May We Feed the King

May We Feed the King is written with a dual narrative at its heart: that of the unnamed curator in the present, and a king in the past. How do these two strands speak to one another, and what does each add to the novel?

The text deliberately omits character names, dates and even locations. Why do you think Perry chose to exclude details that are usually considered so fundamental to plot?

The reluctant monarch is the third of his siblings to take the throne, following the deaths of his older brothers. How does the commonly known phrase ‘The King is dead, Long live the king’ (page 81), which Perry uses throughout the text, illuminate the tension between the mortality of an individual ruler and the continuity of the monarchy?

A review in the Guardian described the novel as one that deliberately ‘wrongfoots’ the reader at every turn. Which moments most unsettled your expectations, and how does the author use uncertainty to shape the way readers experience the story?

Perry creates a strong sense of the king’s character despite never giving us direct access to his inner world. Instead, we observe him through stolen and side glances, and through the accounts of others – some of these salacious, unreliable or even politically motivated. To what extent did you feel like a witness to events, and how does this indirect perspective mirror the way we understand others in real life?

Food recurs as a theme throughout May We Feed the King, from the title’s offer to the king’s own refusal or inability to eat. How does Perry use food – and the acts of feeding, feasting and fasting – to explore power and control?

A sense of unease runs through the text, reminding us that every monarch’s rule must come to an end, willingly or not. This finality is made explicit in the retold story of a missing king who is eventually found in a forest with his queen: ‘They were a long time dead, the King’s head resting on the Queen’s shoulder, the Queen’s hand of bones, bedecked with jewels, resting on his thigh. Vermin weaved in and out of the skeletons, one even asleep inside the King’s head.’ (Page 224). What might this scene suggest about mortality, and the legacy of monarchy?

The Booker Prize 2026 judges said the novel queried ‘the difference between historical fiction and historical fact’ and asked ‘can history ever be a safe place we can go to escape the present?’ Discuss whether we can ever fully trust historical records, and how bias or whitewashing shape those that are preserved.

Perry is also a poet, and her writing is suffused with wordplay. The novel is structured in short chapters and paragraphs, framed by abstract chapter headings. How did these stylistic and structural choices shape your reading experience?

In an interview with Waterstones, Perry said she did the bulk of her writing at a time ‘of particular global horror—the ongoing genocide in Gaza with Netanyahu at the helm, backed by a cast of chilling supporters in Trump and Putin, and not least our own government.’ How might contemporary political events and the wider political climate have influenced May We Feed the King?