2021/005: The Thief on the Winged Horse -- Kate Mascarenhas

"Stories about the Thief are rarely factual accounts,” Persephone said. “But they’re still true – they’re full of the fears and anxieties of everyone who lives here.” [loc. 2602]

The Kendricks doll factory is hidden away on Paxton's Eyot in the heart of Oxford, a strangely liminal place where there's no mobile phone signal. Every Kendricks employee is descended from one of the founding Peyton sisters (the oldest married a man named Kendrick, hence the trade name) and they keep the family's secrets, most importantly the magical method for imbuing each doll with a specific, and powerful, emotion. Life on the eyot is peaceful, conservative, and hedged around with superstition -- not least the shadowy Thief on the Winged Horse, a powerful fae who's held responsible for thefts, losses and the pregnancies of unwed mothers.

Not everyone at Kendricks, or in the wider world, is happy with the status quo. Persephone Kendrick, whose uncle Conrad is the head of the family, is incredibly frustrated at not being allowed to work with the dolls: worse, her father won't even reveal to her the single hex to which she's entitled. Hedwig Mayhew, Conrad's housekeeper and a descendant of one of the sisters, has grand ambitions (and a gift for persuasion) but is expected to know her place. And Larkin, a newcomer to the island who claims to be descended from the fourth Peyton sister -- believed dead in childbirth -- is desperate to learn the magic that makes Kendrick's dolls so valuable.

Then, soon after Larkin's arrival, the oldest and most precious doll of all is stolen, despite her magical safeguards. Surely only a Kendrick could have stolen her? Or perhaps the Thief is back...

This was an interesting exploration of patriarchy gone rotten: the Peyton sisters were the first to enchant dolls, but now the women of the family are relegated to dolls-house design ("They’ve a knack for that, because they tidy homes in real life") and working in the shop. On their thirteenth birthday, they are given a hex, or enchantment: or rather it's given to their fathers, to bestow when they see fit. The Thief on the Winged Horse is also a series of interlinked family intrigues: Larkin and his shadowy past, Hedwig's uncertain parentage, Persephone's exasperation with her father Briar, and the silent smouldering feud between Briar and his brother Conrad ...

Change is afoot. Each of the three young protagonists has an agenda, and pursues it energetically. Will the stolen doll be found? Will Persephone ever be given her hex? Will the identity of Larkin's mysterious London contact -- who may be connected with his hasty departure from Italy -- be revealed?

I was reminded of Rotherweird (the little enclave of weirdness) as well as of a plethora of novels depicting the fae and dealings with them. There are some interesting ideas in this novel, and many shades of motivation. None of the characters are wholly 'good' or 'bad', and several of them learn and evolve over the course of the story. And yet, and yet ... I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't fall in love with it, and the memory of it faded quickly.