The Castle Of Kings - Softcover

Pötzsch, Oliver

Softcover

ISBN 10: 054494447X ISBN 13: 9780544944473

Publisher: HarperVia, 2017

Synopsis

“Pötzsch paints picturesque landscapes, whether it’s damp, dark castles, the stink of a medieval tannery, or whirlpool-plagued Rhine River rapids . . . Combine Princess Bride with Germanic history circa 1500, add a dash of Lord of the Rings, and there’s a week of good fun.” — Kirkus Reviews
 
In 1524, in what is now Germany, hundreds of thousands of peasants revolted against the harsh treatment of their aristocratic overlords. Agnes is the daughter of one of these overlords, but she is not a typical sixteenth-century girl, refusing to wear dresses and spending more time with her pet falcon than potential suitors. There is only one suitor she is interested in: Mathis, a childhood friend whom she can never marry due to his low birth status.

In the midst of war, Agnes’s falcon finds a mysterious ring, and Agnes begins having strange but seemingly meaningful dreams. Dreams that lead her and Mathis to run away from their home in Trifels Castle and into the midst of the tumultuous Peasants’ War, cast into an adventure that will lead them to shocking revelations about themselves and the future of the emerging German states.
 
“The war scenes are grimly realistic, and the narration gripping . . . The author makes the fantastical elements work by harnessing them to the grim reality of the Peasants’ War, setting his far-fetched romance in an utterly convincing world of economic hardship, social strife and religious and political uncertainty.” — Wall Street Journal
 

About this title

From the Author

OLIVER PÖTZSCH is a former Bavarian radio personality and public television screenwriter. His Hangman’s Daughter books have sold over half a million copies in English. He lives in Munich, Germany.

ANTHEA BELL is the award-winning translator of over two hundred works.

From the Inside Flap

In 1524, in what is now Germany, hundreds of thousands of peasants revolted against the harsh treatment they suffered at the hands of their aristocratic overlords. Agnes is the daughter of one of these overlords, but she is not a typical sixteenth-century girl, refusing to wear dresses and spending more time with her pet falcon than potential suitors. There is only one suitor she is interested in: Mathis, a childhood friend whom she can never marry because he is a commoner, the son of a smith. Though his knowledge of the new trade of gunsmithing gains Mathis a bit of prestige, it is not the sort that will bring money to Agnes s struggling father. As they grow up amidst the turmoil of what becomes the Peasants War, it begins to seem that they are simply destined to be apart.

Over the next two years, Agnes and Mathis travel the countryside, tossed about by the war. They are each captured by and escape from various factions, participate in massive battles, make new friends both noble and peasant, and fall in love. Meanwhile, Agnes s falcon finds a mysterious ring, and Agnes begins having strange but seemingly meaningful dreams. Dreams that lead the two lovers to revelations about their place in the world and in the emerging German states. With The Castle of Kings, Oliver Potzsch has written a historical yarn that calls to mind Ken Follett s The Pillars of the Earth and Bernard Cornwell s Agincourt.
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About this edition

• Publisher: HarperVia
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 054494447X
• ISBN 13: 9780544944473
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 656