Midnight Queen

"The Midnight Queen" is a dramatic tale of terror by Canada's one of the first best-selling novelists, May Agnes Fleming. It's a fantastic story filled with suspense and unexpected twists. The mystery, detailed descriptions, and subtle humor make this tale memorable and fascinating.

In a nineteenth-century Britain where magecraft has directed the course of history, a ruthless conspiracy plots intrigue, treason, and murder. Only a pair of brilliant misfits suspect anything is wrong. And to avert disaster, they’ll have to solve a royal mystery more than a decade cold. As the term at Oxford’s Merlin College ends, shy, bookish Gray Marshall accompanies his tutor to the country with nowhere else to go. A misadventure has left him in disgrace with his friends and—temporarily?—without magick. He overheard what sounded like a plan to murder the Master of Merlin. But he has no way to investigate his suspicions, and no one to trust. Until his professor’s odd, neglected middle daughter, Sophie, befriends him, and he realizes there is far more to her than meets the eye. According to her father, Sophie’s dreams of education are unsuitable to a woman. So her midnight library excursions to learn despite him have left her with subtle skills in gathering information, plenty of daring, and even more frustration. As Sophie and Gray begin to guess the aims of the conspirators, they know they must act. But for any chance at justice, they must risk all they have—and change who they are to each other forever... Praise for The Midnight Queen: “Debut novelist Sylvia Izzo Hunter renders both the setting and characters in vivid detail. The structured system of magick gives the fictional world weight, and Hunter manipulates the seemingly disparate plot elements to create tension that culminates in a satisfying conclusion.” — Shelf Awareness “Hunter pulls from a multitude of mystical tales and myths to create her own magical version of Britain that is both innovative and intriguing. ... The Midnight Queen is a novel that readers will be unable to put down.” — RT Book Reviews “The Midnight Queen is a love story that will warm your heart, and a story of magic and struggle, truth and might, in the face of all odds, with some stunning writing that will really hook readers and brings them into the colorful world that Hunter has created.”—Bookworm Blues “Hunter does a splendid job of confounding my expectations ... A fresh and inventive historical novel ... I can’t wait to see what Sylvia Izzo Hunter does next.” — Marie Brennan, author of A Natural History of Dragons “Elegantly written, fast-paced and highly original – a stunning story of magic, scholarship, and true love. Sylvia Izzo Hunter brings both rural Brittany and an alternative Regency England to vivid life. A remarkably assured debut.” — Juliet Marillier, national bestselling author of the Sevenwaters novels

In the hallowed halls of Oxford's Merlin College, the most talented--and highest born--sons of the Kingdom of Britain are taught the intricacies of magickal theory. But what dazzles can also destroy, as Gray Marshall is about to discover... Gray's deep talent for magick has won him a place at Merlin College. But when he accompanies four fellow students on a mysterious midnight errand that ends in disaster and death, he is sent away in disgrace--and without a trace of his power. He must spend the summer under the watchful eye of his domineering professor, Appius Callender, working in the gardens of Callender's country estate and hoping to recover his abilities. And it is there, toiling away on a summer afternoon, that he meets the professor's daughter. Even though she has no talent of her own, Sophie Callender longs to be educated in the lore of magick. Her father has kept her isolated at the estate and forbidden her interest; everyone knows that teaching arcane magickal theory to women is the height of impropriety. But against her father's wishes, Sophie has studied his ancient volumes on the subject. And in the tall, stammering, yet oddly charming Gray, she finally finds someone who encourages her interest and awakens new ideas and feelings. Sophie and Gray's meeting touches off a series of events that begins to unravel secrets about each of them. And after the king's closest advisor pays the professor a closed-door visit, they begin to wonder if what Gray witnessed in Oxford might be even more sinister than it seemed. They are determined to find out, no matter the cost...

"The Midnight Queen" from May Agnes Fleming. Canadian novelist (1840-1880).