Pagan priests and Christian traditions compete as rulers face their own spiritual challenges.
George WB Scott’s second novel, “The Good King, A Medieval Thriller,” will be released Sept. 14, 2023, from Black Rose Writing. The Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas” is beloved throughout the world, but the true story of Saint Wenceslas is tragic—a tale of jealousy, loyalty and betrayal, and mankind’s need for spirituality.
The book launches Sept. 21 with an event hosted by Union Ave. Books, Knoxville’s premiere independent bookstore in the heart of Downtown.
The author’s research and imagination paint a history-based story of the dark ages of central Europe. New religious ideas backed with the force of outside empires flow into superstitious societies and are resisted by people of Bohemia and the priests of old religions.
Learn the facts behind the carol in an epic adventure through forests of holy glades and along roads that lead to the ends of the earth. Learn of the patron saints of millions, and the ancestors—blessed and damned—of Europe’s greatest families.
“I began researching the Christmas carol, ‘Good King Wenceslas,’ and pagan priests, slave workers and other characters of the era walked right off the page and into my story,” says Scott.
Dr. Petr KubÃn of the Department of Ecclesiastical History and Literary History at Charles University in Prague is a world expert on Saint Wenceslas and his grandmother, Saint Ludmila. He calls the novel “A well-written story. The American reader will find a thorough and entertaining lesson on the origins of Christianity in medieval Bohemia, and an understanding of the famous Christmas song.” Liliana Shadowlyn of Faerie Review calls the novel “An absolute tour de force.”
Scott is an East Tennessee author and video producer, with a life-long interest in history. He was born in Stuart, Florida, and graduated from Appalachian State University. Previous books include “I Jonathan, A Charleston Tale of the Rebellion,” and “Growing Up In Eden.” He lives in Knoxville with his wife Mary Leidig. They have two sons, Daniel and Gideon, and an English Setter, Emma.
“The Good King” is available at BlackRoseWriting.com and wherever you buy books.
