The Shadow King

£9.99
£9.99

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2020A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, GUARDIAN, ELLE, TIME, SPECTATOR'DEVASTATING' Marlon James, 'BRILLIANT' Salman Rushdie, 'MAGNIFICENT' Aminatta Forna, 'WONDERFUL' Laila Lalami, 'UNFORGETTABLE' The Times, 'REMARKABLE' New York TimesEthiopia, 1935. With the threat of Mussolini's army looming, recently orphaned Hirut struggles to adapt to her new life as a maid. Her new employer, Kidane, an officer in Emperor Haile Selassie's army, rushes to mobilise his strongest men before the Italians invade. Hirut and the other women long to do more than care for the wounded and bury the dead. When Emperor Haile Selassie goes into exile and Ethiopia quickly loses hope, it is Hirut who offers a plan to maintain morale. She helps disguise a gentle peasant as the emperor and soon becomes his guard, inspiring other women to take up arms. But how could she have predicted her own personal war, still to come, as a prisoner of one of Italy's most vicious officers?The Shadow King is a gorgeously crafted and unputdownable exploration of female power, and what it means to be a woman at war.


Book ISBN: 9781838851170
Book Author: Maaza Mengiste
Book Format: Paperback / softback
Book Imprint: Canongate Books
Book Publisher Canongate Books
Book Dimensions: 129 x 197 x 36cm
Book Publication Date: 13/08/2020
Book Pagination: 448 pages
Book Weight: 318g