The King Was in His Counting House
Published by Diogenes as Rechnung über meine Dukaten
Original Title: Rechnung über meine Dukaten

A highly amusing historical novel about the legendary personal guard of the Prussian Soldier King Frederick William I – the Potsdam Giants.

By the author of the surprise hit and longseller Wolkenbruch’s Weird and Wonderful Journey into the Arms of a Shiksa.

Prussia, 1716. Eccentric King Frederick William I spends exorbitant amounts on the Potsdam Giants, his personal guard of gigantic men, who were recruited by force or even kidnapped from abroad. That is what happens to the young peasant Gerlach, who the king declares his new favourite. But Betje, a tall pastry-baker’s daughter, takes a fancy to the exotic giant, too. While she is wondering how to get close to him, the king decides it will be cheaper to breed his own tall army, and Betje suddenly finds herself in Gerlach’s chamber on official business. But there are two or three things the king has not taken into account – including the indomitable rage of the Norwegian giant Henrikson . . .

Contemporary Literature
272 pages
2015

978-3-257-24327-7
Thomas
Meyer

Thomas Meyer, born in Zurich in 1974, quit his legal studies to work as a journalist and as a copywriter in the advertising industry. In 2007, he went freelance as an author and copywriter. His novel Wolkenbruch’s Weird and Wonderful Journey into the Arms of a Shiksa became a bestseller and its movie adaptation was a big hit in Swiss cinemas in 2018. Thomas Meyer lives in Zurich.

Photo: Lukas Lienhard / © Diogenes Verlag

Quotes

Stephan Draf
Stern, Hamburg

»An incredibly funny historical novel.«

 

Martin Walker
BuchMedia Magazin, Zurich

»A wonderfully upbeat novel, peopled with eccentric characters you cannot help but fall in love with.«