{"product_id":"2026200004901-secondhand-check-to-your-king","title":"Check To Your King","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good                          \u003cbr\u003eJacket: Worn\/faded, no tears\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good                  \u003cbr\u003eMarkings: No markings\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA landmark work of New Zealand modernist fiction, Check to Your King chronicles the extraordinary life of Charles de Thierry, a nineteenth-century French baron who audaciously declared himself Sovereign Chief of New Zealand and attempted to establish an independent kingdom in the colonial wilderness. Robin Hyde reconstructs this remarkable and largely forgotten historical figure with a blend of lyrical prose and sharp psychological insight, presenting de Thierry as both a visionary dreamer and a tragic fool undone by his own grandiose ambitions. The novel captures the turbulent collision of European imperialism and Māori sovereignty with a tone that is at once compassionate and unsparingly ironic. Hyde illustrates how de Thierry's doomed enterprise mirrors the broader absurdities and cruelties of the colonial project, grounding grand historical forces in one man's deeply human failings. A rich and underappreciated gem of antipodean literature, it stands as a testament to Hyde's formidable talent for breathing vivid life into the margins of history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48750316093659,"sku":"2026200004901-SECONDHAND","price":15.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/4ca9c977-67c1-48ce-b0ed-9e2004502118.png?v=1778094092","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200004901-secondhand-check-to-your-king","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}