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Cover of The Queen Who Flew: A Fairy Tale

The Queen Who Flew: A Fairy Tale

by Ford Madox Ford (1873–1939)

  • Free to read
  • 1 hour to read
  • 2 chapters
  • Reading level: 6th grade

"The Queen Who Flew: A Fairy Tale" by Ford Madox Ford is a fantasy novel likely written in the late 19th century. The story revolves around a young queen, Eldrida, who, despite her position in a powerful kingdom, finds her life dull and yearns for adventure. The narrative unfolds with her conversation with a bat, during which she learns about the possibility of flight and becomes entangled in the political turmoil of her kingdom. At the start of the tale, the queen is alone in her garden as a revolution brews outside, reflecting a unique take on royal life amidst chaos. She converses with the bat about her desire to fly and eventually learns of a flower that could grant her this ability. The opening sets the stage for her quest for freedom beyond the confines of her palace, exploring themes of independence, curiosity, and self-discovery as she interacts with various characters, including a regent and commoners, ultimately leading to her decision to unearth her capabilities and embark on a journey that promises excitement and enlightenment.

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  • Fairy tales

Read the opening

Is Due and Dedicated

Over the leas the Princess came,
On the sward of the cliffs that breast the sea,
With her cheeks aglow and her hair aflame,
That snared the eyes and blinded them,
And now is but a memory.

Over the leas, the wind-tossed dream,
Over the leas above the sea,
Passed and went to reign supreme.
—No need of a crown or diadem
In the kingdom of misty Memory.

Once upon a time a Queen sat in her garden. She was quite a young, young Queen; but that was a long while ago, so she would be older now. But, for all she was Queen over a great and powerful country, she led a very quiet life, and sat a great deal alone in her garden watching the roses grow, and talking to a bat that hung, head downwards, with its wings folded, for all the world like an umbrella, beneath the shade of a rose tree overhanging her favourite marble seat. She did not know much about the bat, not even that it could fly, for her servants and nurses would never allow her to be out at dusk, and the bat was a great deal too weak-eyed to fly about in the broad daylight.

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Contents

  1. Is Due and Dedicated
  2. Illustrated by C. P. Sainton

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About this edition

This free edition of The Queen Who Flew: A Fairy Tale by Ford Madox Ford comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #52636, released 2016-07-24. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Science-Fiction & Fantasy, Novels, British Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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