Fred Pilcher

The Queen of Xana Fred Pilcher

The Queen of Xana is an adult fairy story, not for children, and a policial allegory. In the mythical land of Xana, Queen Julia governs as a typical medieval monarch in which the country's vast wealth is concentrated in a tiny aristocracy. Her daughter, and heiress to the throne, Princess Agatha, is champion of the impoverished commoners. The evil sorcerer Magi comes to Xana, kills the queen, and ravages aristocrats andcommoners alike. Princess Agatha is protected by her fairy godmother, who declaresthat she can save her people only if she identifies her handsome prince incognito in the crowd on her very first try and makes love to him. She will not have a second chance. She succeeds by being alert when an extraordinary event happens. Then she asserts her right to rule instead of disappearing into pampered obscurity like most fairytaleprincesses. Queen Agatha now concocts one radial political scheme after another as she strives relentlessly to achieve her goal of prosperity for all. On the way she must deal with corruption on her own council of advisors, a vicious usurer, the school bully, barbarians kidnapping and enslaving her people, and invasion by a foreign army much larger than her own. And on the way she nurtures several children of humble background into adult greatness. But will the prosperity that she has created outlast her own lifetime?