Joseph Strauss (a dentist and bachelor, client of the Eleven Titties brothel and of Der Grose Bar beer cellar) leaves Prussia in the spring of 1866 and follows a captain of dragoons to Bucharest, where the officer is to ascend the throne as prince of the United Principalities of Romania. War is imminent in central Europe, but the company of a special tomcat, a guardian angel of sorts, helps him to overcome all dangers. In Bucharest, Joseph will meet and fall in love with an attractive nanny, while the prince distances himself from the dentist, seeking to erase all stains from his past, particularly his involvement with a beautiful blind prostitute. But unbeknownst to him, she has given birth to a baby boy with a suspiciously aristocratic nose . . . Nations are invented and dissolved overnight, kingdoms are for sale, Bucharest grows from a muddy pigsty into an elegant capital city, and love turns everything upside down in The Days of the King. AUTHOR: Filip Florian is the author of Little Fingers (HMH, 2009), which received numerous awards, including Best Debut Novel from the Romanian Writers' Union. He has also worked as a journalist and reporter for Radio Free Europe.
