When the King comes home... miracles will occur, the rivers will run with wine, all wishes will be granted. The kingdom of Aravis believes its beloved King Julian, dead 200 years, will return in the hour of its greatest need--and surely that hour is now. The current king is ancient, witless, and dying without an heir, the sinister Prince Bishop controls both church and state, and rebellion is brewing in the provinces.

Hail Rosmer has no interest in politics or legends. The daughter of a rural wool merchant, Hail wishes only to be a great artist. And her wish is granted, it seems, when she is sent to the city of Aravis to apprentice with Madame Carriera and study the works of King Julian's artist, the infamous Maspero. But Hail's fate is forever changed--as changed as the fate of Aravis itself--when she sees a man who looks exactly like King Julian. Marvels and wonders there will be--and events far darker and more dangerous than were ever imagined in legend.

When the King Comes Home is a smart, sly, unpredictable, and fascinating fantasy that lives up to the high standards of Caroline Stevermer's critically acclaimed previous novels, A College of Magics and River Rats. --Cynthia Ward


From Booklist
In this well-wrought fantasy, Hail Rosmer, the daughter of affluent wool merchants, is apprenticed to an artist in the city of Aravis. As she studies, she observes the city's rich collection of art and comes across a medal of the legendary Good King Julian, two centuries dead, who had been very unlike the present aged and childless ruler, a puppet of the theocracy. Hail becomes obsessed with the medal and the prophecy concerning Julian, which states that when the king comes again, all dreams will be made real. Then one day she sees a man fishing on the river. He looks exactly like King Julian, but he is far too healthy to have been dead 200 years. Hail befriends the fisherman, and the rest of the book is a witty tale of what really can happen when legends come to life. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
"Beautifully rendered fantasy of a high order."--Kirkus Reviews

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Good King Julian of Aravis has been dead for two hundred years, but his kingdom still misses him. The current occupant of the throne is old and witless and has no heir. The true ruler of Aravis is the powerful Prince Bishop, who controls both church and state.

When the King comes home, all wishes will be granted.

Hail Rosmer wants to be an artist—not an ordinary artist, but a great artist, like the fabled Maspero, who designed the walls of Aravis and made Good King Julian's crown.

When the King comes home, all dreams will be made real.

One day Hail sees an old man fishing in the river and eating his catch raw. The man is bearded and kingly in appearance; his clothes look antique. He looks exactly like long-dead King Julian IV of Aravis. And there begins an adventure that takes Hail and her enigmatic companion from palace to wilderness to battlefield and teaches her, and the rest of Aravis, what really happens when the King comes home.

FROM THE CRITICS

VOYA

The brevity of this novel that combines fantasy with historical fiction disguises the depth of the author's ability to craft a story through lyrical writing, building deliberately to a satisfying, thought-provoking whole. Beginning slowly, Stevermer introduces the main character, Hail Rosamer, an apprentice to a master artist. Hail finds herself drawn to the centuries-old work of Maspero—artist, alchemist, and architect—who believed in incorporating the blood of his subjects into his work to represent more fully their souls. The blood used in his metal castings enables the evil sorcerer Red Ned first to call second-in-command Istvan's soul and then King Julian's from the dead. The legend of the long-dead King Julian tells of prosperity that will return to the land of Aravis when he comes back. The legend's powers will allow Red Ned to use King Julian to dethrone the present king and gain control of Aravis. When Hail uses her skill as an artist to cast a charmed crown with a stronger connection to Julian, the ties to Red Ned are broken. Here the writing picks up speed, building suspense and culminating in a final battle in which Hail and her supporters fight Red Ned for Julian's soul. The powerful impact of this novel lies in its statements about the act of creating art. Hail realizes that not just the soul of the subject lives in a work of art; the artist abides there as well. "The Crown created me just as much as I created it. How could I look at it and doubt that I had something to offer the world?" Magic is not present in the spells and chants in this novel but in the act of creation itself. This book is for fantasy fans and for anyone with an artistic soul. VOYA CODES:5Q 4P M J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2000, Tor, 240p, . Ages 12 to 18. Reviewer: Susan Smith SOURCE: VOYA, April 2001 (Vol. 24, No.1)

KLIATT - Ginger Armstrong

Hail Rosamer leaves her home in Neven to become apprenticed to Madame Carriera, an acclaimed artist in the city of Aravis. Hail is not one to follow in the footsteps of others and finds herself obsessed with the artwork of Gil Maspero, a famous artist who lived during the reign of the legendary Good King Julian. In her spare time, Hail studies Maspero's most prized works and in her efforts to learn his craft she creates a copy of the siege medal. A fellow student of Hail's discovers what she has done and twists her creation into a fraudulent crime. To avoid being jailed, Hail runs away and then the adventure really begins. An evil sorceress has brought King Julian and his champion, Istvan, back from the dead in an effort to control them and, therefore, control Aravis. Hail encounters and befriends both Istvan and Julian after running away from Madame Carriera's atelier. Through her knowledge of Maspero, young Hail is able to save the kingdom and return the dead souls back to their place of rest. The author excels in combining the elements of magic and art. The most descriptive moments consist of the details of Hail's apprenticeship and the depiction of Maspero's artistic philosophy. Although at times some characters seem stereotypical and some events are resolved a bit too neatly, the novel is a delight. The plot moves at a brisk pace, and Hail is definitely a strong heroine. Tamora Pierce fans will relish Hail's independent spirit and willingness to defy all odds. A fun-filled read. KLIATT Codes: SA￯﾿ﾽRecommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Tor, 236p.,

Library Journal

When Hail Rosamer, a wool merchant's daughter-turned-artist's apprentice, encounters a stranger who looks exactly like a portrait of the long-dead King Julian, her life takes an odd turn, leading her and her new companion from city to palace to battlefield--and beyond. Stevermer's first novel takes place in the fictitious Renaissance city of Aravis, ruled by a manipulative Prince-Bishop, the true power behind a witless and aging king. The author's attention to period detail and her winsome first-person narrative make this a good selection for most fantasy collections. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

New fantasy from the author of A College of Magicks (1994). In the middle-European kingdom of Lidia, ruled by the prince-bishop during the incapacity of old, ailing King Corin, young Hail Rosamer travels to the city Aravis to be apprentice in the great artist Madame Carriera's atelier. During her studies, Hail becomes fascinated by the artist Maspero, who lived two centuries ago in the time of the still-revered Good King Julian. Then, falsely accused by a jealous rival, with no ready means of proving her innocence, Hail flees towards home. On the road she meets a strange figure, confused and starving yet richly dressed—and bearing an uncanny resemblance to Good King Julian! The prince-bishop's priest-wizard, Rigo, removes a spell from the man—and he turns out to be Istvan Forest, Julian's champion. Istvan pleads for an exorcism, knowing that the body's previous owner's soul has been ejected in order to insert Istvan's. Why? Well, red-haired necromancer Dalet, working for Red Ned, a rival to the throne, attempted to recall Julian—he would be subject to her control—planning to seize the throne on a wave of popular acclaim. But Dalet brought back the wrong man. The prince-bishop wants the matter kept under wraps, so Istvan flees with Hail intending to prevent Dalet from bringing Julian back. Hail, meanwhile, becomes convinced that Maspero and his works are the key to the entire situation. Beautifully rendered, if ultimately promising more than it delivers: still, fantasy of a high order.Asaro, Catherine THE QUANTUM ROSE Tor (400 pp.) Dec. 2000

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Fans of Pat Wrede and Robin Hobb will love this glitering Renaissance triumph set in a world an angel's wing away from our own. Stevermer brings both hearts and crowns vibrantly to life with mastery and assurance. Reading When the King Comes Home is like paging through a brilliantly illuminated Book of Hours. She's completely outdone herself this time—this is a masterpiece! — Rosemary Edghill