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What does loyalty cost when a king’s ambition carries his people into war and exile?
In Kings-at-Arms, Marjorie Bowen takes you into northern and eastern Europe in the age of Charles XII of Sweden. A young warrior king stands at the head of a northern empire, surrounded by rivals. Courts and campaigns shape a world where conquest tests what people owe their ruler, their country and their own conscience.
Kings, soldiers and exiles move through a Europe at war. Behind the ceremony of crowns and arms lie retreat, divided loyalties and the loss of home. Bowen’s historical novel explores the human cost of imperial ambition: rulers demand service, while defeat and politics can leave leaders and followers dependent on the mercy of foreign courts.
What you’ll discover
- A king among rivals Enter the age of Charles XII, when Sweden’s northern empire faces rival powers.
- Loyalties under strain Consider what happens when duty to a ruler presses against country and conscience.
- The uncertainty of exile Explore a world where defeat can mean losing home and seeking mercy abroad.
- Behind the royal ceremony Look beyond crowns and arms to the labor and suffering that sustain empires.
- History with human stakes Read conquest and retreat through the lives of kings, soldiers and displaced followers.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy vivid court intrigue, rival kings with strong personalities, soldiers and spies in snowbound camps, and fiction that brings real history to life.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Ambition puts whole nations at stake
- Shame gives Karl a single purpose
- Karl's victory unsettles his rival
- Peter builds through suffering and cruelty
- Defeat becomes Peter's school
- Karl refuses Aurora's weapons of charm
- Royal bargains put lives at risk
- Greatness does not guarantee good rule
- Two ambitions carry their human costs
Who’s who
- Karl XIIThe young King of Sweden, austere and proud, who drops pleasure for war and wants to humble every enemy.
- Peter AlexievitchCzar of Russia, gifted and troubled, who is building a new capital, a navy and an army while fighting his own dark moods.
- Count PiperKarl's careful minister, who loves Sweden, argues for peace and finds that his master listens to no one.
- Aurora von KönigsmarckThe brilliant favorite of Augustus, who trusts her charm and cleverness to save a failing prince.
- AugustusElector of Saxony and King of Poland, a handsome, easygoing prince who struggles to hold his crowns.
- John Rheinhold PatkulA Livonian nobleman who works tirelessly to free his homeland from Swedish rule and plans to marry Hélène.
- Hélène D'EinsiedelA gentle young Saxon lady, engaged to Patkul, whose loyalty and love give her unexpected courage.
- MentchikoffThe Czar's favorite, born poor and now a prince, loyal to Peter and ready to endure anything for him.
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Kings-at-Arms
by Marjorie Bowen · 1918
A drunken boy king of eighteen is shamed into war against Denmark, Poland and the Czar of Russia.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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In short
Can one drunken boy of eighteen, muddy and bloody from a bear hunt, face three kings and the most ambitious ruler in Europe? That is the question in the first chapter of Kings-at-Arms.
Kings-at-Arms at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 10 min4 h 55 min fast, 7 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 88,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1918by Marjorie Bowen
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A drunken boy is shamed into purpose
The story opens in Stockholm on a gray day in early spring. Karl XII, eighteen years old and king for three years, comes late to dinner in a hunting suit stained with the blood of three bears. His grandmother sneers at him. Count Piper, his minister, tries to stir his pride with the names of his enemies. Denmark, Saxony and the Czar of Muscovy have joined to take Swedish lands while the boy plays.
Karl, still drunk, flies into a rage and rises so fast that his spur catches the tablecloth. Plates, fruit and glasses crash to the floor. In the corridor he stares rudely at Viktoria von Falkenberg, a lady in the service of his sister. Piper hopes a young man in love will listen to a woman.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1918
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 5 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Bowen, Marjorie. Kings-at-Arms. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/kings-at-arms.
Bowen, M. (2026). Kings-at-arms. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/kings-at-arms (Original work published 1918)
Bowen, Marjorie. Kings-at-Arms. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/kings-at-arms.
@book{bowen2026kingsatarms,
author = {Bowen, Marjorie},
title = {Kings-at-Arms},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/kings-at-arms},
note = {First published 1918}
}
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What is Kings-at-Arms about?
It is a historical novel set in the northern wars of the early 1700s. It follows Karl XII of Sweden, Peter of Russia, Augustus of Saxony and the people around them as they fight for land, crowns and honor.
Is Kings-at-Arms a true story?
It is fiction built on real history. Karl, Peter, Augustus, Patkul, Aurora von Königsmarck and Count Piper were real people, and the main campaigns and treaties follow the historical record, while the conversations and private scenes are Bowen's invention.
Who is John Patkul in the book?
Patkul is a Livonian nobleman who plots against Sweden to free his homeland. He builds the league against Karl, serves Augustus and then Peter, and loves the young Saxon lady Hélène D'Einsiedel.
The author
Marjorie Bowen
1885–1952 · British historical novelist
Marjorie Bowen was the pen name of Margaret Gabrielle Vere Long, a British writer born on Hayling Island in 1885. She wrote historical novels, biographies, and supernatural fiction. Her first novel, The Viper of Milan, appeared in 1906. She also used the name Joseph Shearing. She died in London in 1952.
More by Marjorie Bowen
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