The Princess Dehra

An exiled duke returns to his mountain castle, stirring a succession crisis in the isolated kingdom of Lotzenia. For generations, his family has held the title of Heir Presumptive to the throne, but now a new Dalberg has arrived from across the sea, claiming the blood of the great Henry and the right to marry the Princess Dehra. As court intrigue thickens and political ambitions collide, the kingdom's old guard watches nervously: the mountain people care nothing for court politics, but their loyalty to their hereditary chieftain runs deeper than any crown. John Reed Scott crafts a delicious period piece of early twentieth-century adventure romance, where American sophistication meets European tradition and forbidden returns threaten to upend centuries of custom. The Princess Dehra herself stands at the center of this web of ambition, her impending marriage the spark that could ignite either war or reconciliation. Scott writes with sharp wit and genuine affection for his fictional realm, creating a world where a single banner raised on a mountain turret can mean the difference between loyalty and rebellion. Perfect for readers who crave the swashbuckling romance of E.M. Hull or the exotic intrigue of Rider Haggard, this novel offers pure escapism into a vanishing world of royalty, honor, and the dangerous politics of love.