58 pages 1 hour read

Holly Black

The Queen of Nothing

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2019

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Book 1, Prologue-Chapter 5

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Book 1, Prologue Summary

Prince Cardan Greenbriar’s birth is accompanied by a dire prophecy. When his mother, Lady Asha, presents him to his father, the Faerie High King Eldred, royal astrologer Baphen tells them the prince will be Eldred’s last child, “the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne” (2). A great ruler will arise after Eldred, but only from the spilled blood of Cardan. Alarmed by the prophecy, Eldred shuns Cardan, leaving him to be raised by Lady Asha alone. The youngest of five siblings, Cardan grows up willful and unchecked, often bullied by his older brothers and sisters. Cardan is hungry for the approval of his distant father. One day, Prince Dain, his older brother, asks Cardan to shoot an arrow at an enchanted mortal to impress King Eldred. Cardan agrees but backs out at the last minute, unwilling to kill a mortal who has been tricked. Prince Dain kills the mortal with Cardan’s arrow and spreads a rumor about Cardan’s cruelty. Since the mortal is the lover of Van Moren, the king’s seneschal or chief advisor, Eldred punishes Cardan by locking his mother up in the Tower of Forgetting. Cardan’s care is handed over to Prince Balekin, his cruelest older brother.

Related Titles

By Holly Black

Study Guide

logo

Book of Night

Holly Black

Book of Night

Holly Black

Plot Summary

logo

The Darkest Part of The Forest

Holly Black

The Darkest Part of The Forest

Holly Black

Study Guide

logo

The Field Guide

Tony DiTerlizzi, Holly Black

The Field Guide

Tony DiTerlizzi, Holly Black

Study Guide

logo

The Iron Trial

Holly Black, Cassandra Clare

The Iron Trial

Holly Black, Cassandra Clare

Study Guide

logo

The Stolen Heir

Holly Black

The Stolen Heir

Holly Black

Study Guide

logo

The Wicked King

Holly Black

The Wicked King

Holly Black