About this book
Louis Couperus's Zwevende Schaakbord thrusts the Arthurian world into a dazzling collision of medieval romance and early 20th-century wonder. Told as an adventure of Sir Gawain—one of King Arthur’s famed Round Table knights—the novel follows his quest to find the mysterious Floating Chessboard, a relic whose retrieval rekindles old chivalric beliefs amid a changing age. Couperus casts Merlin not as a cloaked sorcerer but as a modern "mechanic" whose flying machines, automobiles, electric light and moving pictures blur the line between magic and technology.
This historical fiction reimagines classical myth through the lens of modernity, exploring themes of faith versus skepticism, nostalgia for heroic ideals, and the uneasy charm of progress. Written with the atmospheric richness of early 20th-century European letters, the story preserves the ritual and wonder of medieval romance while interrogating whether miracles survive in an age driven by invention.
Ideal for listeners who love Arthurian legends, literary historical fiction, or inventive retellings that fuse myth and modern thought. Dive into Couperus’s lyrical prose and let the audiobook transport you to a world where knights still seek glory—and where the very notion of wonder is put to the test.
