The Next Queen of Heaven: A Novel

by Gregory Maguire

Overview

“A delight….[A] funny and warmhearted exploration of the sacred and the profane.”
—Washington Post

“Reading The Next Queen of Heaven is like hanging on to the back of an out-of-control carnival ride—terrifying, thrilling, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.”

—Ann Patchett

 

New York Times bestseller Gregory Maguire—who re-imagined the land of Oz and all its fabled inhabitants in his monumental series, The Wicked Years—brings us The Next Queen of Heaven, a wildly farcical and gloriously imaginative tall tale of faith, Catholic dogma, lust, and questionable miracles on the eve of Y2K. The very bizarre and hilarious goings on in the eccentric town of Thebes make for a delightfully mad reading experience—as The Next Queen of Heaven shows off the acclaimed author of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Mirror Mirror in a brilliant new heavenly light.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062023711
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/05/2010
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	875 KB

About the Author

Gregory Maguire has written quite a few books for adults, including Wicked, which inspired the Broadway play and the two-part movie. He’s also written several dozen books for children, the more recent titles being What-the-Dickens, Egg & Spoon, and Cress Watercress, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book. 

Hometown:

Boston, Massachusetts

Date of Birth:

June 9, 1954

Place of Birth:

Albany, New York

Education:

B.A., SUNY at Albany, 1976; M.A., Simmons College, 1978; Ph.D., Tufts University, 1990

Website:

http://www.gregorymaguire.com

Editorial Reviews

Maguire, who made a name for himself with bestselling fantasy books like Wicked, delivers a sharp, funny, and provocative dual coming-of-age story set in 1999 upstate New York, focusing on obnoxious 17-year-old Tabitha Scales, and Jeremy Carr, a musician and director of the local Catholic church choir. Tabitha becomes the caretaker of her devoutly Protestant mother, Leontina, after she takes a nasty bump on the head and transforms into a foul-mouthed, helpless stranger. Jeremy, meanwhile, hopes an upcoming music gig in New York City will give him what it takes to leave Thebes--and former flame Willem Handelaers, now happily married with children--in the past. Jeremy's longing for Willem is heartbreakingly conveyed, as is Tabitha's rushed maturity and yearning for a man she later learns is engaged to a woman in Jeremy's choir. In conversations and their inner lives, Maguire's characters philosophize about faith, religion, acceptance, and desire in a way that never feels forced or preachy, and though cutesy at times, Maguire's humor buoys the darker story lines and keeps this winning story on track. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Reading The Next Queen of Heaven is like hanging on to the back of an out-of-control carnival ride—terrifying, thrilling, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.” — Ann Patchett, bestselling author of Bel Canto and Run

“Comes alive in many dimensions, many of them funny and slightly bonkers.” — Los Angeles Times

“A delight. . . . [A] funny and warmhearted exploration of the sacred and the profane.” — Washington Post

From the Publisher

Comes alive in many dimensions, many of them funny and slightly bonkers.

|Los Angeles Times

A delight. . . . [A] funny and warmhearted exploration of the sacred and the profane.

Washington Post

Reading The Next Queen of Heaven is like hanging on to the back of an out-of-control carnival ride—terrifying, thrilling, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Ann Patchett

A delight. . . . [A] funny and warmhearted exploration of the sacred and the profane.

Washington Post

Comes alive in many dimensions, many of them funny and slightly bonkers.

Los Angeles Times