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The King's Equal by Katherine Paterson

The King's Equal

Katherine Paterson

HarperCollins · Paperback · February 7, 1996

Who is she?

Magic & FantasyFolktale RetellingsRoyalty & Princes
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Who it’s for
A familiar fairy-tale structure meets a test of beauty, intelligence, and wealth.
Themes
Vanity and self-worth, Marriage and equality
Genres
Royalty & Princes, Folktale Retellings, Magic & Fantasy

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About this book

Who is she? A dying king makes his son his heir--on one condition. Vain Prince Raphael must marry a woman who is his equal in beauty, intelligence, and wealth... Where is this woman? A search throughout the kingdom proves fruitless. Then the lovely Rosamund appears at the palace, as if by magic, and Raphael is certain he has found his wife. She is intelligent and wealthy, as well as beautiful--certainly his equal, he thinks. But what does the mysterious Rosamund think?

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"Finding a princess who is the 'king's equal' in comeliness, intelligence, and wealth is an order that confounds the wisest, most loyal councilors in this distant realm. Finding a book equal in quality to this one is an even more formidable task. [Newbery medalist] Paterson weaves her story within the structure of familiar fairy tales. . . . Vagin's illustrations are exquisite." —SLJ. 1993 Teachers' Choices (IRA) 1992 Irma Simonton Black Award (Bank Street College of Education) 1993 Children's Booksellers' Choices (Association of Booksellers for Children)

A Fairy-Tale Tangle

A familiar fairy-tale structure meets a test of beauty, intelligence, and wealth.

Come here for

  • A vain prince facing an unusual condition of inheritance
  • A mysterious arrival who complicates his certainty

Expect

  • The shape and atmosphere of a familiar fairy tale
  • A question of who truly measures up

Where it sits

Magic & Fantasy70%
Royalty & Princes39%
Folktale Retellings35%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Fairy Tales & Folklore
  • Folktale Retellings
  • Medieval Tales
  • Myths & Fables
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Arthurian Tales
  • Norse Myths
  • Royalty & Princes
  • Magic & Fantasy
Authors
Katherine Paterson
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
February 7, 1996
Format
Paperback
Theme
Vanity and self-worth · Marriage and equality
Reading lane
Fairy Tales & Folklore