A Fool for an Heir

Set in Moscow in the late 15th century, A Fool for an Heir is the origin story of Russian autocracy through the eyes of the boy whose life inspired the legend of “Ivan Tsarevich”: the brave, compassionate, and dangerously naïve hero of Russian fairy tales.

"Deeply researched yet character-driven, A Fool for an Heir will sweep you into the struggle between a monarch who will stop at nothing to secure his throne and his eldest son, convinced that the end does not, in fact, always justify the means." — C. P. Lesley, historian, author of The Golden Lynx and other novels.

"A. Engels has captured the pathos and fatalism of the Russian soul, and made it possible for readers to journey to a faraway time from the safety of the present.” — Robin Henry, Editor, History Through Fiction.