Egg & Spoon

By Gregory Maguire

Two girls' fates intertwine, sparking an adventure with mistaken identities and a legendary witch.

3.6/5 Goodreads · 7,146 ratings

475 pages· 111,262 words· Est. 12.5 hour read

$17.99Save 6%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

In a destitute Russian village, Elena's bleak life changes when a train brings wealth and a noble family. Meeting Ekaterina, a girl her age, sets off a whirlwind adventure. Mistaken identities, a mysterious monk, and a disguised prince weave through their journey. At the heart of this tale is Baba Yaga, the mythical witch in her walking house. As their paths cross, Elena and Ekaterina must navigate a world of magic and danger, where nothing is as it seems. Will they uncover the truth behind their intertwined destinies?

From the publisher

In this tour de force, master storyteller Gregory Maguire offers a dazzling novel for fantasy lovers of all ages. Elena Rudina lives in the impoverished Russian countryside. Her father has been dead for years. One of her brothers has been conscripted into the Tsar’s army, the other taken as a servant in the house of the local landowner. Her mother is dying, slowly, in their tiny cabin. And there is no food. But then a train arrives in the village, a train carrying untold wealth, a cornucopia of food, and a noble family destined to visit the Tsar in Saint Petersburg – a family that includes Ekaterina, a girl of Elena’s age. When the two girls’ lives collide, an adventure is set in motion, an escapade that includes mistaken identity, a monk locked in a tower, a prince traveling incognito, and – in a starring role only Gregory Maguire could have conjured – Baba Yaga, witch of Russian folklore, in her ambulatory house perched on chicken legs.