The King's Mirror

The King's Mirror by Antonio Hope

The King's Mirror by Antonio Houa is a novel that explores the themes of identity, power, and the human condition. The story follows the journey of a young man named Antonio who discovers he is the reincarnation of a powerful king from a distant past. As he navigates his newfound identity, Antonio must confront the weight of his ancestor's legacy and the expectations placed upon him. Throughout the novel, Houa weaves together elements of mythology, history, and cultural folklore to create a richly imagined world that challenges the reader to question their assumptions about identity, culture, and power. The King's Mirror is a thought-provoking and deeply moving exploration of what it means to be human, and how our identities are shaped by the stories we tell ourselves and the world around us.

By Antonio Hope · First published 1956 · Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Historical Fiction · 28 chapters · 121,968 words

First lines

Before my coronation there was no event in childhood that impressed itself on my memory with marked or singular distinction. My father's death, the result of a chill contracted during a hunting excursion, meant no more to me than a week of rooms gloomy and games forbidden; the decease of King Augustin, my uncle, appeared at the first instant of even less importance. I recollect the news coming. The King, having been always in frail health, had never married; seeing clearly but not far, he was a sad man: the fate that struck down his brother increased his natural melancholy; he became almost a recluse, withdrew himself from the capital to a retired residence, and henceforward was little more than a name in which Prince von Hammerfeldt conducted the business of the country. Now and then my mother visited him; once she brought back to me a letter from him, little of which I understood then, although I have since read often the touching words of his message. When he died, there was the same gloom as when my father left us; but it seemed to me that I was treated a little differently; the servants stared at me, my mother would look long at me with a half-admiring, half-amused expression, and Victoria let me have all her toys. In Baroness von Krakenstein (or Krak, as we called her) alone, there was no difference; yet the explanation came from her, for when that evening I reached out my little hand and snatched a bit of cake from the dish, Krak caught my wrist, saying gravely,

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The King's Mirror is listed on Textopian as a novel by Antonio Hope, dated 1956 CE.

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Magic Realism · Fantasy · Mythology · Allegory · Political Intrigue · Historical Fiction · Spain · Civil War · Refugees · Exile · Memory · Identity

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