THRONE OF GLASS PHOTOSHOOT

Throne of Glass is a series of fantasy novels written by Sarah J. Maas and published by Bloomsbury between 2012 and 2018.

Photographer: Unknown

Maas started writing her debut novel, which would eventually become Throne of Glass, when she was just sixteen years old. At the time she posted several chapters online at FictionPress.com with the original title Queen of Glass. It was subsequently removed from the site when she took the decision to publish the novel.

In 2008 Maas started sending the story to various literary agents and, in 2009,  went on to sign with The Laura Dial Literary Agency. The following year Bloomsbury purchased Throne of Glass and published the novel two years later.

They would publish a further six volumes, Crown of Midnight (2013), Heir of Fire (2014), Queen of Shadows (2015), Empire of Storms (2016), Tower of Dawn (2017) and Kingdom of Ash (2018). 

Four prequel novellas, along with an original novella, all set two years before Throne of Glass were published in 2012 as The Assassin's Blade. 

'When magic has gone from the world, and a vicious king rules from his throne of glass, an assassin comes to the castle. She does not come to kill, but to win her freedom. If she can defeat twenty-three killers, thieves and warriors in a competition to find the greatest assassin in the land, she will become the king's champion and earn her freedom. Her name is Celaena Sardothien - beautiful, deadly and destined for greatness.'

Throne of Glass follows the journey of 18-year old Celaena Sardothien, a teenage assassin living in a corrupt kingdom that is ruled by the tyrannical King of Adarlan. Following a year in a slave camp called Endovier, suffering for her crimes, she accepts Crown Prince Dorian Havilliard's offer to compete with other assassins for the opportunity to serve as the King's Champion and finally gain her freedom. This leads to unexpected bonds with Chaol, the Captain of the Guard, and Dorian, the Crown Prince of Ardalan. As time passes she is drawn into a conspiracy and series of battles which lead to discoveries about the Kingdom and herself.

The main characters of the story are Aelin Ashryver Whitehorn Galathynius (Celaena Sardothien), the main protagonist in the series, Rowan Whitehorn Galathynius, a full-blooded Fae who is over three centuries old, Dorian Havilliard II, Crown Prince of Adarlan, Manon Blackbeak Crochan, a witch and heir to the Blackbeak clan and Chaol Westfall, Captain of the Guard. 

The books received positive reviews with Publishers Weekly in their review of Throne of Glass, writing, "This is not a cuddly romance, but neither is it grim. Celaena is trained to murder, yet she hasn't lost her taste for pretty dresses or good books, and a gleam of optimism tinges her outlook. Maas tends toward over-description, but the verve and freshness of the narration make for a thrilling read."

The Guardian awarded the book 5-stars and mentioned that the main character, Celaena, was more 'relatable' than most other female protagonists while USA Today called Celaena a 'next level Cinderella.'

The connection with Cinderella was something Maas spoke about in an interview, "In the 10 years that I've been working on the series, Throne of Glass has become more of an original epic fantasy than a Cinderella retelling, but you can still find a few nods to the legend here and there."

Artist: Unknown

I recently had the pleasure of working with two local cosplayers, FaelightandFolklore and Lemondreams_cosplay as Aelin and Rowan on a photoshoot based on the book.

I had worked with them many times before, as a couple and individually, on shoots including Snow White & Prince Florian, Ariel & Eric (The Little Mermaid), Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty) and Feyre Archeron & Rhysand (A Court of Thorns and Roses). They have also become good friends and I am sure there will be many more shoots in the future.

They had been looking for a location that would work and I suggested Lewes Priory, a local ruin, that I had used many times before.

Communications before the shoot were excellent with a plan for the shoot, what we all wanted to achieve and details about time and place to meet all agreed well in advance.

Photographer: Peter Lewry

They turned up on time and were soon kitted out in their costumes ready to begin the shoot. I have to say that they are both excellent cosplayers, two of the best I have worked with, with an obvious love of what they do. Their costumes were excellent and the attention to detail was amazing.

The location had so many areas that we could use and we made the most of every part of the ruins to create a variety of images.

The theme of the book gave us many opportunities to capture individual shots as well as those of both characters together, recreating various aspects of the story. 

I was especially pleased with the series of photos recreating swordplay with both of them effortlessly battling it out and looking every bit like they really wanted to injure each other.

However, in the story their relationship grows and Rowan proves his complete loyalty to Aelin. This is something we captured during a series of images where they embrace.

We took many photos during the shoot and those featured in this article are only a small selection.

Photographer: Peter Lewry

At every shoot I work on I have always suggested ideas for poses but also always happy for those I work with to have their own input. I feel every shoot is a joint effort and both parties need to be creative and end up with the results they set out to achieve.

Photographer: Peter Lewry

We all seemed to be on the same wavelength when it came to ideas and poses during the shoot. One such idea was to have them run towards the camera, swords raised and looking menacing. We took several shots and captured some great images with them together and individually.

It would be impossible to pick any favourites, there are just too many, but I do love this one of them both relaxing by a tree.

Photographer: Peter Lewry

Following the shoot we stopped for a well-deserved hot drink and the chance to look through the photos back-of-camera. I was happy to hear their positive comments. 

Having received their selection of images I started work on the editing. I provided the images in both colour and black and white along with a few 'special edits' that I had worked on. We were all very pleased with the results which we have posted on our various social media sites.

It is nice to have behind the scenes shots and I am grateful for these two images that capture a different view of an enjoyable few hours.

I really enjoyed the shoot, working with two great cosplayers at a wonderful location and I am looking forward to working with them both again in the future. 

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You can read more about the Throne of Glass book series here... https://sarahjmaas.com/books/throne-of-glass-series/

You can also check out both @FaelightandFolklore and @Lemondreams_cosplay on Instagram

More images from the shoot, and my other work, can be found on my Instagram page @peterlewry and on Purple Port