The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed - but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. That is, he’s an Eðian ( eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). And there’s something a little odd about her intended … Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown … Agent: (for Hand) Katherine Fausset, Curtis Brown (for Ashton) Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (for Meadows) Lauren MacLeod, Strothman Agency.Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. It’s an uproarious historical fantasy that’s not to be missed. Alternating third-person narration scrolls smoothly among Edward, Jane, and Gifford in chapters packed with hilarious banter, authorial asides, and polite avoidance of nudity as characters shift into and out of animal forms at inopportune moments.
This version of England is full of E∂ians, and Edward’s power-hungry sister Mary (aka Bloody Mary) is one of the Verities who want to purge the country of them. One significant tweak is the creation of a shape-shifting people called E∂ians, such as Jane’s new husband, Lord Gifford Dudley, who spends his days as a horse and his nights as a man. The authors follow history to the point of tragedy, then toss it aside to allow love and good to triumph. Hand (the Unearthly series), Ashton (the Everneath series), and Meadows (the Orphan Queen series) clearly had a ball working on this joyous rewrite of the story of Lady Jane Grey and King Edward VI, and readers will have just as much fun with it.
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