Once a Queen: A Novel
by Sarah Arthur
A mysterious manor house hides the keys to shocking family secrets—and rapidly fading portals to other worlds—in the richly woven opener to bestselling author Sarah Arthur’s young adult fantasy series.
“A fresh, delightful new tale for our wonder-hungry era.”—National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins
When fourteen-year-old American Eva Joyce unexpectedly finds herself spending the summer at the mysterious manor house of the English grandmother she’s never met, she soon discovers that her family, the manor staff, and even the house itself are hiding secrets.
With odd things happening in the gardens at night, Eva embarks on a search for answers. Astonishingly, she learns that the Hall’s staff believe portals to other worlds exist—though hidden and steadily disappearing—and that Eva’s grandmother was once a queen in one of those worlds. But her grandmother’s heart is closed to the beauty and pain of the past. Now it’s up to Eva to discover what really happened—and to decide if it’s possible that her favorite childhood fairy tales are true. As she starts unraveling the dangerous secrets around the grandmother who is more than she appears, Eva begins to wonder if she, too, is more than she understood herself to be.
Praise
“Once a Queen is reminiscent of beautiful books of magic written in the past, but it’s also a fresh, delightful new tale for our wonder-hungry era. With a rich sense of place, vivid characters, a page-turning plot, and a redemptive theme about the healing of generational wounds, Sarah Arthur has created a story that lingers in the memory and shapes the soul long after reading the last page.”—Mitali Perkins, National Book Award nominee and author of You Bring the Distant Near, Rickshaw Girl, and Holy Night and Little Star
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“Readers of Lewis and L’Engle, prepare to be enchanted. This is a captivating novel that will make you want to revisit the fantasy stories of your childhood.”—Sarah Mackenzie, author of The Read-Aloud Family
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“I discovered some of my favorite books when I was young and my family lived in a farmhouse—I would read long into the night under my blankets, flashlight in hand. Well, as soon as I started reading Sarah Arthur’s book Once a Queen, I felt like that little kid again and I simply didn’t want to stop reading. The detailed setting, the memorable characters, the mysterious storyline—everything comes together to create a generational book.”—Shawn Smucker, author of The Day the Angels Fell
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“Once a Queen is written in sumptuous language that makes this poet’s heart sing. The magic here is palpable as Arthur deftly ferries readers from one world to another and back again with a wave of her pen. Best of all is the tenacity of hope woven throughout this tantalizing coming-of-age tale of a young girl bravely exploring her family’s painful secret past in search of healing for them all in the present. This may be a fantasy, but it many ways it is all too real.”—Nikki Grimes, New York Times bestselling author of Garvey’s Choice and Garvey in the Dark
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“Once A Queen is Sarah Arthur’s love letter to great children’s literature. Throughout this book, beginning with the title, one sees her great love for classic writers such as C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and E. Nesbit. However, this book is no simplistic homage. Within these pages, Sarah Arthur tells her own unique tale, full of intrigue and wonder, which is sure to enchant the imagination of a new generation of young adults.”—David Bates, co-host of the C. S. Lewis–themed podcast Pints with Jack
Exclusive Bonuses
Get your copy of Once a Queen from any retailer and receive an exclusive printable journal featuring creativity prompts and never-before-seen sketches of characters and locations in the book by Sarah Arthur!
Photo: © Tom Arthur
Meet the Author
Sarah Arthur is a fun-loving speaker and the author of a dozen books for teens and adults, including the bestselling Walking with Frodo: A Devotional Journey through The Lord of the Rings. After 25-plus years working with youth she plays a wicked game of Four Square—but don’t ever ask her to eat cold pizza from a box, ever. Among other nerdy adventures, she has served as preliminary fiction judge for the CT Book Awards, was a founding board member of the annual C. S. Lewis Festival in Northern Michigan, and codirects the Madeleine L’Engle Writing Retreats. Her preteen sons have Very Important Things to Say About Books, but apparently this one passed muster.
