“A new novel by John Irving is cause for celebration! Revisiting the orphanage from The Cider House Rules we meet Esther, one of a delightful collection of characters. Irving’s storytelling is incomparable.”
— Sue Kowalski, The Bookstore of Glen Ellyn, Glen Ellyn, IL
Description
After forty years, John Irving returns to the world of his bestselling classic novel and Academy Award–winning film, The Cider House Rules, revisiting the orphanage in St. Cloud’s, Maine, where Dr. Wilbur Larch takes in Esther—a Viennese-born Jew whose life is shaped by anti-Semitism.
Esther Nacht is born in Vienna in 1905. Her father dies on board the ship to Portland, Maine; her mother is murdered by anti-Semites in Portland. Dr. Larch knows it won’t be easy to find a Jewish family to adopt Esther; in fact, he won’t find any family who’ll adopt her.
When Esther is fourteen, soon to be a ward of the state, Dr. Larch meets the Winslows, a philanthropic New England family with a history of providing foster care for unadopted orphans. The Winslows aren’t Jewish, but they despise anti-Semitism. Esther’s gratitude for the Winslows is unending; even as she retraces her roots back to Vienna, she never stops loving and protecting the Winslows. In the final chapter, set in Jerusalem in 1981, Esther Nacht is seventy-six.
John Irving’s sixteenth novel is a testament to his enduring ability to weave complex characters and intricate narratives that challenge and captivate. Queen Esther is not just a story of survival but a profound exploration of identity, belonging, and the enduring impact of history on our personal lives showcasing why Irving remains one of the world’s most beloved, provocative, and entertaining authors—a storyteller of our time and for all time.
About the Author
John Irving was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942. His first novel, Setting Free the Bears, was published in 1968, when he was twenty-six. He competed as a wrestler for twenty years, and coached wrestling until he was forty-seven. He is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 1980, Mr. Irving won a National Book Award for his novel The World According to Garp. In 2000, he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules. In 2013, he won a Lambda Literary Award for his novel In One Person. Internationally renowned, his novels have been translated into almost forty languages. His all-time bestselling novel, in every language, is A Prayer for Owen Meany. A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, John Irving lives in Toronto.
Praise For…
"A story that's unmistakably Irving — amiably peopled, compellingly plotted and, above all, compassionate for its characters." — NPR
"I needed this dose of old-school New England decency. Few skewer sanctimony quite like Irving at his best. More important: I fell in love, once again, with his people….Irving’s championing of alternative families is not only welcome but necessary — especially these days in a post-Dobbs United States. Let 2026 be the year of an Irving revival. Of course, he’s never gone away; he has been publishing regularly since 1968. But we may need his singular sense of compassion now more than ever….I’m grateful for this book." — Peter Orner, The New York Times Book Review
"Irving masterfully threads the narrative, from New England to Vienna to Jerusalem, while exploring the themes he frequently wrestles with—orphans, sexuality, and found families. Irving’s luminous prose embodies his singular gifts; the novel is expansive, darkly comic, melancholic, and deeply compassionate, conveying a profound empathy for his flawed characters. Countless literary references, lyrical flourishes, and allusions add depth to the Dickensian motif as Irving brilliantly blends moral ambiguity and emotional truth in this essential addition to his oeuvre." — Booklist (starred)
"Queen Esther is richly textured with unforgettable characters, vivid settings, and familial love that will stay with you long after you put the book down."
— The Jewish Book Council
"To read a John Irving novel is to call to mind the classic works of Charles Dickens with their broad, melancholy searches for families lost and their acceptance of families made. Irving’s new work is especially potent." — Steven Whitton, The Anniston Star
“A new novel by John Irving is cause for celebration! Revisiting the orphanage from The Cider House Rules we meet Esther, one of a delightful collection of characters. Irving’s storytelling is incomparable.”
