May We Feed the King - Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2026

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2026
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2026
AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVELIST 2026

She is a curator, dressing the rooms of historic buildings to bring them to life. Someone who turns to the past to hide from her present.

He is a reluctant monarch, with no hunger for power. A medieval king who risks the future of his kingdom and whose life hangs in the balance.

Dancing between these two lives, past and present, May We Feed the King is a stirring meditation on what makes a ruler 'great', and a life meaningful.