IES asked Juliet Marillier:

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Juliet Marillier Hi Iris and thank you for the lovely comments on my writing. You mean why did Sorcha die of an illness at a relatively young age? The world of the book may have a lot of magic, but it is based on early medieval Ireland, ie real history. In those times people lived much shorter lives than they do now. Women often died in childbirth and men died in wars. There were no antibiotics, no anaesthetics and people didn't understand a whole lot about how the human body worked. So if a woman like Sorcha got cancer or another illness affecting her internal organs there would be almost nothing a healer could do to help her. I made that happen in the story because in the real world, sad things do happen to good people sometimes. In terms of storytelling, Sorcha's death changes life dramatically for all three of her children and also for Red - they all have to face up to challenges and that increases the tension in the story. Also, it was easier to put the focus squarely on Liadan with Sorcha gone. Writers can be cruel sometimes!
all the best, Juliet

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