'Here is surprise, delight and instruction in skilfully blended harmony. This tale of ecclesiastical and civil power struggles in medieval Germany is a labour of love and scholarship, and Mary O'Connell has brought off the feat of re-creating an entire society triumphantly. The test of any historical novel is the extent to which it can convince any reader that, yes, this is how they thought and spoke, this is what it felt like to live then. When then is 1148, the people are either clergy or associated laymen, Catholic hegemony is total, and civil and religious affairs are barely distinguishable, the achievement is extraordinary. O'Connell's people are richly imagined, many of them historical figures. At the still centre, rarely active but always potent, is the mystic visionary and musician Hildegard, whose very silences profoundly influence those around her. This is a delight, and, I'm prepared to bet, unlike anything you have read before.'
Graham Williams, Spectrum, Sydney Morning Herald, February 21-22, 2004
 

'a fine and intriguing work. I hope your readers find as much pleasure in it as I did.'
Margaret Kennedy Agency, Brisbane
 

'Informed by impeccable historical research, beautifully crafted, superbly well-written. Mary O'Connell brings alive this deeply spiritual yet passionate world. The King's Daughter is a gripping and enchanting read.'
Rachel Scott, literary editor, NZ


'It is writing of the most excellent kind, and the whole story is unique. It is a very scholarly work but it is more than well researched, there is some sense that you are able to continue unfinished texts from the period. It resonates with the voices of the people concerned, and the whole story has a luminosity, almost a reflection of a supernatural light.'
Dr Therese Taylor, author of Bernadette of Lourdes: Her Life, Death and Visions, Burns & Oates/Continuum, London, 2002
 

This is such a brilliant historical novel! Although it is ostensibly about Hildegard of Bingen, it is far more about the influence of a good woman on the Church of her time. O'Connell brings to life Hildegard's companions and her monastery's patrons and enemies, painting them with their complex relationships and desires, their loyalties and intrigues, their flaws and strengths. No one is wholly unredeemable or given a hagiographer's halo. The book brings alive medieval times and reveals how the influence of Hildegard and her nuns, grounded and focused on God's love, lightens and offers hope in the darkness of the times and of the spirit.  It is wonderfully readable and will especially delight Hildegard devotees.

Dr Ann Gilroy; Director of Undergraduate studies, School of Theology, University of Auckland, NZ

'a golden book, a luminous book, a book full of light. A deeply satisfying fulfilment.'

Teresa O'Connor, Journalist, Nelson Evening Mail, and co-Editor of NZ Nurses Journal.