On Torka, Baroness Penelope Birkenwood, Brenosian Ambassador to Genna, is visited by a member of the Council of Magic and told of a dark spirit in the world looking to exploit divisions and create instability. Penelope is tasked with stopping it with the aid of a ring.
George, the young and inexperienced king of Brenos, is being urged by some of his advisors to marry Suzannah, niece of King Francis of Amerton. But doing this will involve a major change of foreign policy which others oppose. When Penelope returns, they make a decision which turns everything upside down.
Another country, Korinth, is engaged in a long-running feud with Amerton, under its seemingly mad queen, Marilyn.
Penelope is cast on a journey in which she will need to use her wits and diplomatic skills to ease tensions between nations and prevent the dark spirit’s power from leading Torka to disaster…
‘The Book and the Ring is an immersive and intricately woven work of fantasy. As with Anne Hampton’s previous books, her skill with word-building is as nuanced as it is wide-reaching: from the first page we are introduced to a vibrant new world with a cast of characters who guide us through the story, using natural dialogue which successfully avoids being over-expository. The relevant themes of the book are dealt with tactfully and do not detract from the plot or risk becoming too political.’ – Stefanie Seaton, Editor, Austin Macauley Publishers
With the two parallel worlds of Geratica - Geratica and Geraticai - now finally separated, Geratica has a new constitution drafted by the brilliant young Alexandra Radcliffe. Her mother, Linda, is now aiming to become their first prime minister. She is determined to bring in reforms and will need to deal with the continuing issue of male rights. Alexandra is graduating from Castra University and will shortly be embarking upon plans for her own career, which Linda is keen to be involved in.
Meanwhile, Geraticai has returned to a monarchy after its recent bloody civil war, with Queen Saphron now reigning and married to Gordon, the son of a wealthy mine owner. However to be a Geratician monarch with her Geratican noble origins is controversial amongst some on that world, and her sister in law, an ambitious young woman called Christabel, aims to take the throne for herself. Geraticai now has a parliament for the first time and a prime minister, Daniella Sturridge.
At the same time the now officially deceased mongrel, Fiona, whose mind still lives on mixed with that of the other, Robert - Linda Radcliffe's former husband - as a hybrid inside the mistress of Geratica's domain, is plotting to avenge her situation by manipulating unrest on Geratica, and now sees an opportunity to infiltrate and adapt Christabel's plans for her own sinister purposes...
The planet of Geratica has at its core a live dominant sex. The world is run by women and men are traditionally subservient. It is a monarchy, and its head of state must always be a queen. A schism at the core means that a parallel world has been created - Geraticai. On Geratica, Queen Alexandra reigns over a prosperous realm, but where discontent is brewing over the issue of 'male rights' in some quarters. Meanwhile on Geraticai, whose inhabitants tend to be more malevolent, Queen Victoria rules as a tyrant to her subjects, many of whom are impoverished. She is struggling to produce an heir, and has hatched a desperate plot to achieve her goal. If successful, this could mean the destruction of Geratica. In the second volume of this chronicle, we see how Queen Victoria launched her scheme, in the Geratican year 5000. Back in the present, Alexandra Radcliffe continues to be suspicious of the mysterious Fiona, stepmother of her boyfriend, Tom Ryder, and discovers a strange object in their hamlet wood which ends up taking her on an unexpected and perilous journey. Then the arrival of a highly unusual being results in a momentous decision having to be made and ultimately sets in motion a chain of events which will cause great social, political and civil unrest in both the worlds of Geratica and Geraticai...
Geratica is a planet where women have the dominant role. Men, still the stronger of the sexes, are consigned to manual work, whereas the women rule in politics, the professions and in royalty. The core of the planet is female, which is mirrored in sexual activity where women lead the way.
For Linda Radcliffe, even in her role as Senior Court Administrator to the queen, life is not easy. Petty jealousies hold sway. Her daughter, Alexandra, a pupil at the Charterhouse College, slated as College Champion and headed for the prime higher educational institution, Castra, is under threat from her peers.
In Anne Hampton's The Two Worlds of Geratica, Linda must steer her daughter through the pitfalls inflicted on her by Gillian Spencer, the daughter of Elizabeth—headmistress of Charterhouse—while insurrection threatens where the men of Geratica fight for equal rights.
Hi everybody. My new novel ‘The Book And The Ring’ is published on 28th June 2019. Hope you enjoy it! Anne.
The Queen Of The Geraticaian Empire will be on display at the London Book Fair from 12th to 14th March 2019.
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