Review: May We Feed The King by Rebecca Perry

It is no accident that Rebecca Perry's debut novel May We Feed The King has been longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize.* The novel is a well written account of a reluctant medieval king, and of a curator who, some many years later is tasked with recreating parts of his palace for an anniversary display.

The novel opens with the curator, who, though it is not deeply touched upon (the reader gets just enough to be empathetic,) has some troubles in her personal life. As a consequence, she is burying herself in her work, doing deep research, which leads to the bulk of the story, her speculations of who this king could have been. The third son, it was never expected that he would rule and, it would seem, he does not really want to. There are people plotting against him and all kinds of rumours until he and the queen find freedom in an unexpected way ...

And that's really it. The real treat of the novel for me is the way that it touches upon the human condition and human nature. It had me asking questions. What is expected of a ruler? Why are creativity and kindness not seen as strengths? 

Have things changed today?

What can we really know about history?

Overall, the novel is an interesting glimpse into how we view the past and how, sometimes, like the curator we may put our on spin on it to tell a story.

Highly recommended.

*The shortlist will be announced later this week.  

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