This fascinating debut novel by Yordanka Marinova will appeal to a wide range of readers – if you love a Jane Austen romance, a Thomas Mann family saga or a Conn Iggulden historical fiction, then Queen of cucumbers is for you!

Beginning at the aftermath of Bulgarian Liberation from the Ottoman Empire in the late nineteen century, through the First and the Second World Wars and the following communist regime, to the country’s joining the European Union and the first fifteen years of the 21st century, five generations of women from one family weave their lives in very different personal and historical realities. Proud, faithful and tireless, the main characters fight and pay for the right to choose their own path. What do you really gain and lose when you gain and lose?

An engrossing reminder of what it is like to be human, with inherent fallibilities and yet resilience and strengths, trying to balance the instructions of both the head and the heart.

This delightful book gives a real feel for Bulgaria – letting you discover history through the people who helped shape it. The story is a pleasure to follow and alongside the main characters brings the reader closer to the answer of the ultimate question:

How to be the Queen of cucumbers?