The Next Queen of Heaven - A Novel

“A delight….[A] funny and warmhearted exploration of the sacred and the profane.”

—Washington Post

“Reading The Next Queen of Heaven is like hanging on to the back of an out-of-control carnival ride—terrifying, thrilling, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.”

—Ann Patchett

New York Times bestseller Gregory Maguire—who re-imagined the land of Oz and all its fabled inhabitants in his monumental series, The Wicked Years—brings us The Next Queen of Heaven, a wildly farcical and gloriously imaginative tall tale of faith, Catholic dogma, lust, and questionable miracles on the eve of Y2K. The very bizarre and hilarious goings on in the eccentric town of Thebes make for a delightfully mad reading experience—as The Next Queen of Heaven shows off the acclaimed author of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Mirror Mirror in a brilliant new heavenly light.

What happens when a Pentecostal mother, a rebellious daughter, and a whole town of eccentrics collide on the eve of the new millennium?

Dysfunctional Family Drama: When a statue of the Virgin Mary falls on Leontina Scales' head, her already-strained relationship with teenage daughter Tabitha descends into holy—and unholy—chaos. Farcical Black Comedy: A wildly imaginative tale where Catholic dogma, Pentecostal fervor, lust, and questionable miracles collide in the strange town of Thebes, New York. LGBTQ+ Literary Fiction: A poignant subplot follows Jeremy, the local Catholic choir director, as he navigates a past love and supports his two best friends through their shared health crisis. Y2K Fiction: Set against the backdrop of 1999, this novel captures the anxieties and absurdities of a world teetering on the edge of a new millennium.