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Seal-Woman
One memorable day, while scanning the western coast of Ireland for British Naval Intelligence during World War II, Ronald Lockley caught a glimpse of a dark-haired girl swimming in a school of seals. The memory lingered on. Although Lockley never saw the girl again, he did return to uncover her legend, and the legend of the seal-woman of Kilcalla. From it he has woven this rare and tragic tale of love between a perfectly natural woman and a young naval officer...
In the land of many legends they speak of the sun-bronzed sea-princess who was raised among the seals. Shian was first told when very young that she was the princess, and that one day she would meet the sea-prince and be carried off to the kingdom beyond the horizon.
When a young man appears journeying the Irish coast he becomes the prince in her eyes, fulfiling the prophecy from the Song of the Seas.
They spend an idyllic summer together. Then their tragedy begins.
In the land of many legends they speak of the sun-bronzed sea-princess who was raised among the seals. Shian was first told when very young that she was the princess, and that one day she would meet the sea-prince and be carried off to the kingdom beyond the horizon.
When a young man appears journeying the Irish coast he becomes the prince in her eyes, fulfiling the prophecy from the Song of the Seas.
They spend an idyllic summer together. Then their tragedy begins.
- GenresFantasy
178 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
About the author
R.M. Lockley
63 books4 followersRonald Mathias Lockley, known in his published works as R. M. Lockley, was a Welsh ornithologist and naturalist. He wrote over fifty books on natural history.
Read more about him from this BBC profile:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entr...
Read more about him from this BBC profile:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entr...
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 30, 2015
A strange little book -- too short for a full-length novel & too long for a novella.
This is the story of a man who falls in love with a girl who prefers to live among the wilds of Ireland's coast. Through a quick setup of death & honorable masculine promises in the midst of WW2, our narrator (who remains nameless) agrees to locate & care for the sister of his Irish shipmate, who is a decendent of the legendary O'Malley clan. Of course his sister is also a decendent of the O'Malleys...or is she? The siblings' grandmother weaned Shian (the sister) with stories of how they found her in a seal cave, fully formed yet born of the seals & thus a child of the seas -- a princess waiting for her sea-prince to take her away. Shian grows up believing these stories as fact, not myth...though the narrator can't help wondering whether she IS a child of the sea. Her fingers & toes are webbed, she has an affinity for the water, & the animals of the sea welcome her as their companion. Soon the narrator adopts the role of her sea-prince & finds himself living with Shian in the water -- swimming with seals, eating raw fish -- while his lover becomes more & more seal-like, even treating him & their daughter as a seal-cow would treat her mate & offspring. Twice the narrator winters in the city, then returns to convince Shian to give up her wildling life & become a proper woman of the world...but of course she doesn't. The story ends when the seals are "evicted" from their shoreline by a brutish hunting party with clubs & rifles (which, though not graphic per se, offered enough clues to make me feel ill -- I can't abide seal-clubbing).
...Yeah, that's a lot to cram into 144 pages. It's no wonder the book felt rushed. The writing itself was good enough -- even lyrical, at times -- but the shortness left little room for reader/character attachment. The narrator obviously adores Shian, but she does little to return his affection...whether that was part of her seal-persona or a lack of story space, I don't know. But I had a hard time feeling anything toward her. She was more animalistic than the elderly blind seal-cow that shared their beach space.
A quick & bittersweet story. Does have good points, but not enough to rate 4 stars.
This is the story of a man who falls in love with a girl who prefers to live among the wilds of Ireland's coast. Through a quick setup of death & honorable masculine promises in the midst of WW2, our narrator (who remains nameless) agrees to locate & care for the sister of his Irish shipmate, who is a decendent of the legendary O'Malley clan. Of course his sister is also a decendent of the O'Malleys...or is she? The siblings' grandmother weaned Shian (the sister) with stories of how they found her in a seal cave, fully formed yet born of the seals & thus a child of the seas -- a princess waiting for her sea-prince to take her away. Shian grows up believing these stories as fact, not myth...though the narrator can't help wondering whether she IS a child of the sea. Her fingers & toes are webbed, she has an affinity for the water, & the animals of the sea welcome her as their companion. Soon the narrator adopts the role of her sea-prince & finds himself living with Shian in the water -- swimming with seals, eating raw fish -- while his lover becomes more & more seal-like, even treating him & their daughter as a seal-cow would treat her mate & offspring. Twice the narrator winters in the city, then returns to convince Shian to give up her wildling life & become a proper woman of the world...but of course she doesn't. The story ends when the seals are "evicted" from their shoreline by a brutish hunting party with clubs & rifles (which, though not graphic per se, offered enough clues to make me feel ill -- I can't abide seal-clubbing).
...Yeah, that's a lot to cram into 144 pages. It's no wonder the book felt rushed. The writing itself was good enough -- even lyrical, at times -- but the shortness left little room for reader/character attachment. The narrator obviously adores Shian, but she does little to return his affection...whether that was part of her seal-persona or a lack of story space, I don't know. But I had a hard time feeling anything toward her. She was more animalistic than the elderly blind seal-cow that shared their beach space.
A quick & bittersweet story. Does have good points, but not enough to rate 4 stars.
August 28, 2015
This book is so bizarre, it is hysterical. Lockley was a brilliant naturalist but this exploration of fiction leaves something to be desired. I repeatedly thought, no, he's not really going to... yes, yes, he is. The whole thing is made more disturbing by the amount of scientific detail Lockley brings.
We start in the midst of WWII. The narrator and another man are tasked with searching quiet coves in Ireland via a small sail boat for signs of the enemy, when they become obsessed with a young wild girl running barefoot through the woods with her goats. Her brother confirms that she's always been hard to keep indoors and impossible to tame. The narrator tries to meet the girl and fails - but does convince her brother to come to war with him. There, the brother dies on the battlefield, but not before making the narrator promise to return to Ireland and look after his sister. The narrator returns some years later to find that the beautiful girl has blossomed into adulthood, making me wonder what he and his mate were lusting after in the first place. From this rather uncomfortable beginning, we enter the story of Shian, who was discovered as a baby in a seal cave and is waiting for her prince of the sea to come rescue her from the trappings of civilisation. Our narrator, of course, takes on this role, but only so that he can convince her to leave behind the wild coast of Wales and return to London as his wife...
I highly recommend this terrible book to everyone interested in speculative fantasy, because it had me laughing all the way through.
We start in the midst of WWII. The narrator and another man are tasked with searching quiet coves in Ireland via a small sail boat for signs of the enemy, when they become obsessed with a young wild girl running barefoot through the woods with her goats. Her brother confirms that she's always been hard to keep indoors and impossible to tame. The narrator tries to meet the girl and fails - but does convince her brother to come to war with him. There, the brother dies on the battlefield, but not before making the narrator promise to return to Ireland and look after his sister. The narrator returns some years later to find that the beautiful girl has blossomed into adulthood, making me wonder what he and his mate were lusting after in the first place. From this rather uncomfortable beginning, we enter the story of Shian, who was discovered as a baby in a seal cave and is waiting for her prince of the sea to come rescue her from the trappings of civilisation. Our narrator, of course, takes on this role, but only so that he can convince her to leave behind the wild coast of Wales and return to London as his wife...
I highly recommend this terrible book to everyone interested in speculative fantasy, because it had me laughing all the way through.
November 17, 2012
Here's an incredible and engaging story set off the Irish coast during the early post-Second World War era. It involves an encounter a former naval officer has with a "woman of the sea", a strikingly beautiful young woman more at home in the depths of the sea than on land. A relationship blossoms between them. But, alas, irreconcilable differences arise, ensuring a host of challenges to the relationship that lead to a tragic outcome.
November 2, 2012
In 7th grade I remember my English teacher rewarding me for getting student of the month by letting me choose a new book to keep from her shelf. I took this one and read it over and over. It was a little PG-13, considering that I was a very late blooming and unworldly 13 year old and the year was 1981. Still a favorite after all these years. I so wanted to be Shian...
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October 23, 2025One memorable day, while scanning the western coast of Ireland for British Naval Intelligence during World War II, Ronald Lockley caught a glimpse of a dark-haired girl swimming in a school of seals. The memory lingered on. Although Lockley never saw the girl again, he did return to uncover her legend, and the legend of the seal-woman of Kilcalla. From it he has woven this rare and tragic tale of love between a perfectly natural woman and a young naval officer...In the land of many legends they speak of the sun-bronzed sea-princess who was raised among the seals. Shian was first told when very young that she was the princess, and that one day she would meet the sea-prince and be carried off to the kingdom beyond the horizon.When a young man appears journeying the Irish coast he becomes the prince in her eyes, fulfiling the prophecy from the Song of the Seas.They spend an idyllic summer together. Then their tragedy begins.
April 26, 2021
A re-read for me. Since I'm waiting on books from the library, I'm taking a idea from my spouse to review things that I read before GoodReads entered my life.
On the surface, it seems like a typical man meets mermaid story. However, there's more to this. The sea and the landscape surrounding the birthplace of the seal woman become a character unto themselves. I loved it when I read it years ago and found that I loved it still.
On the surface, it seems like a typical man meets mermaid story. However, there's more to this. The sea and the landscape surrounding the birthplace of the seal woman become a character unto themselves. I loved it when I read it years ago and found that I loved it still.
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December 11, 2019Lovely tale. Well written and nice to read
October 12, 2008
Am fascinated by the amount of novels and short stories dealing with the myth of "seal people" - humans who live among the seals, eventually becoming more and more like them. found this for 50p at a book fair. quite good to read, but emotionally barren.
April 13, 2017
Somewhat suitable for selkie lists, this novel explores the myth from the point of view of a man who falls in love with a young woman (erroneously) convinced she is a selkie princess. In fact, there are no true supernatural elements in the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2011
A book that took my fancy. I recommended it to several friends. One who really disliked it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews