likable and I kept reading to find out what would come out of her mouth next. She’s stubborn, caustic, but funny and won’t put you off even if seems to be her mission in life.
I was, however, put off slightly by the College of Greenlaw and how they teach magic, which they don’t actually do. In fact, they ignore it altogether and tell students explicitly if they are caught practicing magic they will be expelled. It’s all theory but nothing practical and I didn’t understand how the magic worked. There is almost always a system; here it’s basically if you think it’s so, it’s so. Which is fine but there’s nothing, well, magical about it. It feels like it’s missing something. Faris was frustrated by the system and so was I. I kept waiting for an explanation but none came. There is magic performed though and it’s interesting when it happens but it’s theoretical and feels like a mere thought as opposed to something magical.
There is a bit of a love story and it develops nicely without becoming an overwhelming element. It’s slow and fits with the story; it’s not forced at all. I don’t want to ruin anything but it doesn’t end on a happy note and I was glad to see that since I feel that authors want to provide that easy ending sometimes. Faris sticks to her beliefs and it was nice to see a character do that without letting the love story become the reason for change.
I know my library has several of Stevermer’s books and I think I’ll be checking out a few more to see if she lives up to my expectations.
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unexpectedly called home, Faris’s life becomes incredibly complicated, not only will she miss the school which had become home to her, but an incident involving magic will send her on a mission that will prove difficult both emotionally and physically.This is a beautifully written book. It’s witty, sarcastic, and there’s enough adventure to give it a fairly wide scope. The politics are also interesting and become the story rather than the magic even though this is a story about magic --- it’s the more the politics of the magical system and how the people and the world function. It did start off a bit slow but Faris, who does her best to be unlikable, is actually likable and I kept reading to find out what would come out of her mouth next. She’s stubborn, caustic, but funny and won’t put you off even if seems to be her mission in life.
I was, however, put off slightly by the College of Greenlaw and how they teach magic, which they don’t actually do. In fact, they ignore it altogether and tell students explicitly if they are caught practicing magic they will be expelled. It’s all theory but nothing practical and I didn’t understand how the magic worked. There is almost always a system; here it’s basically if you think it’s so, it’s so. Which is fine but there’s nothing, well, magical about it. It feels like it’s missing something. Faris was frustrated by the system and so was I. I kept waiting for an explanation but none came. There is magic performed though and it’s interesting when it happens but it’s theoretical and feels like a mere thought as opposed to something magical.
There is a bit of a love story and it develops nicely without becoming an overwhelming element. It’s slow and fits with the story; it’s not forced at all. I don’t want to ruin anything but it doesn’t end on a happy note and I was glad to see that since I feel that authors want to provide that easy ending sometimes. Faris sticks to her beliefs and it was nice to see a character do that without letting the love story become the reason for change.
I know my library has several of Stevermer’s books and I think I’ll be checking out a few more to see if she lives up to my expectations.
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LibraryThing member pwaites
From the title and the back blurb, I expected a book about the typical magical school. What I got was a story about a young woman coming to terms with and taking a hold of an unexpected responsibility. Yes, there is a college for the first hundred pages or so. However, during that time, there is
Faris Nallaneen is the heir to the dukedom of Galazon. While she is too young to rule, her Uncle Brinker runs in her stead. He insists on sending her to Greenlaw College, a woman’s finishing school known for producing witches. The book starts with Ferris arriving, reluctantly, at Greenlaw.
At Greenlaw Ferris makes a friend of Jane, an amazingly competent young witch, and an enemy of Menary, a girl with dangerous and unknown powers.
The quote from Jane Yolen suggests that the book is reminiscent to Harry Potter – that would be inaccurate. This is a story of a young woman dealing with a very different sort of magic somewhere around 1900. The magic in this book does not involve words or spells. Ferris’s magical abilities are mainly subconscious – things happen without her direct intention.
The book has also been repackaged as young adult, which I also don’t feel is wholly accurate. There isn’t any specific adult content, but the book didn’t have the tone or feel or many of any of the recent young adult books. Also, the main character is college aged – most YA books feature teen protagonists. While this can be read by younger readers, I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much if I read it at the marketed age.
A College of Magics did a fantastic job on female characters. Well, wouldn’t a book set partly in a women’s college have to? Ferris interacts with and is friends with other female characters, and both she and Jane are worthy heroines. Throughout the story, they show their skill, capability, and intelligence.
I would suggest this book to people looking for well written female characters, a more surreal magic system, or a fantasy set just after the Victorian age. The book has a whole is well written and engaging, even though I found the beginning a bit slow going. By the end, I was sad it was over.
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little magic. When the main character, Ferris, asks, she is told that magic is something that must be discovered by yourself.Faris Nallaneen is the heir to the dukedom of Galazon. While she is too young to rule, her Uncle Brinker runs in her stead. He insists on sending her to Greenlaw College, a woman’s finishing school known for producing witches. The book starts with Ferris arriving, reluctantly, at Greenlaw.
At Greenlaw Ferris makes a friend of Jane, an amazingly competent young witch, and an enemy of Menary, a girl with dangerous and unknown powers.
The quote from Jane Yolen suggests that the book is reminiscent to Harry Potter – that would be inaccurate. This is a story of a young woman dealing with a very different sort of magic somewhere around 1900. The magic in this book does not involve words or spells. Ferris’s magical abilities are mainly subconscious – things happen without her direct intention.
The book has also been repackaged as young adult, which I also don’t feel is wholly accurate. There isn’t any specific adult content, but the book didn’t have the tone or feel or many of any of the recent young adult books. Also, the main character is college aged – most YA books feature teen protagonists. While this can be read by younger readers, I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much if I read it at the marketed age.
A College of Magics did a fantastic job on female characters. Well, wouldn’t a book set partly in a women’s college have to? Ferris interacts with and is friends with other female characters, and both she and Jane are worthy heroines. Throughout the story, they show their skill, capability, and intelligence.
I would suggest this book to people looking for well written female characters, a more surreal magic system, or a fantasy set just after the Victorian age. The book has a whole is well written and engaging, even though I found the beginning a bit slow going. By the end, I was sad it was over.
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LibraryThing member Silvernfire
Although the title and the book description imply that this story is set at a magical girls' school in the early 20th century, that only describes the first third of the book. I really liked that part: Faris Nallaneen, the not-yet-adult duchess of Galazon, is packed off to Greenlaw College by her
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uncle who would prefer to run Galazon without her interference. She's understandably reluctant to attend at first, but settles in, makes friends and an enemy, maybe learns magic...and then we start the plot for the remaining two-thirds of the book, which didn't work quite as well in comparison. I don't want to spoil anything, so all I can say is that while I understood Faris' role and what she was supposed to do, I needed a clearer explanation of how she knew to do it. But I enjoyed the book overall, and was pleasantly surprised that romance, although present, did not run the plot—a welcome change from the trend nowadays. Show Less
LibraryThing member tldegray
I picked up this book for two reasons: (1) she’s half of the duo who wrote the Kate & Cecelia series; (2) she says she modeled the school after her alma mater, Bryn Mawr. Don’t be mistaken, the entire book does not take place at the college. Faris attends but has to leave, and her
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responsibilities and skills lead her to many places. This book has an element of found family that I adore, and a love story that I truly enjoyed (never mind what other people tell you about the ending). Show Less
LibraryThing member Herenya
I have wanted to read A College of Magics ever since I read the companion novel-sequel, A Scholar of Magics, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. In hindsight, taking so long to find A College of Magics was actually a good thing, because I couldn’t remember anything remotely spoiler-ish from A
This is a mystery about magic and a coming-of-age story about responsibility. This is vivid and poignant and there’s something really lovely about it. I enjoyed the parts about college life, and Faris’ friend Jane is an utter delight. I’m so pleased I finally got to read this.
Her fellow students at first had given Faris the impression of high intelligence and strange intensity. Even slight familiarity taught her that this impression was, if not entirely mistaken, sadly incomplete. In fact, her fellow students were simply exhausted. Fatigue took strange forms.
One day in the dining hall, Faris sat across the table from a first-year student who stared blankly at the single artichoke on the plate before her.
“That looks good,” said Faris. The artichokes had vanished before she’d arrived and she cherished a faint hope that her classmate disliked them, perhaps enough to barter for it.
“Extremely good,” agreed the first-year, dashing Faris’s hopes. Wearily, she added, “if only I could remember how to eat one.”
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Scholar of Magics. My expectations of this as a story about a magic university had also lessened with the passage of time, and I didn’t feel the disappointment that I might have once felt upon discovering that a lot of A College of Magics is actually about Faris after she leaves the college.This is a mystery about magic and a coming-of-age story about responsibility. This is vivid and poignant and there’s something really lovely about it. I enjoyed the parts about college life, and Faris’ friend Jane is an utter delight. I’m so pleased I finally got to read this.
Her fellow students at first had given Faris the impression of high intelligence and strange intensity. Even slight familiarity taught her that this impression was, if not entirely mistaken, sadly incomplete. In fact, her fellow students were simply exhausted. Fatigue took strange forms.
One day in the dining hall, Faris sat across the table from a first-year student who stared blankly at the single artichoke on the plate before her.
“That looks good,” said Faris. The artichokes had vanished before she’d arrived and she cherished a faint hope that her classmate disliked them, perhaps enough to barter for it.
“Extremely good,” agreed the first-year, dashing Faris’s hopes. Wearily, she added, “if only I could remember how to eat one.”
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LibraryThing member katekf
A College of Magics is a book about how school can change everything and how complex growing up and taking up the burden of your responsibilities can be. Faris doesn't wish to go to Greenlaw because her home, Galazon needs her and her uncle is sending her away. At first Greenlaw is a chore that she
The one Issue I had with College of Magics was the setting was slightly strange, it begins with a setting that seems to be in another world but soon there are discussions of real places. I had a hard time figuring out how the Europe of the book worked as it at times appeared to be the early 1900s yet there were created places. There were few points when I noticed this but it was slightly jarring.
The characters are incredibly well written and this is a book I would recommend to high school and older readers especially a student about to begin college. A College of Magics captures the strangeness of trying to fit into a new community and balance schoolwork and that magical moment when you figure out where you belong.
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needs to work through but as she finds friends, she discovers how what she's learning can help her home. In the second half of the book, Faris along with her friend Jane return to Galazon and the story becomes enmeshed in politics and what does it mean to be a ruler. The one Issue I had with College of Magics was the setting was slightly strange, it begins with a setting that seems to be in another world but soon there are discussions of real places. I had a hard time figuring out how the Europe of the book worked as it at times appeared to be the early 1900s yet there were created places. There were few points when I noticed this but it was slightly jarring.
The characters are incredibly well written and this is a book I would recommend to high school and older readers especially a student about to begin college. A College of Magics captures the strangeness of trying to fit into a new community and balance schoolwork and that magical moment when you figure out where you belong.
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LibraryThing member francescadefreitas
Oh, this was just lovely. I really enjoyed the period setting and tone, and the rather scanty use of actual magic. The main characters were refreshingly irritable, witty, and changeable.
LibraryThing member Larkken
In a turn of the century fantasy adventure, young ladies are sent to Greenlaw, a finishing school, to learn how to be marriagable - and, on occasion, how to do magic. Faris, the duchess of Galazon, spends a dreamy third of the book in the school, after which she is expelled and must go on to, what
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else? save the world. However, there is little actual magic involved in this book, Stevermer concentrating more on social interactions, clever turns of event, and the entertainingly normal feelings and activities of Faris herself. On the other hand, the magic that is present feels engagingly natural when it does occur, and the book has a lovely flow. Show Less
LibraryThing member melannen
I first read these books years ago, when they had just come out, and I had remembered liking the sequel (A Scholar of Magics) much more than the original. The sequel is, certainly, a simpler, friendlier, and more conventional story, but on re-read I found myself liking College just as much, if not
College plays, self-consciously, with genre and form. It's essentially a fairy tale, about wicked uncles, jealous sorceress, foolish kings and arranged marriages and cursed castles, it's but set in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Western Europe in the early 20th century, and the characters are caught between the two worlds, trying to find a footing, just as much as the reader is (and just as much as much of the world was, in that historical time and place.)
Faris Nallanneen is engaging from the very beginning, Jane is a dear, Tyrian takes a while to come into his own but does so very believably, and the schemes and plots of the antagonists are interestingly complicated and realistically ambiguous.
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more.College plays, self-consciously, with genre and form. It's essentially a fairy tale, about wicked uncles, jealous sorceress, foolish kings and arranged marriages and cursed castles, it's but set in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Western Europe in the early 20th century, and the characters are caught between the two worlds, trying to find a footing, just as much as the reader is (and just as much as much of the world was, in that historical time and place.)
Faris Nallanneen is engaging from the very beginning, Jane is a dear, Tyrian takes a while to come into his own but does so very believably, and the schemes and plots of the antagonists are interestingly complicated and realistically ambiguous.
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LibraryThing member phoebesmum
Books set in magical schools never seem to tell you anything about the actual teaching of magic. To be fair, this is really far more about politics, and the protagonist's magical abilities are more of a means to an end than an end in themselves. It's set in an alternative Edwardian era, in a world
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similar to ours – the magic school, in fact, appears to be sited on Mont St Michel – and Faris, our heroine is the heir to a small Duchy somewhere in the vicinity of the Balkans, so far as I can make out from the geography. She's also the heir to something far stranger and more compelling: she's one of the Wardens of the world, a world which was thrown into imbalance by the actions of one of her own ancestors. Along the way there is much plotting, scheming, melodrama and, yes, even a little magic, mostly courtesy of Faris's much more interesting English friend Jane (it is a very strange fact that sidekicks are so often more interesting than main characters), and it all makes for a jolly good bouncing adventure – perfect light reading Show Less
LibraryThing member SaintBrevity
I keep stumbling over reviewing this book, so I'll just get this up and out. It's a pretty good coming of age story, well focused for the 9th to 12th grade crowd, and manages to have clever dialogue and characters without descending into twee. I liked it, though it didn't resonate with me as
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strongly as is has with others (no surprise, that). I'll keep an eye out for more by this author. Show Less
LibraryThing member 2wonderY
Nice brisk interplay among college chums. A pleasure to join them.
LibraryThing member orangejulia
This is such a wonderful book that I have a hard time summing up. It's set in a turn of the century Europe that is similar to our own. Magic exists, and is something that proper young ladies are taught. The book chronicles the adventures of Faris Nallaneen the rightful ruler of a tiny nation state,
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who has been exiled to a school in England by an appropriately wicked uncle. There are intrigues, magic, tea and transformations. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical British fiction as well as people who like reading fantasy books. This book also reminds me of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Show Less
LibraryThing member raylay
A College of Magics was an easy and very entertaining read. Stevermers dry humor is great and her writing style is fast paced and fun with great characters, color, fashion, and touching discoveries of friendship and love. Great for teens and young adults or a quick travel book ~ you won't feel you
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wasted your time at all! :) Show Less
LibraryThing member Krumbs
A pleasant read, though not very exciting. I enjoyed what the author wrote when collaborating with Patricia Wrede so was not very surprised at the slow progression of the tale. Really, not much happens until the second half of the book, and then it's not really "action" until the last forty pages
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or so. Show Less
LibraryThing member atimco
Curiously uncompelling. I got 56 pages in and just couldn't make myself pick this back up. I think it's because the heroine is a bit of a brat. Readers who've read the whole thing, is it worth persevering? I've enjoyed several of Stevermer's other novels, so I'm not sure why this one seems so
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contrived and awkward. Show Less
LibraryThing member antiquary
This book was one of my favorites because one of the the characters (Eve-Marie) was closely based on a young woman I knew shortly after the time the author knew her. (The author was at college with her in 1975-77, and I was in graduate school with her immediately afterwards.) She really did glow
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the way the author describes, with an undeniable aura of magic. However on this book the original college (Bryn Mawr, I believe) is transmuted into Greenlaw, a "finishing school" in a magical version of the late nineteenth century located on the northern French coast, roughly equivalent to Mont Saint Michel, though the college is dedicated to St. Margaret as well as St. Michael. The heroine Faris is by rights duchess of Galadon (and arguably queen of Averill) but she is packed off to Greenlaw by the ambitious uncle who is ruling her duchy till she comes of age. She makes group of close friends, and one enemy. Menary Paganell, of the branch of the royal family currently ruling Averill. Eventually they have a showdown when Menary turns Faris's bodyguard into a cat, and Faris sets Menary's hair on fire. Students actually working magic in the college is forbidden, so both must leave, especially as Faris's uncle has summoned her home. From there the story plunges into magical intrigue. Show Less
LibraryThing member Murphy-Jacobs
10/21/2023 I read this book some 15 years ago, per my records, but I was surprised that I remembered barely anything about it (that's unusual for me). This time, I "got" the story. I liked it much better. It made more sense to me somehow. I suspect it will stick.
It isn't a difficult story -- more
It isn't a difficult story -- more
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or less ordinary girl finds out she isn't as ordinary as she thought, that her life and her future aren't what she thought they would be, people around her are more than she thought, and so forth. It turned a lot of tropes over on their sides, which was good, but used them as tropes. It's clever, it's fun, it's thoughtful. and it's a good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member nilaffle
Took me a while to get through this one. I bought it during the spring and finished it in November. It's a bit of a slow, dry read, but the characters and premise are interesting enough to keep you going. The plot soon takes a turn and picks up speed... but ultimately I felt the story left more
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questions than answers. The whole theme seems to be the nature of magic, but magic in this world is never really explained. Perhaps because there's a second book? We shall see. Show Less
LibraryThing member raschneid
I had no idea that Caroline Stevermer had written adult fantasies, so I was excited to encounter this vintage title in a used bookstore.
A College of Magics is an alt-history gaslight fantasy, part school story and part Ruritanian romance. In blending genres, Stevermer takes structural risks that
I kept reading for Faris. The young duchess of Galazon, gawky, headstrong, and equal parts self-assured and self-conscious, she is a splendid, unforgettable character. The other highlight here is Stevermer's confidence with her source material—she has an incredible command of the language and culture of early twentieth-century Europe, with just a subtle twist of magic and whimsy for flavoring.
Despite the slow start, the tension ratchets up as the book progresses, and the last third is exciting and well-plotted (and features one of the funniest examples of a Chekhov's gun that I've encountered in fiction). It's a pleasure to encounter a novel that delivers on all its narrative promises.
Definitely a quirky book, but some serious talent behind it - on the whole, a pretty excellent light fantasy read.
ETA: Apparently when they reprinted this, they marketed it as YA and as a "better than Harry Potter" magical school story. OH NOES. Older teens would enjoy this book, but stylistically it is really not YA at all.
A College of Magics is an alt-history gaslight fantasy, part school story and part Ruritanian romance. In blending genres, Stevermer takes structural risks that
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almost made me put down the book. The first several chapters are largely narration, and the story develops very organically and episodically.I kept reading for Faris. The young duchess of Galazon, gawky, headstrong, and equal parts self-assured and self-conscious, she is a splendid, unforgettable character. The other highlight here is Stevermer's confidence with her source material—she has an incredible command of the language and culture of early twentieth-century Europe, with just a subtle twist of magic and whimsy for flavoring.
Despite the slow start, the tension ratchets up as the book progresses, and the last third is exciting and well-plotted (and features one of the funniest examples of a Chekhov's gun that I've encountered in fiction). It's a pleasure to encounter a novel that delivers on all its narrative promises.
Definitely a quirky book, but some serious talent behind it - on the whole, a pretty excellent light fantasy read.
ETA: Apparently when they reprinted this, they marketed it as YA and as a "better than Harry Potter" magical school story. OH NOES. Older teens would enjoy this book, but stylistically it is really not YA at all.
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LibraryThing member zjakkelien
I quite enjoyed this. It has something quiet and dreamily descriptive at times, but without losing track of the story. And I liked Faris a lot, with her loyalty and her occasional unapologetic honesty.
Publication
Starscape Books (2002), 468 pages
Subjects
Original language
English
Original publication date
1994-03
Physical description
480 p.; 7.63 inches
ISBN
0765342456 / 9780765342454