The Grey Horse

Anrai O Reachtaire (Henry Raftery), a quick-tempered horse trainer, is on his way home one afternoon when he sees a beautiful grey stallion on a hill. When no one in town admits to owning the horse, Anrai takes it for himself, but soon discovers to his dismay that it is in actuality a puca fairy named Ruairi MacEibhir (Rory MacEever).

As a puca, Ruairi has the strength and constitution of a horse and the ability to change shape between horse, man, and mist. Ruairi tells Anrai that he has taken form after 37 years to woo a young woman named Maire NiStandun (Mary Stanton), whom he claims was sired by a fairy. Maire is an Irish nationalist and the eldest daughter of a prominent citizen. She is also a devout Catholic who refuses to date anyone who has not been baptized with holy water ....

Throughout the novel, MacAvoy subtly uses historical references and other details to anchor the work in a geopolitical context without detracting from the story. MacAvoy cleverly weaves the historic conflict between the Irish and the English into the plot through the alternate spellings of names, the symbolic horse race between Ruairi in his horse-shape and an English thoroughbred, and references to the imprisonment of Charles Stewart Parnell and the formation of the Irish Land League. MacAvoy's sympathies clearly lie with the Irish in this work; Irish characters such as Anrai, Ruairi, and Maire appear strong and honest while most of the English characters appear either obnoxious or foolish. The result is an entertaining, engaging piece... unless one is a devoted anglophile.

MacAvoy is the author of several other fantasy novels, including The Book of Kells, the Damiano trilogy (Damiano, Damiano's Lute, and Raphael), The Lens of the World series (The Lens of the World, King of the Dead, and Belly of the Wolf) Tea With the Black Dragon (for which she won the John W. Campbell award for new writers) and Twisting the Rope, the sequel to Tea With the Black Dragon.