Winner of the 2016 British Fantasy Society Award for Best Newcomer
Shortlisted for the 2016 British Fantasy Society Award for Best Novel
Shortlisted for the 2016 Locus First Novel Award
Hugo-Award winning author Zen Cho's Sorcerer to the Crown is a Regency romp with a pinch of fairyland.
In Regency London, Zacharias Wythe is England's first African Sorcerer Royal. He leads the eminent Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers, but a malicious faction seeks to remove him by fair means or foul. Meanwhile, the Society is failing its vital duty – to keep stable the levels of magic within His Majesty's lands. The Fairy Court is blocking its supply, straining England's dangerously declining magical stores. And now the government is demanding to use this scarce resource in its war with France.
Ambitious orphan Prunella Gentleman is desperate to escape the school where she's drudged all her life, and a visit by the beleaguered Sorcerer Royal seems the perfect opportunity. For Prunella has just stumbled upon English magic's greatest discovery in centuries - and she intends to make the most of it.
At his wits' end, the last thing Zachariah needs is a female magical prodigy! But together, they might just change the nature of sorcery, in Britain and beyond.
'An enchanting cross between Georgette Heyer and Susanna Clarke, full of delights and surprises' – Naomi Novik, author of Uprooted
'Inventive, dangerous, brilliant, unsettling . . . Historical Britain will never be the same again' – Courtney Milan
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Zen Cho was born and raised in Malaysia, and lives in the UK. She writes fantasy and romance. Her titles include the Sorcerer to the Crown historical fantasy novels and Malaysian contemporary fantasy Black Water Sister, as well as the Lambda Award-nominated novella The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water, and a short story collection, Spirits Abroad. Her newest novel, The Friend Zone Experiment, is a contemporary romance set among London’s East and Southeast Asian community.
Zen is a winner of the Hugo, Crawford and British Fantasy Awards and the LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize, as well as a finalist for the World Fantasy, Ignyte, Locus, Astounding, Kitschies and Diverse Book Awards. Her short fiction has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, Chinese and Japanese. She has spoken at literary festivals and conventions, taught creative writing and appeared on radio, and was once a model in a campaign for a global luxury make-up brand, chosen specifically for her accomplishments rather than her looks.
When she isn’t writing, Zen works as a lawyer. She enjoys cooking and baking, reading, gossip and travel.