The Priory of the Orange Tree
A thousand years ago the Nameless One, an immense wyrm of the Dreadmount, was bound by a queen of Inys named Glorian Berethnet and a priestess of the southern Priory named Cleolind, and the world has been holding that binding together ever since. In the queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ninth must produce a daughter to keep the Berethnet line alive and the Nameless One asleep. Hidden among her ladies is Ead Duryan, a mage sent in secret by the Priory of the Orange Tree to keep the queen alive. Across the eastern sea, in Seiiki, the dragonrider Tane has trained her whole life for a duel her own ambitions might cost her. As the wyrms of the West stir and the dragons of the East rise, four narrators converge on a confrontation neither hemisphere knows the other is preparing for. Samantha Shannon's 2019 standalone, written as a sapphic feminist answer to high fantasy, became one of the most read epic novels of recent years.
Where The Priory of the Orange Tree keeps showing up
Seven of our editors' lists feature this novel.
Books in conversation with The Priory of the Orange Tree
A few of the closest reads from our full list.
What you might want to know about The Priory of the Orange Tree
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
In Inys, the unmarried Queen Sabran the Ninth keeps a chamber attendant named Ead Duryan, secretly trained by a hidden Southern Priory to protect the queen's line. In the East, the orphan Tane is chosen as a dragon rider. Off the coast, the Nameless One, a thousand-year-old wyrm, begins to wake.
Yes. Samantha Shannon has continued the world with A Day of Fallen Night (2023), a prequel set 500 years before The Priory of the Orange Tree. Each can be read on its own.
No. The Priory of the Orange Tree is adult epic fantasy, around 850 pages, with mature themes including detailed political intrigue and on-page (though not explicit) romantic content.
The Priory of the Orange Tree was written by Samantha Shannon, published in 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
The Priory of the Orange Tree is 849 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Priory of the Orange Tree takes most readers 13 to 18 hours to finish.
The Priory of the Orange Tree is a standalone novel by Samantha Shannon, not part of a series.
The Priory of the Orange Tree is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
