Queen Moo's Talisman: The Fall of the Maya Empire
London: Keegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., 1902. First Edition. Octavo, 82 pages, publisher's original gilt-lettered and decorated green cloth covered boards. Top edge gilt. Illustrated with black-and-white plates. Queen Moo’s Talisman: The Fall of the Maya Empire by Alice D. Le Plongeon is an unusual early 20th-century work blending historical romance, speculative archaeology, and narrative verse. Published in 1902, the book presents a dramatic poetic retelling of the decline of the ancient Maya world, centering on the legendary figure of Queen Moo and surrounding her with themes of dynastic struggle, love, betrayal, and civilizational collapse. Reflecting the unconventional theories advanced by Alice and Augustus Le Plongeon, the work stands less as a modern scholarly treatment of Maya history than as a fascinating document of alternative archaeology, esoteric historical imagination, and turn-of-the-century interest in lost civilizations. It remains of interest to collectors of Maya-related material, occult and pseudohistorical literature, and curious, imaginative antiquarian books. Ex-library with the typical markings. Soiling and discoloration to covers, some tide marks along edges of pages, discoloration, rubbing and wear, else in good condition. Item #243
Price: $75.00