Madame Two Swords {novelette}
by Tanith Lee
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Aged fourteen, the narrator, in an unnamed French city, finds an old book in a second-hand shop. It's a slender volume, but remarkably well persevered; the narrator wonders who could have allowed such an exquisite artefact to end up amid piles of unwanted, unremarkable books. Surely it must be valuable? The book, she finds, contains writings of the revolutionary, Lucien de Ceppays, who lived and died in the city two centuries before. As she examines the book, she finds a small watercolour show more slipped between the flyleaf and the cover - a painting of Lucien himself. She feels a strange bond to the life and thoughts of this long-dead man - which blooms into what is almost an obsession. Some years later, impoverished after the death of her mother, the narrator - in a state of desperation - find herself inexorably guided to meet the peculiar and unnerving Madame Two Swords, an old woman with a history, and her own enduring bonds to Lucien - as well as the book. For the narrator, reality seems to unravel, as she begins to penetrate just how intimately she is connected with Madame Two Swords and Lucien. What is the mysterious truth behind her obsession? Perhaps she did not find the book at all - perhaps it found her. Previously published in 1988, only in a limited edition, this new edition includes illustrations by Jarod Mills. show lessTags
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Tanith Lee, September 19, 1947 - May 24, 2015 Tanith Lee was born on September 19, 1947 in London, England, the daughter of ballroom dancers. She attended various primary schools and had a variety of jobs, from file clerk and assistant librarian to shop assistant and waitress. Lee attended an art college for one year, but felt she would be better show more writing her ideas than painting them. Her first professional sale was "Eustace," a 90 page vignette which appeared in The Ninth Pan Book of Horror Stories in 1968. While Lee was working as an assistant librarian, she wrote a children's story that was accepted for publication. Others of her stories were also bought but never published. In 1971, Macmillan published "The Dragon Hoard," another children's book, which was followed by "Animal Castle" and "Princess Hynchatti and Other Stories" in 1972. Lee was looking for a British publisher for her book "The Birthgrave," but was denied at every House she went. She then wrote to American publisher DAW, known for it's fantasy and horror selections, who immediately accepted her manuscript and published the book in 1975. Thus began a partnership between the two that lasted till 1989 and resulted in 28 books. After the publication of her third book by DAW, Lee quit her job and became a full-time freelance writer. Lee has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, the August Derleth Award and the Nebula. She has had more than 40 novels published, along with over 200 short stories. Lee died peacefully in her sleep after a long illness on May 24, 2015. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Madame Two Swords {novelette}
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