The Sevenwaters Trilogy is an historical fantasy series by Juliet Marillier

Juliet Marillier

Juliet Marillier is a New Zealand-born writer of fantasy, especially historical fantasy. She currently lives in Western Australia. While Marillier writes mostly for adults, her recent books have included Cybele's Secret, a sequel to her novel for young adults Wildwood Dancing. Cybele's Secret won...

 which was first published as a series of three novels between 1999 and 2001. A fourth, stand-alone book was added in November 2008.

The five novels are:

• Daughter of the Forest
  Daughter of the Forest
  Daughter of the Forest is an historical fantasy novel by Juliet Marillier first published in 1999 It is loosely based on "The Six Swans" . A girl must sew six shirts from a painful nettle plant in order to save her brothers from a witch's enchantment, remaining completely mute until the task is...
  
  
• Son of the Shadows
  Son of the Shadows
  Son of the Shadows is an historical fantasy novel by Juliet Marillier and the second book in the Sevenwaters Trilogy first published in 2000. It follows the path of Sorcha and Red's third child, Liadan, a girl who lives outside the pattern of the 'Fair Folk', also known as Túatha Dé Danann...
  
  
• Child of the Prophecy
  Child of the Prophecy
  Child of the Prophecy is an historical fantasy novel by Juliet Marillier and the third book in the Sevenwaters Trilogy first published in 2001. Book Three steps slightly out of the tradition of Sevenwaters, with the young heroine Fainne being raised far from the homestead, in Kerry...
  
  
• Heir to Sevenwaters
• Seer of Sevenwaters

Plot summary

Set mainly in ancient Ireland, the series covers four generations in the family of Sevenwaters, which enjoys a special relationship with the people of the Otherworld. As well as battles between the Irish Celt

Celt

The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....

s and the Britons, internal conflicts between neighbouring landholders are integral to the plots. However, all four books carry a strong romance element. All the books are narrated in the first person by young women of the family.

Daughter of the Forest

Daughter of the Forest is based loosely on "The Six Swans

The Six Swans

The Six Swans is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. It is tale number 49. Andrew Lang included a variant in The Yellow Fairy Book. It is Aarne-Thompson type 451: the brothers who were turned into birds...

" (a story that has many versions, one of which is recounted by the Brothers Grimm

Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...

). A girl (Sorcha) must sew six shirts from a painful nettle plant in order to save her brothers from a witch's enchantment. They have been turned into Swans and can only be returned to their true forms if she creates a shirt for each brother with her own hands - and she must remain completely mute until the task is finished. But Sorcha falls in love, and this complicates her mission.

Son of the Shadows

Son of the Shadows is the story of Sorcha's daughter Liadan. Times are changing and the fragile peace will not last. Liadan, a healer, finds herself in the company of the notorious Painted Man, while her sister Niamh is given away in a strategic marriage.

Child of the Prophecy

Child of the Prophecy is the story of Fainne, the daughter of Niamh. She is raised in Kerry as a sorcerer's daughter, and is blackmailed by her sorceress grandmother into the heart of her newly-found family with one purpose: to destroy the child of the prophecy. If Fainne does not obey, her father will die. However after living in Sevenwaters for awhile Fainne finds it difficult to destroy something she has grown to love.

Heir to Sevenwaters

Heir to Sevenwaters, a stand-alone novel related to the Sevenwaters Trilogy, is the story of Clodagh, daughter of Sean and Aisling, who must undertake a dark journey to save two lives. What's more, Sevenwaters seems to be in danger from a neighbouring landholder - but just who is really behind the threat? And can Clodagh find love amid the danger?

Seer to Sevenwaters

Seer to Sevenwaters follows Sibeal's last summer on Inis Eala before she makes her final vows to become a druid and live in the forest of Sevenwaters in quiet meditation and solitude. What was meant to be a peaceful visit is quickly transformed as a shipwreck on a nearby reef sends three survivors to the island, including a mysterious amnesiac who Sibeal finds herself caring for. Their lives change when, together, they must embark upon a journey of self-discovery that will lead them far away and closer to each other.