The Queen of Drum

Dent in 1969, post-humously by Lewis' trustee and literary adviser Walter Hooper.

In this poignant poem, the Kingdom of Drum is subject to a palace revolution: the top-ranked army general cleanly disposes of the aged king and proclaims himself the replacement monarch.

The spirited, young queen - ordered to promptly remarry the general - pretends acquiescence: escaping en route to her place of incarceration.

With the hue-and-cry being raised in pursuit behind her, the fugitive queen employs her woodland skills to lose herself quickly in the depths of the forest.

On the move - and free for the moment - she faces a choice of how best she might remove herself beyond the risk of recapture.