# Please help me identify this novel based on King Lear!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-this-novel-based-on-king-lear/340444>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 18, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-this-novel-based-on-king-lear/340444 "2006-01-18T00:43:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-this-novel-based-on-king-lear/340444/1 "2006-01-18T00:43:55Z")

</div>

Can’t recall title or author. It took place in Celtic Britian, and I think it was told in the first person by Cordelia, or maybe bits and pieces of it were. Some of the names were spelled a little differently - Lear was Lir, or Leir. I read it a year, year and a half ago I think, but I don’t think it was new at that time.

Although I remember which library branch I checked it out of the last time, I don’t have time to troll all the stacks hoping to luck into it again.

I will never laugh at my mom again for writing down every book she’s ever read!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-this-novel-based-on-king-lear/340444/2 "2006-01-18T03:21:11Z")

</div>

Damn, I was all ready with “A Thousand Acres” by Jane Smiley. But that wasn’t set in Celtic Britain.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-this-novel-based-on-king-lear/340444/3 "2006-01-18T03:28:38Z")

</div>

My Google-fu pays off!

You’re thinking of “The Serpent’s Tooth” by Diana L. Paxson–here’s an [Amazon link](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688083390/qid=1137554870/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/103-0008456-9735074?s=books&v=glance&n=283155).