Editor's note: Each month we see lots of books. Some of the curiouser arrivals are featured in this space.

The Queen of Whale Cay
By Kate Summerscale
Viking, $21.95
ISBN 0670880183

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REVIEW BY KATHERINE H. WYRICK

What won't we do for our readers? We will travel the world, venture into dangerous lands -- literally. For the first time ever, we offer a Curiosity Shoppe Exclusive.

The life of "Joe" Carstairs was . . . well the words "unusual" and "remarkable" don't even begin to describe it. But when this great eccentric died at the age of 93, she was all but forgotten. We have Kate Summerscale to thank for bringing Joe's story to light with The Queen of Whale Cay.

Carstairs, who in the 1920s held the record as the fastest female speedboat racer in the world, was also a cross-dresser who surrounded herself with celebrities, female lovers, and fine things. Perhaps most curious of all was her relationship with her beloved doll, Lord Tod Wadley. Eventually Joe went into a self-imposed exile, taking Lord Tod with her. She bought an island in the Caribbean, populated it with Bahamians, and, in essence, created her own "queendom." Which brings us to this exclusive business you've been hearing so much about.

Inspired by the book, an intrepid BookPage correspondent recently went on assignment to Whale Cay. She found the island turned to jungle and gave us this report from the front: "I don't know if they tore the stuff down and moved it, took it with them, or what, but we didn't see any evidence that there was once a small kingdom there. It's a deserted island! I did find some beautiful pieces of beach glass, so the trip wasn't a complete wash. And if you look closely, one of those pieces very mysteriously resembles a glass eye . . . a doll's eye, perhaps?"

Yes, perhaps it was.