This eagerly awaited prequel to WISE CHILD (Knopf, 1987) follows the adolescent apprenticeship and experiences of Juniper, sage sorceress of the earlier novel. In Cornwall, nearly 1800 years ago, young Juniper leaves her family and her comfortable life as a princess to study with her godmother Euny for a year and a day. Her time with Euny is a harsh trial, but the powers Juniper gains aid her when she returns home to find her Aunt conspiring to capture the throne. The apprenticeship process and the lives of powerful women sorceresses are bewitchingly detailed, while the trials Juniper experiences offer the welcome image of a heroic young woman. (Age 11 and older)