Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, The Shadow King is a powerful, poetic book about women soldiers during the Italian Ethiopian war of 1935, the first main conflict of World War II. Drawing on the life of Maaza’s own grandmother, it tells the story of Hirut, whose daring plan saves morale when Emperor Selassie goes into exile, only to end up a prisoner of one of Italy’s most brutal officers. A captivating study of female power with an indelible, inspirational heroine at its heart.

Chaired by Linda Jaivin