''The Queen of Attolia'' is a young adult fantasy novel by

Megan Whalen Turner Megan Whalen Turner (born November 21, 1965) is an American writer of fantasy fiction for young adults. She is best known for her novel '' The Thief'' and its five sequels. In 1997, ''The Thief'' was named a Newbery Honor book. Early life Turne ...

, published by the Greenwillow Books

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

of William Morrow in 2000 (later, of HarperCollins). It is the second novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner inaugurated with '' The Thief'' in 1996.

Setting

The book is set in an imaginary landscape reminiscent of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

and other territories around the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, particularly

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The action takes place in the fictional countries of Eddis, Attolia, and Sounis. The characters’ names are also Greek, and references are made to actual Greek Classical literature, although the world is fantasy based on various European cultures. The gods of their pantheon are fictional, but the world's prime goddess, Hephestia (similar to

Hephaestus Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter Burk ...

), suggests influences from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

. However, the fantasy world also includes elements from later European cultures, such as guns, pocket watches, printed books and

stained glass windows Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

Plot summary

Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, has been caught spying on the Queen of Attolia. He expects to be hanged, but the Queen instead resorts to an ancient traditional punishment for thievery and has his right hand struck off with a sword. Eugenides returns to Eddis and wallows in a deep depression. Attolia is a seemingly heartless ruler but secretly regrets her action. The countries of Eddis and Attolia are soon at war, with neighboring Sounis playing both sides. Also manipulating the situation is Attolia’s ambassador from the Mede Empire, Nahuseresh, who pays extravagant attention to the beautiful Queen of Attolia while serving his own agenda. Attolia juggles her overattentive ambassador, the rebellious barons who do not believe a woman can rule alone, and a bloody, costly war. Meanwhile, a visit from the magus of Sounis awakens Eugenides to the fact that his country is at war. His cousin, the Queen of Eddis, may lose her throne and country, forcing him to take on a new role. Eugenides begins to scheme, appearing to shutter his heart just as Attolia has. Eugenides succeeds in stealing the Magus from Sounis, and temporarily turning Sounis and Attolia against each other. This gives the tiny country of Eddis a small break as Sounis and Attolia focus on each other instead of Eddis.

Reviews

''The Queen of Attolia'' received starred reviews from the ''

Horn Book ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

'', ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'', and ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'', as well as favorable reviews in other review publications.

Queen's Thief series

* 1996 '' The Thief'' * 2000 ''The Queen of Attolia'' * 2006 ''

The King of Attolia ''The King of Attolia'' is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner, published by the Greenwillow Books imprint of HarperCollins in 2006. It is the third novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner inaugurated with '' The Thief'' in 19 ...

'' * 2010 ''

A Conspiracy of Kings ''A Conspiracy of Kings'' is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner, published by the Greenwillow Books imprint (trade name), imprint of HarperCollins in 2010. It is the fourth novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner inaugurate ...

'' * 2017 '' Thick as Thieves'' * 2020 ''Return of the Thief''

References

External links

Megan Whalen Turner
(official)
Sounis fan discussion of the series
at LiveJournal * {{DEFAULTSORT:Queen Of Attolia 2001 American novels Young adult fantasy novels American fantasy novels American young adult novels 2001 fantasy novels Greenwillow Books books