Pen Fairchild

Seven centuries from now, in a world colonized by wealthy settlers fleeing Earth hundreds of years before, there exists Hautland, a perfect domain. After one Utopian experiment after another failed, leaders fed up with ongoing violence and rebellion designed a system based on simple need fulfillment, a system that benefits all inhabitants of the new domain. Within Hautland's protected boundaries, all are employed, educated, housed, fed, and entertained. Under this benevolent but strict regime, Hautland has flourished for 300 years, the envy of its unsuccessful predecessors scattered throughout the wild and dangerous Outlands. The Royal Progress Series starts at the end of the beginning, when contentment with merely subsisting comfortably is eroding. In books and short stories, it follows the story of the Buckstops, Hautland's ruling family, as they attempt to come to terms with changes in the domain. In particular, it chronicles the rise of Princess Bettina, the father who adores her as long as she remains the dutiful daughter, the two young men who love her, the old friend who betrays her, and the generation that looks to her for a way out.