In this coming-of-age fairy tale, a witch apprentice from Salem discovers that she is the great-granddaughter of Dracula from Transylvania – Maria Dracula - and, with his help, she battles a cruel regime and frees his fantastic country, Rondelia.
Soon after her mother’s mysterious death, ten-year-old MARIGOLD, the last herbs-witch of Salem, finds a lost papyrus in her home’s attic. The dragon-illuminated papyrus calls Marigold to meet with a mysterious relative from Transylvania.
Marigold travels through the Milky Way Galaxy, and upon reaching a fantastic country, Rondelia, meets with the vampire boy RED. At the Theater of Vaudeville, Marigold finds beautiful snake enchantress ZELDA who tells her that the people of Rondelia are fighting against a cruel regime led by the BLACK SUITS and their leader the BLACK BUG. But Marigold's surprises do not end here, for soon Zelda introduces her to PRINCE DRACULA himself! It is the twentieth century and Dracula calls himself “MR. D.” As chief of the Resistance, Mr. D invites Marigold to join them. In exchange, he'll help Marigold find her relative from Transylvania.
Mr. D, Marigold, and Red leave for fantastic journeys: to the underground city of vampire-children a.k.a. “V-KIDS”; to the Enchanted Forest where the
ROMA SPELL-CASTERS live; to Mr. D.’s mysterious Castle Bran in
Transcarpathia; back in time to the City of Whispers; and to the Sapphire Sea.
They duel live swords, escape gargoyles, find ghosts, visit torture dungeons with Iron Maidens, meet the blind SAPPHIRE SERPENT, encounter the pirates of SIMON, team up with the GOLEM, travel through time gates, and fight Black Suits everywhere.
Mr. D has an unexpected seizure, and is thus forced to reveal that he is in fact Marigold's long-sought relative: her great-grandfather; that her true name is Maria Dracula. Unable to lead the battle, he puts Marigold in command of the V-kids army. When it comes, the fight with the Black Suits is fierce. With Red's assistance, and although wounded, Marigold defeats the Black Suits. But she also loses Red to the enemy, who kidnaps him and takes him all the way to the Land of Endless-Night, from where Marigold vows to rescue him.
MARIGOLD
(MARIA DRACULA)
Table
of Contents
1. Marigold, the Last Herbs Witch of
Salem
2. Theater of Vaudeville
3. The Vampire Kids
4. The Roma Spell-Casters
5. Escape To the City of Whispers
6. The Guilds of Salem
7. Voyage To the Sapphire Sea
8. The Sea Dragon
9.Transcarpathia
10. Dracula’s Castle
11. Maria Dracula
12. The Battle in Sadness Square
13. The Mystery of the Black Palace
14. Endless-Night
Letter from the Author:
“Dear Reader,
This is a fantasy book written the way stories are told in Southeastern Europe, where I grew up. In that part of the world surrealism supplants the gothic and Orient meets Occident in literature and art. Hence, natural elements – such as the Sun, the Moon, or the Milky Way Galaxy – are part of the adventure, and can intervene in the life of the characters at any time.
Maria Dracula is a fantastic story parents and grandparents would tell their offspring, hoping that children will learn about poetical language, and that through adventurous voyages any kid can become a hero.
Enjoy!
Alice Rose"
BOOK REVIEW
"Maria Dracula is
truly an imaginative story. It has - just about - every magical exercise
devised. Well-written, the narrative speeds along from one conflict to
another. Somewhat gruesome in spots, a young student who hunkers down with
the book will find action galore and a satisfying ending - with clues to a
sequel. . . . Each chapter
is fronted by a lovely ink-sketched illustration."
Nancy Ferrell
(1992 judge for the Golden Kite Award, reviewing more than 700 juvenile
books; 1984 reviewer of children's books for the School Library Journal;
reviewer for the Society of Children’s Books Writers & Illustrators)
* Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real persons (living or dead), places, and events is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Maria Dracula™ is published by DUENDE Books, revised second edition, 2007. (The first edition was published in 2005 by iUniverse, in the Editor's Choice Series. and was signed Denise Roman).
