To Visit the Queen

To Visit the Queen

First Printing
Author	Diane Duane
Cover artist	Bob Goldstrom
Language	English
Series	Wizardry series
Genre	Fantasy
Published	1998 (Aspect)
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
Pages	368
ISBN	0-446-67318-8
OCLC	39533851
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 21
LC Class	PS3554.U233 T6 1999
Preceded by	The Book of Night with Moon
Followed by	The Big Meow

To Visit the Queen (1998) (titled On Her Majesty's Wizardly Service in the UK edition) is a fantasy steampunk novel by Diane Duane.[1] Its plot deals with the invention of nuclear weapons in Victorian Britain, thanks to the evil intervention of the Lone Power and the efforts of Duane's wizard feline adventurers to save the day.

It was a sequel to The Book of Night with Moon (1997). In its review, Publishers Weekly said, "Duane presents her usual felicitous mix of magical high adventure and humor, avoiding much of the preciousness that can infect anthropomorphic fantasy. Even those who don't fancy felines should enjoy this purr of a tale." Kirkus Reviews was somewhat less kind, criticising what it termed "a slow start" and "mind numbing details" in a book aimed squarely at the young adult market.

Cultural reference

The title To Visit the Queen is a cultural reference to the English rhyming poem known as "Pussy Cat Pussy Cat"; it is the second line of the poem.[2] The British title On Her Majesty's Wizardly Service is reminiscent of the James Bond title On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

One element of the plot bears a similarity to Project A119.

See also

• Anti-Ice
• Queen Victoria's Bomb
• Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office

References

1. "Bibliography: To Visit the Queen". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
2. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 357.