More aptly called “Wonder Tales” than “Fairy Tales,” the first two novels in The History of Arcadia series were embraced as crossover titles, prompting critics and booksellers to ask readers to “imagine Lewis Carroll with footnotes by Jonathan Swift” while others made comparisons to Nicholson Baker, the Spiderwick Chronicles, Susanna Clark’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell, Homer, C.S. Lewis, the New Testament, Descartes, L. Frank Baum, Doris Lessing, and Joseph Campbell. The author herself credits Ursula K. LeGuin, Octavia Butler, and J.R.R. Tolkien as noble ancestors of the world of Arcadia. With their strong and loving female protagonists, accessible storylines, fantastical settings, sophisticated illustrations, and powerful messages, each novel in The History of Arcadia series is truly visionary.

Readers, however, won’t need to have read Snotty Saves the Day or Lily the Silent to love The Lizard Princess, which features the compelling, wild and wisdom-making adventures of Lily’s daughter, who grew to become the great queen of Arcadia, Sophia the Wise. When the Lizard Princess plunges into the world of symbol made visible, discovering who she is and what her world needs, the reader, too, can experience these wonders with her. In addition to Sophia’s story, The Lizard Princess includes Mike Mardrid’s sophisticated illustrations, an Arcadian scientific treatise, an afterword by Sophia’s granddaughter Shanti, and the tale behind the book’s arrival at Exterminating Angel Press.

“Complex and gripping. . . . Newcomers to Arcadia will be captivated by the rich history, while those familiar with it will find that Sophia’s legend grants them a new perspective on the earlier tales.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)