May We Feed the King
Acclaimed poet Rebecca Perry discusses her Booker long listed debut novel May We Feed the King.
About May We Feed the King
She is a curator, who spends her time dressing the rooms of historic buildings to bring them to life. But in the lush private quarters of a medieval palace, she finds herself so transfixed by the reign of an almost-forgotten King that the edges of her life begin to blur.
He is a reluctant ruler with no hunger for power, rushed to the throne after the untimely deaths of his older brothers. But it isn't long before whispers begin to fly around the court.
And with the growing belief that the King is not fit for the throne comes the idea that another might rule in his stead.
May We Feed the King dances between the lives of a historical subject who risks the future of his kingdom and a woman who turns to the past to hide from her present. Laced with desire and longing, it is a playful, stirring meditation on history and storytelling: on what makes a King 'Great', and a life meaningful.
Praise for May We Feed the King
Winner of the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize
One of the Observers Best Debut Novelists 2026
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2026.
'Almost a fairytale... Perry's novel is a sly and suggestive commentary on the act of historical novel writing itself' - Suzi Feay, Financial Times
'A highly wrought puzzle-box of a book... It is as though we, not the long-dead courtiers, are the ghosts, as we creep around the palace peering into its rooms dressed
in careful set-pieces, trying to interpret complex and momentous events from the few clues left behind' - Melissa Harrison, Guardian
'The historical fiction I have always wanted to read. Surreal and dreamlike... With an eye on the tiny, overlooked details of worlds long gone, this book felt like something hidden come to life - what is real, and what is true, and in the middle of all that, what really matters?' - Jessie Burton
'May We Feed The King floored me with the precision of its emotional insights and eccentric view of history-as-narrative... A sort of perfect snow globe, presenting a decadent world in miniature that surprises us with the depth of its reflections on power, yearning and loneliness' - A. K. Blakemore
About Rebecca Perry
Rebecca Perry is the author of two full-length poetry collections - Beauty/Beauty and Stone Fruit - both published by Bloodaxe Books (2015, 2021), as well as four pamphlets. Her poetry has been shortlisted for awards including the TS Eliot Prize and her first collection won the Michael Murphy Memorial Prize. Her first work of creative non-fiction - On Trampolining - was published by Makina Books in 2023. She is from London, where she also lives.
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