A Reluctant Queen by Virginia Wolf
Book blurb from goodreads.com : “An inspired re-imagining of the tale of Esther, a young Jewish woman thrust from a life of obscurity into a life of power, wealth, intrigue . . . and tender love.
See the story of Esther in an entirely new way-with all the political intrigue and tension you remember, but told as a passionate and tender love story between a young man and woman. Misunderstood by many, King Xerxes was a powerful but lonely man. Esther's beauty caught the eye of the young king, but it was her spirit that captured his heart.
Imagine anew the story of Esther, one of our faith's great heroines, destined to play a key role in the history of Christianity.”
Read my review: Didn't like it much. But here's my review: http://austenitis.blogspot.com/2011/08/reluctant-queen.html
Why I like this cover: Even though the book wasn’t a favorite of mine, the cover is definitely very pretty. Her expression…I don’t know what to say about it! She hasn’t got very dark brown eyes, but a lot of eye makeup kind of emphasizes that, I think. She’s got big earrings on too. Esther, I should say, since that’s her name. J That orange veil is perfect with her eyes and makeup! Amazing. It looks like her dress is just brown, or maybe olive green. I think that the background looks quite Persian. That building, and the walk-way… Come to think of it, the sky’s kind of a strange color, isn’t it? You don’t see yellow skies just all the time. But it goes so amazingly with the orange veil that I completely forgive the lack-of-plausability. ;)