Puneet Varma (Editor)

Even the Queen

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Even the Queen imagesgrassetscombooks1223641302l209712jpg

"Even the Queen" is a short story by Connie Willis. A humorous story involving the future of gynecological science, it won the 1993 Hugo Award for Best Short Story. It was originally published in 1992 in Asimov's Science Fiction, and appears in her short-story collection Impossible Things (1994) and The Best of Connie Willis (2013).

The story details a conversation between three generations of women as they discuss the decision of one of their daughters to join the Cyclists—women who menstruate despite the existence of medical procedures (via a substance called "ammenerol") that would allow them to not do so. The various trials and misconceptions of menstruation are brought forward for examination, including an explanation of the title: one of the characters apparently told her mother that she wasn't going to have her period if Annette Funicello didn't, and the mother replied that "even the Queen" of England had a period.

References

Even the Queen Wikipedia