The Acephalic Imperial

Damian Murphy

Séverine takes a position as a live-in maid in a house of idleness and luxury. She’s informed during her interview that the cleaning and daily meals are already attended to by servants of long-standing. Her duties, which are very few, are as compelling as they are erratic. As it becomes increasingly clear that her employer is subjecting her to a tenuous game of provocation and transgression, she resolves to find out precisely how far his obsessions might be pushed. What follows is a narrative that revolves around a double axis—that of obedience and disobedience, explicit and implicit rules, loyalty and treachery, and the twin heads of the imperial eagle whose icon is found in every region of the house.

About the Author
Damian Murphy is the author of The Academy Outside of ­Ingolstadt, Seduction of the Golden Pheasant, The Exaltation of the Minotaur, and Daughters of Apostasy, among other collections and novellas. His work has been published on the Mount Abraxas, Les Éditions de L’Oubli, and L’Homme ­Récent imprints of Ex Occidente Press, in Bucharest, and by Zagava Books, in Dusseldorf. He was born and lives in Seattle, Washington.

Paperback, 112 pages
Release date, September 29, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-1-64525-045-6
USA: $13.50

Hardcover, 114 pages. Limited edition of 80 copies
Release date, September 29, 2020
USA: $29.00

Also available as an Ebook on Amazon: US — UK