Queen of the Owls

A Novel

By: Barbara Linn Probst

Narrated by: Brenda Scott Wlalzo

A chance meeting with a charismatic photographer will forever change Elizabeth’s life.

Until she met Richard, Elizabeth's relationship with Georgia O’Keeffe and her little-known Hawaii paintings was purely academic. Now it’s personal. Richard tells Elizabeth that the only way she can truly understand O’Keeffe isn’t with her mind - it’s by getting into O’Keeffe’s skin and reenacting her famous nude photos.

In the intimacy of Richard’s studio, Elizabeth experiences a new, intoxicating abandon and fullness. It never occurs to her that the photographs might be made public, especially without her consent. Desperate to avoid exposure - she’s a rising star in the academic world and the mother of young children - Elizabeth demands that Richard dismantle the exhibit. But he refuses. The pictures are his art. His property, not hers.

As word of the photos spreads, Elizabeth unwittingly becomes a feminist heroine to her students, who misunderstand her motives in posing. To the university, however, her actions are a public scandal. To her husband, they’re a public humiliation. Yet Richard has reawakened an awareness that’s haunted Elizabeth since she was a child - the truth that cerebral knowledge will never be enough.

Now she must face the question: How much is she willing to risk to be truly seen and known?

©2021 Barbara Linn Probst (P)2021 Spotify Audiobooks

Fascinating Topic

A cut above other novels. The references to O’Keefe’s art and life story kept me engaged throughout. I like how the author kept the story in check. She showed great restraint when she might have ruined the story with too much romance. It is a genuinely well written novel.

My only complaint was the narrator’s character voices. I would have preferred she use one voice instead of affecting those odd speech patterns. It threw me off the story more than once. I appreciate the difficulty of giving voice to so many different characters, but sometimes narrators try too hard. As happened in this case.

Your writing held me and didn't let go

I learned. I questioned. I wondered. I felt. Thank you, Barbara. Job well done