The Beggar Queen

The final volume of the Westmark Trilogy finds the country in the throws of revolution.

Why, why, why did it take me so long to read these books? They were excellent. I enjoyed all three, but this one was far and away my favourite. I have a longstanding interest in the French Revolution, and it seems clear to me that Alexander drew on it for this story. He does so to great effect. The book is tense and exciting while still conveying the emotional struggles these characters endure. The plot moves forwards in short bursts that seem a little brief in retrospect but which worked very well as I was reading. I was hard pressed to put the book down, so eager was I to see how Alexander would bring the situation to a close.

And I must say, he does show more so very well. I found it very satisfying on all levels. It's one of those wonderful conclusions that's not so much an ending as a beginning. We know that there's more in store for all these characters and their beloved country, but it's up to the reader to imagine where they'll go from here.

I highly recommend all three books. I suppose they could be read as stand-alones, but I'd urge you to start with Westmark and work your way through for best effect. show less

There is an emotional complexity to this series that I never can quite grasp. As much as I love Lloyd Alexander it's like stepping into his "Bluebeard" chamber where he keeps all of his personal corpses. Even his comedic characters fail to take the edge off of this conclusion Don't get me wrong, I love Theo. But Theo, even with the ending he is granted, will never be the Theo that I rooted so desperately for in Westmark. He will forever be haunted by thoughts of the past.

Mickle, once a common street urchin, now rules Westmark as the wise Queen Augusta. Yet the kingdom is strangely restless. Ghosts of the past lurk everywhere, whispering of future war. Justin and his revolutionaries denounce the monarchy--even the benevolent Mickle. Cabbarus, banished from Westmark, plots to seize the throne and install a Reign of Terror.
Theo, the famed Colonel Kestrel, remembers it all--the bloody battles, and the fight for his own soul. The past has retumed to haunt the present, and Theo, once again, must join in the struggle. Who will at last command the fate of Westmark?

The novel, though grim, is still somewhat light for its subject matter. Given that Theo and Mickle have been so busy with flight and revolution that they've hardly had a chance to get a acquainted, that they are steadfastly in love is astonishing. Since they set off with Las Bombas and Musket at the end, it would be better if those characters were somehow more believable. Theo's obsession with Justin is about as childish as Jim Prideaux's with Bill Haydon. The writing is good and just sardonic enough for a young adult reader.

A delight to find, I actually enjoyed it more than the Prydian Chronicles. The series, Westmark, is a pre-Napolianic political story in a historical fantasy setting. The plot is almost trite in places, until you get the little twists that are a trade mark of Alexander's growth of character encountering standard but naive belief in forms of good government and learning some of the hard facts they may entail. It is this taking of archtype characters and introducing some of the real ethical issues is what I found so delightful--that raised the triteness of the basic plot into a stronger level altogether.

A dramatic finish to the Westmark series, and a mostly satisfying conclusion. I do miss the light-heartedness from the first book and wish this had a little less bloodshed and political didactic discussions, but I had fun rooting for Mickle to prevail over the bad guys (and for Theo to get a clue).

Better than Kestral, not as good as Westmark. The cast is a little big, although dear lord did it shrink -- Lloyd is not afraid of killing off beloved characters!