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Gloriana (novel)

Gloriana AuthorMichael MoorcockCover artistJill RichesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishGenreFantasy novelPublisherAllison & Busby1978Media typePrint (hardback)Pages348 ppISBN0-85031-237-XOCLC4332081823/.9/14LC ClassPZ4.M8185 Gl 1978 PR6063.O59
Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen is a work of literary fantasy by British novelist Michael Moorcock. It was first published in 1978 (London: Allison & Busby) and has remained in print ever since.

Plot
The novel's plot concerns Lord Montfallcon and his contest for courtly influence against Captain Quire. Each man exploits Albion's shadowy network of espionage and deceit for his own ends, with Gloriana caught in the middle.

Montfallcon has maintained peace throughout Gloriana's 13-year reign using terror, oppression, and a network of informants. He is the power behind Gloriana's throne, one of the few survivors of King Hern's court, where he saw most of his family killed to entertain that tyrant king. Montfallcon's sole purpose in life is to keep Gloriana's Albion free of tyranny and corruption but, in so doing, he repeats the worst practices of Hern's henchmen. His own best henchman is Quire.

But when Quire feels Montfallcon has insulted him, he seeks revenge through seducing the frustrated Gloriana. He goes into the walls to spy on the court, to muster the rabble there into his personal army, and to make sorties into the court to commit murders and leave evidence that points to other courtiers. Finally Quire exits the walls and claims the role of Gloriana's court champion, later her lord chancellor, and ultimately her lover�threatening her place as sovereign and symbol of Albion. Ultimately, Una and Gloriana discover Flaya, Gloriana's long-lost mother, thought to have been murdered by Hern VI during one of his episodes of insanity, but still alive in an unexplored dungeon adjunct to the castle. After killing his insane daughter, Montfallcon battles Quire in a duel, leading to Montfallcon's death. Able to provide the queen with an orgasm, Quire ultimately weds her, serving as her new consort, Prince Arthur.

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