First published 2026
A museum curator arranges period furniture and artifacts in historic rooms, breathing life into empty spaces through careful attention to detail. While working in the opulent chambers of a medieval palace, she becomes captivated by the story of an obscure monarch whose brief reign nearly destroyed his kingdom. This king never wanted power. He ascended the throne only after his elder brothers died unexpectedly, leaving him to rule a realm he felt unprepared to govern. Court officials soon questioned his fitness to lead, and ambitious nobles began plotting to replace him with someone they deemed more suitable. As the curator delves deeper into this royal tragedy, the boundary between her research and her reality starts to dissolve. She finds herself retreating into historical mysteries to avoid confronting the disappointments of her contemporary existence. The parallel stories of two people separated by centuries reveal how both the reluctant ruler and the modern woman struggle with questions of purpose and belonging. Their intertwined narratives explore the weight of responsibility, the nature of leadership, and the human need to find meaning in our choices.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 21st-century, art-history, academic
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: parallel-narratives, reluctant-ruler
Setting: Medieval Palace
Period: 21st Century
255 pages · Hardcover · Granta Books