A queer retelling of ‘Bisclavret’, from the lais of Marie de France. Published November 2025 by Gollancz (UK), January 2026 by Erewhon Books (US), and July 2026 by Korrigan Editions (France).
Step into the resplendent courts and forests of medieval Brittany with The Wolf and His King, the luscious adult fantasy debut of medievalist and YA author Finn Longman…
The wolf-sickness strikes always without warning, stealing Bisclavret’s body and confusing his mind. Since boyhood he hasn’t dared leave his isolated holdings—not to beg the return of his father’s lost estate, not to seek brotherhood among the court, not even to win the knighthood he yearns for. But when a new king ascends, Bisclavret must deliver his kiss of fealty or answer for the failure.
Half an exile himself, the young king is intrigued by this uneasy, rough-hewn nobleman. Bisclavret seems a perfect knight: bold, strong, and merciful. But he keeps his secrets close, and the king’s longings are not for counsel alone. As his fascination grows, the barriers between them multiply, until one day Bisclavret vanishes beyond reach. Battling desperation and grief, the king stands alone to face the greatest threats to his kingdom, with only duty to his people between him and ruin – duty, and the steadfast loyalty of the strangest wolf…
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Note: I am gradually adding pre-order links as they become available; if your chosen retailer isn’t in the list, why not contact them and ask if you can pre-order through their shop? And if you’re an independent bookshop and would like to be featured on this page, please get in touch! While I’ve mostly got chains on here so far for convenience, I’d love to send people your way!
UK and Ireland, 27th November 2025 / paperback 23rd July 2026:
Special editions:
The Goldsboro edition has a stencilled edge and a foil design beneath the dustjacket; the Broken Binding edition has a block colour sprayed edge. Both are signed and limited to 500 copies.
Standard editions:
Light-coloured buttons offer hardbacks or trade paperbacks, while stocks last; dark-coloured buttons are for paperback listings, from July 2026. I have only listed separately those where the paperback listing is not a simple toggle on the main listing; Amazon and Gollancz Emporium, for example, do offer multiple formats!
A ‘trade’ paperback is the large-format paperback that is available in some areas in place of a hardback. Otherwise, the paperbacks listed are ordinary UK B-format paperbacks. Ebooks are available from Amazon, Kobo, Bookshop.org, Hive, and wherever else you normally buy ebooks, as are audiobooks.
*Affiliate link: I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. UK Bookshop.org has the best affiliate rates, so buying via this link offers me the most direct financial support, but I’m grateful wherever you order from. Please also consider asking your libraries to stock a copy of the book!
North America, 27th January 2026, including deluxe limited edition with stencilled edges and illustrated endpapers, and a fully stitched binding (no glue here):
International links
The Wolf and His King is available in many international markets, especially English-language markets like Australia. Generally this will be the UK trade paperback edition followed by the UK mass-market paperback. It’s harder for me to track down and link international retailers, particularly if I’m not familiar with local chains. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
France
The Wolf and His King has been translated into French by Julien Haguet and published in July 2026 by Korrigan Editions in a beautiful hardback.
Content Notes
The Wolf and His King is aimed at adult readers. However, although they are not my target audience, I wouldn’t consider any element of it particularly unsuitable for teenagers, particularly more mature readers; it’s much lighter in tone than my YA trilogy! Further content notes are below; please let me know if you think there’s anything I’ve missed that should be added.
Click to show content notes
- Brief references to past suicidal ideation, neglectful parenting, parental death, and infertility/childlessness
- Some period-typical sexism
- Some period-typical homophobia (not violent, detailed, or central to the plot)
- On-page sex, poetic rather than explicit/detailed — both m/m and m/f
- Hunting scenes and references to violence against animals
- Some on-page violence against human characters (see original story for details)
- Religion as a prominent part of characters’ lives (neither strongly negative nor strongly positive)
- Rather a lot of Latin
- Some degree of idealisation of monarchy and knighthood :/ Sorry lads. Inevitable with retelling this specific story, much as it goes against my anti-hierarchical pacifist principles
There is a strong romance plotline that underpins the book and it has a happy ending, but I don’t consider it a genre Romance novel, as it doesn’t conform to Romance conventions or structural beats.
Unlike my earlier books, there is no swearing/profanity.