Corn King and the Spring Queen — Naomi Mitchison

A classic epic fantasy set in ancient civilizations along the Black Sea where tenderness, beauty and love vie with brutality and dark magic.

Erif Der, a young witch, is compelled by her father to marry his powerful rival, Tarrik the Corn King, so becoming the Spring Queen. Forced by her father, she uses her magic spells to try and break Tarrik's power. But one night Tarrik rescues Sphaeros, a Hellenic philosopher, from a shipwreck. Sphaeros in turn rescues Tarrik from near death and so breaks the enchantment that has bound him. And so begins for Tarrik a Quest -- a fabulous voyage of discovery which will bring him new knowledge, and which will reunite him with his beautiful Spring Queen.

“This breathtaking recreation of life in the ancient world welds the power of myth and magic to a stirring plot.” -- Ian Rankin

“Originally published in 1931, this dense, epic-length fantasy is a quest story cunningly woven of history and myth. . . . In scenes of beauty and power, Mitchison breathes life into such perennial themes as courage, forgiveness, the search for meaning, and self-sacrifice.” -- Publishers Weekly