The Cruel Prince
- Published
- 2 January 2018
- Pages
- 370
- ISBN-13
- 9780316461252
- Type
- novel
About this book
The Cruel Prince is the opening novel of Holly Black's The Folk of the Air series, published in January 2018 at 370 pages. It's the series' starting point, followed by The Wicked King in a series that ran to four entries by 2020.
Key facts about The Cruel Prince
Holly Black wrote The Cruel Prince, a novel on our list. It has been out since 2 January 2018. The book has 370 pages.
We list 2 editions of this novel. Since each edition has its own ISBN, search for 9780316461252 to find the main one.
The Cruel Prince is book 1 of 4 in The Folk of the Air series. The series has 4 published books. As a result, this is the book to start the series with. How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is the latest book in the series with a full release date, out on 24 November 2020.
Additionally, Holly Black writes The Modern Faerie Tales, The Spiderwick Chronicles and The Curse Workers, plus 3 more series. Those series sit on our fantasy and romantic fantasy shelves. Meanwhile, Thief of Night is the latest published Holly Black book on file, from 23 September 2025.
About Holly Black
Holly Black is an American author who has spent over two decades as one of the defining voices in young adult fantasy, moving between menacing faerie courts and other dark, richly imagined worlds. See every Holly Black book in order.
Its place in The Folk of the Air
The Cruel Prince is book 1 in the The Folk of the Air series. It is followed by The Wicked King. See the full The Folk of the Air reading order.
After her parents are murdered by a faerie general, Jude Duarte grows up mortal in the treacherous High Court of Faerie, alongside her sisters -- one Fae, one changeling like her. Mortals have no real power in Elfhame, so Jude claws for scraps of it any way she can: political games, poison, blades, and an increasingly dangerous rivalry with Prince Cardan, the cruelest and most beautiful of the High King's children. Holly Black built the modern fae-court romantasy template here: a mortal girl who refuses to stay…
Editions
- edition · unknown publisher · — · ISBN 9780316310277
- edition · unknown publisher · — · ISBN 9780316461252