The Hidden Land is the second novel in Pamela Dean’s The Secret Country trilogy. Having accepted the Secret Country as real enough for the moment, the children must rise to meet the challenges they invented in the roles they were so eager to play in safe imagination. Yet they must do so without most of the strength and skills of the characters they are playing.
Prince Edward, the eldest of the five, now rules a country on the brink of war with the Dragon King. Painfully aware that he is only acting a role, he must lead his forces to victory while avoiding the growing suspicions of those around him. For if he is not Prince Edward, what has been done with the real Prince?
