Publication Date: June 3, 2025
Igraine, destined mother of King Arthur, takes center stage for a powerful, feminist retelling of Camelot.
The stories of Camelot do not begin with the sword in the stone—but rather with a twisted chain of murder, magic, and deceit.
A Welsh princess educated on the Lake Isle of Avalon, Igraine is now happily married to the Cornish War Duke Gorlois, a match arranged for political advantage that blossomed into love. When Gorlois begins to forsake the ancient magics, however, it creates a strain between them, as well as friction between Igraine and Vivian, the Lady of the Lake and High Priestess to the Goddess. While Igraine and Gorlois are visiting Uther Pendragon, King of Britain, at his castle, Uther makes it obvious to the entire court that he desires Igraine to be his queen. Later, he accosts her in the castle corridors, and when Igraine informs Gorlois of what happened, her husband gathers his people and abruptly leaves the festivities, declaring war. England has only recently found peace, and Merlin pleads with Gorlois to pledge allegiance to Uther. He speaks of a prophecy that reveals Igraine’s son is destined to wield the mighty sword Excalibur and unite the British Isles. He will be the fabled Once and Future King. But the prophecy does nothing to dissaude Gorlois, whose pride will keep him bent toward war, no matter the cost to his people.
In the bloody aftermath of civil war, Igraine bravely assumes the role of leader at Tintagel Castle, encouraging the women left behind to continue working the fields to show their devotion to the Goddess and instructing her two daughters, Morgause and Morgan, to harness their own powers. She plans a grand summer Solstice celebration, inviting their allies. On the eve of the Solstice, Gorlois unexpectedly returns to Tintagel. But it is only after she lies with who she believes is her beloved husband that Igraine learns the full extent of Merlin and Vivan’s devious plot.
Igraine is chosen by the Goddess, by the Lady of the Lake, by Merlin, by Uther Pendragon . . . but in the end, she will choose her own destiny, and in doing so, inadvertently set the stage for the blood-feud that will become the canker at the heart of Camelot.
History offers a wealth of stories surrounding King Arthur and the mystical Camelot. However, author Sam Davey delivers a new series exploring Arthur’s mother, Igraine.
The Chosen Queen marks the beginning installment in the Pendragon Prophecy series. Narrated in first person by Igraine, this epic retelling offers an easy-to-read primer on the time period’s events.
Igraine, happily married to Gorlois, straddles a world starting to see a split between those who follow the old ways of Avalon and the new religion gaining popularity. Her story, however, is marked by loss. She’s primarily a pawn used as leverage to ensure Avalon’s continuity.
Deceit and betrayal, combined with the power of magic, alter Igraine’s destiny. Through her voice, readers see a woman faced with impossible decisions.
The Chosen Queen offers a new prologue to Camelot through Arthur’s mother and the forces working against her.
Sam Davey (1963- ) spends a lot of her time living in her head, which is a strange but quite comforting place to be. The rest of the time is divided between work and play. Formerly a Whitehall Civil Servant, Sam now works in Forest Row, in East Sussex, a small town in what is affectionately known as the “weird Weald”. She lives by the sea with her husband, two cats and intermittently present children. Angels of Islington, Sam’s first novel, is part of a trilogy which uses fantasy and black humour to explore the wide ranging philosophical and theological issues relating to free-will, dualism, the nature of divinity and the essence of humanity. Sam studied philosophy and politics at the University of Durham and regards herself as religiously agnostic – but deeply interested in the power of belief to motivate acts of both perfect kindness and the most appalling cruelty. “Angels” is built upon a rigorous body of research; Sam decided to work with a pantheon of supernatural beings created from mankind’s most established theologies and belief systems. All of the Angels you will encounter within the book have back-stories buried deep within Hebraic, Islamic or Christina theology. She also owes much to those earlier explorers of the Underworld – Virgil and Dante Alighieri.
