Maaza Mengiste

Ethiopia, 1935. As Mussolini’s Italian army prepares to invade, Hirut, a recently orphaned young woman, struggles to survive in the household of Kidane, an officer in Emperor Haile Selassie’s army. When war erupts, Hirut and other Ethiopian women refuse to remain on the sidelines, limited to nursing the wounded and burying the dead. They want to fight for their country, but their courage must overcome not only the invading army but also the expectations of a society that rarely recognises women’s strength. When the emperor is forced into exile, Hirut devises an extraordinary plan to restore hope: she helps disguise a humble peasant as the emperor and becomes his personal guard. Meanwhile, Ettore, a Jewish Italian photographer serving with the invading forces, struggles with his own conscience as he witnesses the brutality of the occupation. Moving between the perspectives of soldiers, civilians, and women on the battlefield, The Shadow King reclaims a neglected chapter of Ethiopian history. It is a powerful exploration of resistance, sacrifice, and the women whose contributions to war have too often been erased.

Addis Ababa, 1974. As protests sweep Ethiopia and Emperor Haile Selassie’s reign approaches its end, the Hailu family finds itself caught in a revolution that will transform the country—and destroy the fragile security of their lives. Hailu, a respected doctor, faces an impossible moral choice after helping a young woman who has been tortured by the authorities. His decision brings him into the machinery of state repression, while his sons take increasingly different paths: Yonas seeks refuge in faith and family, whereas Dawit joins the underground resistance, risking everything to fight for freedom. As the monarchy falls and a brutal military regime takes power, the family’s loyalties, convictions, and relationships are tested by violence and fear. Moving between the intimate struggles of a household and the upheaval of a nation, Maaza Mengiste’s debut novel explores the human cost of revolution and the difficult choices people face under authoritarian rule. It is a powerful portrait of a country at a turning point, where the hope of liberation threatens to give way to another cycle of oppression.