Gloriana
Michael MoorcockA fable satirizing Spenser's "The Fairie Queen" and reflecting the real life of Elizabeth I, tells of a woman who ascends to the throne upon the death of her debauched and corrupted father, King Hern. Gloriana's reign brings the Empire of Albion into a Golden Age, but her oppressive responsibilities choke her, prohibiting any form of sexual satisfaction, no matter what fetish she tries. Her problem is in fact symbolic of the hypocrisy of her entire court. While her life is meant to mirror that of her nation - an image of purity, virtue, enlightenment and prosperity - the truth is that her peaceful empire is kept secure by her wicked chancellor Monfallcon and his corrupt network of spies and murderers, the most sinister of whom is Captain Quire, who is commissioned to seduce Gloriana and thus bring down Albion and the entire empire.
Review"Moorcock is one of the most exciting discoveries in the contemporary English novel." -- Washington Post Book World
"The intrigues, the lords and maidens ... are woven into a tapestry that is as wonderful as it is funny." -- Newsday
"Vastly entertaining...a labor of love, and a triumphant one." -- William Gibson
"[Moorcock is] the greatest writer of post-Tolkien British fantasy." -- Michael Chabon, author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
About the AuthorSALES POINTS * Part of the Fantasy Masterworks series * 'A great read...fiction writing at its best; a craftsman in full possession of his powers as Moorcock is here is a joy' Maxim Jakubowski, Vector * 'He is a giant. If you are at all interested in fantastic fiction, you must read Michael Moorcock' Tad Williams * 'Vastly entertaining' Science Fiction Review * 'A complex fantasy richly and convincingly textured' Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Locus * 'He casts a heady, enslaving spell' Ruth Rendell * A wonderful and brilliant fantasy set in a superbly realized alternate Elizabethan England.