1 h 18 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 1 h 18 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Escape the law, meet a pirate queen, and sail toward a city wiser men leave untouched.
Conan runs from the law in Messantia and takes passage aboard the merchant ship Argus. Freedom seems close, until a pirate galley appears on the water. Its commander is Bêlit, queen of the Black Coast. She wants the Cimmerian as her partner and lover, and offers him a life of raids, treasure and danger.
In Robert E. Howard’s Queen of the Black Coast, Conan and Bêlit sail the Tigress along hostile southern shores. Their bond grows amid attacks on towns and ships. But a tale of ancient riches draws Bêlit upriver, toward a silent, ruined city. Even her loyal warrior N’Gora distrusts the place they approach.
What you’ll discover
- A fugitive at sea Follow Conan from a desperate escape into a voyage that brings danger instead of safety.
- The queen of the coast Meet Bêlit, whose fierce command holds her crew and whose certainty draws Conan close.
- Raids aboard the Tigress Sail a hot, hostile coast where treasure comes through violence and leaves ruin behind.
- A city best avoided Feel the unease deepen as the promise of ancient wealth pulls the raiders inland.
- Tenderness beneath the blood Discover a fierce love story beneath the swordplay, where freedom, fate and death press close.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy sword and sea adventure, fierce romance, haunted ruins and a hero who lives by his own code.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A wanted swordsman leaps aboard a trading galley
- The pirate Tigress runs down the Argus
- Bêlit claims Conan as her mate
- Love, fear and gods on the river of death
- A dead city, a trapped altar and a hoard of jewels
- What the tale says about love, greed and civilization
- How Howard builds mood with colour, verse and speed
Who’s who
- ConanA Cimmerian swordsman from the northern hills who flees Argos and wants only a life of battle, wine and freedom.
- BêlitThe Shemite queen of the black coast, who leads black raiders from her galley, the Tigress, and wants Conan as her king.
- TitoThe black-bearded shipmaster of the Argus, who wants to trade safely to Kush and avoid the pirate queen.
- N'YagaBêlit's old shaman, who tends Conan's wounds and fears the ruined city on the river.
- N'GoraA sub-chief of Bêlit's spearmen, who leads a party into the jungle at Conan's command.
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La Reine de la Côte Noire
by Robert E. Howard · 1934
A Cimmerian swordsman leaps onto a pirate galley and meets a queen who offers him the sea.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to readfrançais
Learn a language with medium classicsEspagnolFrançaisAllemandItalienJaponaisPortugaisAnglaisHow we measure levels
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In short
What would you do if a stranger on a stolen horse leapt onto your deck, sword dripping, and told you to sail? That is how Queen of the Black Coast begins.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A wanted swordsman leaps aboard a trading galley
The story opens on a street sloping down to the wharves of Argos. An armored man on a black stallion gallops through scattering crowds, a scarlet cloak streaming behind him. Guards ride after him. He hauls the horse to a stop at the edge of the pier and jumps onto the deck of a galley already pulling away.
The ship is the Argus, a small trading vessel with twenty oars. Her master, a black-bearded man named Tito, is bound for Kush to swap beads, silks and sugar for ivory, copper and pearls. He demands to know who invited the stranger. The man pays with steel, and he warns that he will drench the deck in blood unless they push off. Tito is a good judge of faces, and he shouts the order to row.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1934
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Howard, Robert E. Queen of the Black Coast. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/queen-of-the-black-coast.
Howard, R. E. (2026). Queen of the Black Coast. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/queen-of-the-black-coast (Original work published 1934)
Howard, Robert E. Queen of the Black Coast. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/queen-of-the-black-coast.
@book{howard2026queen,
author = {Howard, Robert E.},
title = {Queen of the Black Coast},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/queen-of-the-black-coast},
note = {First published 1934}
}
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What is Queen of the Black Coast about?
It tells of Conan, a Cimmerian swordsman who flees Argos by ship, joins the pirate queen Bêlit as her partner and sails with her up a haunted river toward a ruined city and its hidden treasure.
Who is Bêlit in Queen of the Black Coast?
Bêlit is a Shemite woman who commands a crew of black raiders on the galley Tigress. She is known as the queen of the black coast, and she chooses Conan as her king after he fights her warriors.
Who or what is a Cimmerian?
Cimmeria is Conan's homeland, a land of high northern hills. Its people are fierce, strong and hardy, and they worship the grim god Crom, who gives men the strength to fight but little else.
The author
Robert E. Howard
1906–1936 · American fantasy writer
Robert E. Howard was an American author born in Peaster, Texas, in 1906. He lived much of his life in Cross Plains, Texas, where he died in 1936. He wrote fantasy, horror, adventure stories, and poetry. His stories featuring Conan appeared in the magazine Weird Tales during the 1930s.
More by Robert E. Howard
Voir tous ses livresMore like this
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