There once was a book-loving king who lived in the Kingdom of - well, no need to get into details. The story went something like this:

One day, the king called two men to his castle and said,

‘I love books, I think I’ve read most of them. But my eyes are so bad now, I can’t read.

Still, I love books, and I want to hear stories about them. I command the two of you to travel the world searching for anyone who knows of unusual books.

Come back here and tell me their stories.’

The two men set out on their journey. A year later they returned. By then, the king could no longer so much as sit up in bed.

Night after night, the two men took turns telling him the stories they collected – tales of detective novels, romances, comedies, diaries, and quests.

The book in your hands is the story of the books they found – and of what happened next . . .