This August, Allison & Busby are due to publish Sylvia Hunter‘s THE MIDNIGHT QUEEN. The first in the author’s alternative history series, here’s the synopsis…
Gray Marshall’s Britain is a fragmented kingdom of many tongues, many gods and many magics. But all that concerns Gray is returning as soon as possible to his studies at Merlin College, Oxford and setting right the nightmare that has seen him disgraced and banished to his tutor’s home.
Sophie Callender may not have magic herself and a father who forbids his daughters a magical education, but her bookish rebellion and growing friendship with Gray are the first steps of a journey. A journey that will involve them in a conspiracy at the heart of the kingdom and into the legend of a young queen who vanished without a trace years before.
Sylvia Hunter has created a world that is both only slightly different and a far cry from the England we know of the 1800s, teeming with depth in language, myth and religion that defies easy categorisation.
The novel is published in the US by Ace Books, who have also published the sequel LADY OF MAGICK. Here’s a sample of the great reviews the series has received so far…
‘Hunter does a splendid job of confounding my expectations… keeps taking fresh turns. A fresh and inventive historical novel… I can’t wait to see what Sylvia Izzo Hunter does next.’ — Marie Brennan, author of A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS
‘In THE MIDNIGHT QUEEN, Izzo Hunter pulls from a multitude of mystical tales and myths to create her own magical version of Britain that is both innovative and intriguing. The plot is creative and suspenseful — and never predictable. Your affection for the dynamic heroes will only grow as Hunter’s characters face challenge after unexpected challenge. THE MIDNIGHT QUEEN is a novel that readers will be unable to put down.’ — RT Book Reviews
‘A well-balanced blend of fantasy with a historical fiction-type setting, overlaid with a story laced with a heavy dose of the kind of chaste, slow-burn romance one might find in a traditional Regency novel… THE MIDNIGHT QUEEN is a very beautiful, very atmospheric novel about young love.’ — Bibliosanctum
Zeno represensts Sylvia Hunter in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.