The Fate of a Crown

L. Frank Baum

leden 2022 · Graphic Arts Books

Podrobnosti o e‑knize

The Fate of a Crown (1905) is a novel by L. Frank Baum. Although he is more widely known as the author of the Land of Oz series, Baum also used several pseudonyms to make forays into more conventional fiction for adults. The Fate of a Crown, written under the pen name “Schuyler Staunton,” is a story of corruption, political intrigue, romance, and adventure. “Cold with horror at the revolting deed I gazed into the dark eyes of the murderer. He smiled as he answered my look and shrugged his shoulders as if excusing the crime. ‘A blow for freedom, senhor!’ he announced, in his soft, native patois. ‘Dom Miguel would be grieved were you captured by the police.’” One day, Robert Harcliffe is working for his uncle’s mercantile business in New Orleans. The next, he narrowly escapes imprisonment and is rescued by a shadowy assassin in Brazil. When Dom Miguel de Pintra wrote to his uncle in search of a capable American secretary, the businessman sent Robert, a young college graduate. On Dom Miguel’s plantation, he becomes enamored with the republican cause and soon participates in revolutionary action against the Empire of Brazil. Although he is surrounded by his family and close allies, paranoia and fear dominate Dom Miguel’s every move. Is his daughter Izabel an imperial sympathizer? Is his son a double agent? And what about Lesba, the beautiful ward of Dom Miguel? While The Fate of a Crown is far from the fantasy and fairy tale style most of Baum’s readers adore him for, it remains an entertaining work of adventure fiction for devoted fans of the Oz series and newcomers alike. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of L. Frank Baum’s The Fate of a Crown is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

O autorovi

L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) was an American author of children’s literature and pioneer of fantasy fiction. He demonstrated an active imagination and a skill for writing from a young age, and was encouraged by his father who bought him the printing press with which he began to publish several journals. Although he had a lifelong passion for theater, Baum found success with his novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), a self-described “modernized fairy tale” that led to thirteen sequels, inspired several stage and radio adaptations, and eventually, in 1939, was immortalized in the classic film starring Judy Garland.