The Corn King and the Spring Queen

By Naomi Mitchison

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Aug 1, 1990
• ISBN: 9781468305296

Reviews for The Corn King and the Spring Queen

[isabelx_21 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm so glad when I finally got hold of a copy of "The Corn King and the Spring Queen", as it was such a long time since I originally read it, and it was just as good as I remembered.It is partially set in Sparta at a time when they were trying to re-introduce this systems after it had fallen out of use and the Spartan nobility had reverted to the pursuit of luxury like the other Greek cities. In the book the king and his supporters are very idealistic about their plans for social engineering, and the new system starts with all debts being cancelled, and the land and wealth shared out equally among the men, so it is very popular with the poorer citizens. I re-read it just after seeing a three part documentary about Sparta, and the harshness and cruelty of the system isn't apparent in this story.

[lindawwilson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book many years ago, probably in the 1980's; came across it by accident in a book store and liked it so much; it was unusual; a combination of novel and feminism and mythology, but very well done. In 2008 I bought another of Mitchison's books because of this one; she was out of print and now in again; eventually I will read and review the new one