PHILIPPA

About the Book

Philippa Benedict, a bright but lonely fifteen year old girl, feels like an outsider in her new school and even within her family. She feels particularly alone on Valentine’s Day.  Her popular sister, Maud, is going to a dance at Yale, her parents are all set for a romantric weekend up at a New England inn, noone has asked her to the Gilead High School Valentine’s Day dance and she has to struggle against an attraction to the class freak, a boy with Asperger syndrome, who manages to make her the laughing stock of her English class.  .Not only does she not get even one Valentine but she has to spend the night at her grandmother’s house like a five-year-old.

In a deep funk, she retreats to her grandmother’s attic while waiting for supper, to poke through old boxes of family junk where she finds a mysterious amethyst pendant. Staring into its hypnotic depths, she is transported to another world.

She finds herself in a room in a medieval tower. Venturing outside, she is attacked  by a flock of bloodthirsty birds which she escapes by jumping into a pond.

She climbs out and sits on a pile of decayed leaves which to her astonishment hides a young bedraggled boy who informs her that her is Egmont Prince o the Eagles a bird who has been transformed into a human being by the evil magician Corvin, a raven.  He was transformed in order to prevent his marriage to Princess Eyrene  of the Eagles She is now on the Planet of Erne, ruled by a dynasty of eagles, the highest form of intelligent life on the planet. Human life has never evolved on Erne. The only humans have been transported from earth over the centuries in their dreams.

Corvin snatches the amethyst pendant form Philippa. Egmont explains that in order to get back to her world, she needs that pendant and they must enlist the aid o his family the rulers of Renee to get it back, but first they must visit the Tower of Leonard to find armor to protect themselves against the onslaughts of the birds of prey who have no love for humans.  On the way, they are attacked by a wolf, whose shape Corvin has assumed, and later by a flock of owls, minions of Corvin

At the ruined Tower of Leonardo, they find golden suits of armor designed by the Master DaVinci on one of his many visits to Erne the wearing of which makes them aggressive.  They get into a knock-down fight but make up.

They arrive at the Palace of the Golden Eagles where they encounter Periwinkle Pelican, the mystic major domo of the palace, and Egmont’s parents, King Aegius and Queen Cryssandra. who at first cannot believe that their son is now a human being. When Egmont reveals the amethyst pendant hanging around his neck, they are finally convinced of his story.Egmont introduces Philippa to his best friend, the bumbling Oranien and to his fiancée, the Princess Eyrene.

There is a banquet held at the palace, featuring live food, much to Philippa’s dismay. They formulate a plan to return Egmont to his aquiline form by appealing to the Great Phoenix who dwells in a sacred cave on an island far away from the Kingdom of the Eagles. It is revealed that there are five sacred amethysts, the one Philippa had found, others belonging t King Aegius, Queen Cryssandra, Egmont  and finally to Princess Eyrene. If the royal marriage had taken place all power within the kingdom would have been consolidated in the royal eagle family. This is tyhe reason Corvin has been plotting to steal them. to use them for his evil designs.

Philippa has the first of her visions of the Phoenix’s sacred cave.

At nightfall, Egmont attempt to climb into the huge royal nest, as big as an Airstream trailer, but is injured in a fall. They finally settle on a cave to shelter them for the night. where they discuss famous humans; all aviation pioneers, who have visited Erne in i their dreams. For the first time. Philippa feels homesick

The next morning, they start out on t

About the Author

Martha MatusSchipul a native of Trumbull, Connecticut, holds a BA and MA in British Literature from the University of Bridgeport and has done doctoral work at Columbia University in John Donne. She has taught Eng;lish and German for several years and helps run a support group for parents of children with high-functioning autism and is a founding member of Aspire, a self-help group for young adults with HFA. She is also a portrait artist and a published poet and has edited Recollections of a Home, Dublin Hill Press. She is currently working on a movie script about early flight pioneer, Gustave Whitehead. She is married to Bill, an attorney, and they have four sons, Karl, John, Dan and Paul. Also included in the Schipul household are three cats, two turtles, a large dog of undetermined heritage, but, alas, no eagles.