Golden Oldies

Posted by elizabeth on Nov 16, 2009 in Books, Historical Fiction | 2 comments

Seems like everyone is reading Philippa Gregory’s The White Queen, a novel about Elizabeth Woodville, who married (or didn’t, depending on who you believe) Edward IV of England. This made me think of another book I read long ago, and sent me digging through dusty old boxes of books that won’t fit on the six (!) bookcases in my office.

Here it is. The Summer Queen, by Alice Walworth Graham. “The swirling drama of a beautiful commoner who dared marry a king… Luminous and fascinating!” And it is. Long out of print, of course, but worth pursuing at used-book stores and sites. Alice Walworth Graham was (and still is) one of my favorite authors—her Vows of the Peacock is, if anything, even better than The Summer Queen.

My paperbacks are may be crumbling and yellowed (and as you can see from the $1.25 price point on the scan, really really old), but Graham’s crisp, literate style and richly romantic storytelling will never grow old.