num_pages: 309
description: Everyone has heard stories of King George, but few know about his brother-in-law, Christian VII, the King of Denmark at the end of the eighteenth century. When Christian VII, young, mad and highly impressionable, assumes the Danish throne, many seek to control the new king, capitalising on his mental frailty to advance their own interests. Two men stand out: Struensee, the reform-oriented court physician and Guldberg, the cold-blooded religious fanatic. As the clash between these two men and all they represent - science and religion; ideology and diplomacy; the temptations of the flesh and the certainties of dogma - escalates, the fate of an entire nation hangs in the balance. Enquist brilliantly recasts a dramatic era of Danish history, weaving a wide range of historical characters - Voltaire and Diderot, Catherine the Great and George III - into a tale of ruthless political ambition and personal betrayal.
language: English
title: The Visit of the Royal Physician
titlecomplete: The Visit of the Royal Physician
characters: Christian VII of Denmark, Caroline Matilda of Great Britain
genres: Sweden, Historical, Denmark, Swedish Literature, Novels, Romance, Historical Fiction, Literature, Fiction, Scandinavian Literature
ratings_count: 4003
awards: awardedAt: 915177600000
name: Augustpriset
category: Fiction, awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger
category: Roman, awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Deutscher Buchpreis (German Book Prize)
category: Internationale Belletristik, awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: Dublin Literary Award
category: Shortlist
publisher: Vintage