She Would Be King

"Wayetu Moore is an inspiration . . . her book is a gift" Imbolo Mbue

"The book is unforgettable . . . irresistibly evocative and fierce. She Would Be King is a masterfully wrought alternate history of magical black resistance" Star Tribune

"This novel dazzles with beauty and transcendent, transformative humanity" Sarah Jessica Parker

In the west African village of Lai, red-haired Gbessa is cursed at birth and exiled on suspicion of being a witch. Bitten by a viper and left for dead, she survives to discover a new life with a group of African American settlers in the colony of Monrovia.

Then Gbessa meets two extraordinary others; June Dey - a man of unusual strength, born into slavery on a plantation in Virginia - and Norman Aragon, the child of a white British coloniser and a Maroon slave from the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, who can fade from sight at will.

Soon all three realise that they are cursed - or perhaps, uniquely gifted. Together they protect the weak and vulnerable, but only Gbessa can salvage the tense relationship between the settlers and the indigenous tribes.

In her transcendent debut, Wayetu Moore illuminates the tumultuous roots of Liberia, blending history and magical realism in a profound tale of resistance and humanity.