‘The fact that Olivia realises her bad behaviour makes her very real to me because we all have faults that we try to correct’
The Water Horse is a lovely book about an 8-year-old girl called Olivia. Olivia isn’t just an ordinary girl, she is the daughter of the Duke of Venice, which means she is the Princess of Venice and next in line to rule the city. The story begins with a masquerade ball at the palace and while dancing Olivia feels sick. The unfortunate experience wakes her up from a magic spell, which had caused her to be quiet and obedient ever since she was little. She realizes that she has been looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses and that she is in fact “a spoiled, pettish little thing, who hated getting up in the mornings, and had to be helped to dress”. She also understands that her evil aunt, Lady Sofia, is the one who bewitched her so as to keep her in check in order to one day marry her son, the equally evil Zuan. Olivia doesn’t like her cousin and she knows that after marrying him something horrible will happen to her, leaving Zuan to rule Venice.
Olivia’s father carries the ‘water magic’ that protects Venice from the rising waters. All of the family, including his sister Lady Sofia, has strong magical powers. One day, during a city ceremony, Olivia’s father appears to be very weak and Olivia steps in to help him. At the same time, the waters start to rise and people begin to gossip about him dying. When the Duke gets worse and is unable to communicate with anyone, Lady Sofia starts talking about a wedding between Zuan and Olivia. The princess decides to act and find out for herself what is going on in her city. She disguises herself and climbs out of the castle, but her magic, which is helping her to climb down, isn’t so strong and she falls into the cold water of the lagoon. There she discovers something incredible. She discovers a Water Horse called Lucian. Lucian and Olivia become friends. Lucian tells her that she is the only one who can see him and that there are others like him. The water horses used to be friends with the people of Venice a long time ago. Lucian knows the deepest secrets of the city and he also believes in Olivia’s magic. Will they be able to save Venice from the rising waters? And will the duke recover and protect Olivia against his evil sister?
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