In the Time of the Angry Queen

W. Bruce Wrigley is a Toronto-based bank treasury advisor.

Karl, a contemporary artist, wins a competition to create a mural that
is to be installed in the Toronto Stock Exchange. In steps the president
of the exchange, who summarily cancels the project, forcing Karl into a
lawsuit. Other personal and professional entanglements follow as Karl
plunges ahead with the project, uncertain that he will ever experience
the satisfaction of displaying his work or being paid for it.

The competitive world of chess is the backdrop against which Karl’s
artistic nightmare unfolds. Contributing to his financial survival is a
monthly column he writes for a chess magazine called The Angry Queen.
The reader is treated to a fascinating history of famous games, and to
insights into the philosophies of great chess players. Frutkin’s prose
exudes originality, and the tempo of the plot is as controlled as many a
game of chess. This thoroughly enjoyable novel deserves the attention of
readers with or without a penchant for chess.