It all began with a photo of Kim Kardashian.
Bestselling author Fiona Davis began Tuesday’s signature One Book, One Village (OBOV) event by sharing the moment that sparked her idea for The Stolen Queen. It all started with an unexpected New York Times article about the 2018 Met Gala involving Kim Kardashian. The piece described how Kardashian posed beside an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus on the red carpet, and how those viral photos ultimately led to the artifact’s repatriation.
“I read that and I thought, okay, that’s the story,” Davis recalled. “We’ll use the Egyptian wing and this ancient art, and then we’ll mix it with pop culture and the Met Gala. We’ll put those opposites together and see what happens.”
About 350 people filled Forest View Educational Center’s theatre on October 28 to hear Davis discuss her novel, while another 62 viewers watched the event live on the library’s YouTube channel. Davis, the featured author behind the library’s 12th One Book, One Village (OBOV) community read, discussed a range of topics with Chicago-based writer and editor, Alison Cuddy, the moderator for the evening.
Davis shared other sources of inspiration for The Stolen Queen, including Empress of the Nile by Lynne Olson, a biography of a female archaeologist. The book’s focus on women in the field of archaeology helped shape the characters in The Stolen Queen. Some audience members recognized it as one of the accompanying OBOV book discussion titles. Another key influence was Egyptologist Dr. Colleen Darnell, who gave Davis a private tour of the Egyptian wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and helped name one of the novel's fictional pharaohs, Hathorkare.
“There are so many times when women’s voices aren’t heard, and this was a way of bringing them back to life,” she said.
Davis and Cuddy delved into key themes of the novel, such as female friendship and the portrayal of womanhood. Davis explained her decision to write about a 60-year-old protagonist, noting how older women are often underrepresented as heroines in literature. She also reflected on the broader issue of women’s stories being overlooked in history.
“I didn’t want [The Stolen Queen] to be a love story,” she continued. “I wanted it to be about female friendship.” The novel explores how women’s relationships and experiences, though shaped by different times, often reflect similar struggles.
Davis’s other historical fiction novels were inspired by New York City landmarks, and she shared more about how her background in journalism informs her writing.
“I need that grounding in the real world in order to write,” Davis explained. “I couldn’t imagine sitting down and making up a whole book. I love the research.”
The Stolen Queen was announced as the book for OBOV 2025 at the end of August and since then copies of the book circulated more than 1,600 times and 1,000 people have attended library’s book discussions and related programming including the library’s One Book, One Gala after-hours event inspired by the Met Gala.
“This has been remarkable, and watching it through social media and all the activities and the gala. I am absolutely blown away, and I’m very grateful,” said Davis.
Davis announced that she would be personally donating $1,000 towards the library’s new bookmobile through the library’s foundation. Earlier in the day she met Foundation members and their guests at a meet and greet at the library.
“[Libraries] mean everything.” Davis said. Later, she expressed her gratitude again, adding, “librarians are the best.”
Davis and Cuddy’s conversation was followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing.
A video recording of the entire interview and event is available for viewing on the library’s YouTube channel. Watch here.
An Evening with Fiona Davis was supported, in part, by the Friends of the Library.