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Book Title

She Would Be King

Subtitle
A Novel
Author 1
Wayétu Moore
Body
She Would Be King is a spectacular blend of history and magical realism that follows three extraordinary characters: in the West African village of Lai, red-haired Gbessa is cursed with immortality at birth and lives in exile under suspicion of being a witch; on a plantation in Virginia, June Dey hides his unusual strength until a confrontation with the overseer forces him to flee; and in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, Norman Aragon, the child of a white British colonizer and a Maroon slave, learns to fade from sight at will. When the three of them meet in the colony of Monrovia, it isn’t long before they realize that they are all cursed—or, perhaps, uniquely gifted. Together they protect the weak and vulnerable amid rising tensions between the American settlers, French slave traders, and indigenous tribes.

In her transcendent debut, Wayétu Moore reimagines the tumultuous and dramatic story of Liberia, a country whose past and present are inextricably bound to the United States. With great poise and lyricism, she captures the epic excitement of a nation’s founding and explores themes of community, loyalty, and the complex ties that bind the African diaspora. She Would Be King resonates deeply with our current moment and, as Edwidge Danticat observes, “boldly announces the arrival of a remarkable novelist and storyteller.”
 

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List Price
$17.00
ISBN
ISBN
978-1-64445-001-7
Format
Format
Paperback
Publication Date
Publication Date
Subject
Subject
Pages
Pages
320
Trim Size
Trim Size
5.5 x 8.25
Keynote
“An ambitious and expansive novel that explores the nuances of Liberian history.”—The New York Times

About the Author

Wayétu  Moore
Credit: Ashleigh Staton

Wayétu Moore is the author of the memoir The Dragons, the Giant, the Women and the novel She Would Be King. She is a graduate of Howard University, Columbia University, and the University of Southern California.

https://www.wayetu.com/
More by author

Praise

  • Finalist for the 2019 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Fiction
    Finalist for the 2018 Writers' League of Texas Book Award for Fiction
  • “Moore skillfully reconsiders the idealism of the early African-American settlers through their interactions with the indigenous peoples and braids together intimate story lines centered around universal themes: falling in love, defying familial expectations and the difficulties of doing the right thing.”—The New York Times
  • “Reading Wayétu Moore’s debut novel, She Would Be King, feels a lot like watching a superb athlete’s performance. . . . [Moore] has tapped into her own backstory—and emerged with literary superpowers.”—TIME
  • “Hotly anticipated. . . . A breathtaking retelling of the founding of Liberia. . . . Wayétu Moore’s magical realism can make anyone believe in how connected humans are to the world around them.”Glamour
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