First published in Great Britain as The Hamish Hamilton Book of Queens.

Even as a small girl, Eleanor Farjeon realized that there were two sorts of Queens -- the Queens of History, forerunners of the plump Queen Victoria who sat on the English throne at the time, and the Queens of fairy tale.

This elegant collection, assembled by Eleanor Farjeon and her friend and fellow Queen-maker William Mayne, contains distinguished ladies of both sorts. The cavalcade of historical Queens is a proud one: the illustrious Queen of Sheba; Cleopatra, Queen of Ancient Egypt; the tragic young Queen Magdalen of Scotland; Elizabeth I of England, who boasted of her King's heart; and poor unhappy Marie Antoinette of France, with her untimely offer of cake to the hungry crowd. The other Queens have sprung from the imagination of such masters of storytelling as Walter de la Mare, the Brothers Grimm, Andrew Lang, Mary de Morgan, and Eleanor Farjean and William Mayne themselves.

This companion volume to A Cavalcade of Kings has been chosen with the originality and skill for which its two compilers are well known, and like the earlier book it includes entertaining notes on the authors represented. The striking illustrations are by Victor Ambrus.