The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-29

opera house two or three years ago te raise funds for charity. Now her Majesty has begun writing fairy tales for grown-ups. Her romance-she 0b- jects to having it called novel-"T The Voice on the Mountain" represents her most ambitious efforts in the role of au- thoress. l Published in America some months ago, it's heroine is a maiden prophecies, Glava, who lives in mystical seclusion on mountain top, where she gallops about on a rice-colored stallion (Queen Marie herself is of course an enthu- siastic and somewhat reckless horse womaf), and heals the pilgrims who come to her from the valley below. Eventually Glava rides down into the valley and there finds Love in the guise of wandering knight, one Doochroon. The story has a touch of the allegori- cal, a touch of fairyland, and yet an other touch of the Fiona Mcleod school, yet through it all it keeps the individu- ality of it's royal author.
 The fact is that Queen Marie writes mighty well-for a queen. She has evidently read widely among the poets, her chapters being headed by quota 
 Moves, Rossetti and Henri Spiess.
 "The pleasant reception my book has had has encouraged me to keep on writing said the Queen. II felt very doubtful whether there would be a public for purely fanciful stories like mine, but the fact that my romance has sold appears to show that there are a certain number of readers who enjoy being taken into world of poetic un- realities. Perhaps they find it re- lief from the material and humdrum.
 "So shall be publishing other books. have another about three-quarters finished. It is called Crowned Queens and l have begun writing another which shall probably call A Story of | Unrest Neither of them will be con cerned with real life, or with any par ticular country or period. am too poetic and imaginative to be the least bit of realist.
 World Can Be Lifted"
 T have no idea of competing against professional writers, nor to become what is called best seller But al certain times I am forced to write down my feelings and thoughts, and then again my people like to read my work. This pleases me, and I believe as stated in my mystic story, that tho world can be lifted from the valley tC the mountain and then perhaps to the higher ideal"
 I asked the Queen what author had most influenced her.
 T am a great lover of Tagore," sht said, but my literary godmother, if may so express it, was Fiona Mcleod the Celtic mystic. When l began read ing her books something crystallized iT me, some creative element in my sub conscious self. She was northernel and n..;stic. l, too, am a northernel by origin, in fact a double northerner Scottish on one side, Russian on tht other"
 Her Majesty's mother was the Grant Duchess Marie, only daughter of tn, Czar Alexander.
 Tt is because of this, no doubt, that l so readily absorbed the mysticism ot Fiona Mcleod. As for Tagore, he gave me- to intermigle with the visioningl of the north, the glamous of the east He is continual inspiration"
 Fiona Mcleod was the pen maine ol William Sharp.
 It appears that like Mrs. Asquith who entertained her the other day Queen Marie has kept a dairy, but unlike Margot, she doesn't intend to lei it be published. Not while she lives at all events.
 "If I were quite ruined-perhaps who knows?" she said. Many peo.