Wednesday 23 May 2012

A NEW PIECE BY KATHLEEN HERBERT

This is a little morsel- but a tasty one. A single, richly complex, chocolate; a perfectly formed truffle dish; a minute crystal glass of a rare ice-wine-
We are privileged to be the custodians of all Kathleen's literary papers, and are gradually trawling through to see what there is of general interest. This retelling of Guinevere's story is a little gem. Written at the end of the last century, you could say it embodies Kathleen's ideas about feminism, and the almost completely male perspectives handed down to us in legend and history.

 The Once and Future Queen is just a foretaste of riches yet to come.

Ironic cover image
The background image for the cover is based on this lovely pre-Raphaelite painting by John Collier: Queen Guinevere's maying.  Of course, what you will find inside is an altogether tougher Guinevere than this traditional image would suggest.






3 comments:

  1. Have just downloaded it. :) Kathleen Herbert always does an excellent job when it comes to characterising strong women, so looking forward to reading this one!

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  2. Hope Guinevere doesn't disappoint you- this is meant to be a tale within a tale, but sadly Kathleen didn't manage to complete Arcturus. However she wrote enough for editor Mike to reconstruct the second half. We hope Arcturus will be published in 2013. Its heroine is another strong, and very interesting woman.

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  3. I enjoyed it; it's interesting to see Guinevere right at the centre of things for a change! :) I look forward to seeing what Arcturus is like.

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