Download or read book Secret-love, Or, The Maiden-queen written by John Dryden and published by . This book was released on 1691 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An unnamed virgin queen loves a commoner, Philocles, whom she has promoted as her court favorite, but she has jealously guarded her right to rule independently of a husband. Philocles loves another woman of royal blood, but loves as much, or more, the idea of becoming king. Ultimately the queen's struggle between her desire to marry beneath her and her desire to maintain her primacy as ruler results in a baroque settlement in which she will live unmarried and the crown will in time devolve upon the commoner's head.