The Weight of the Chest

Category title

The Weight of the Chest tells the true story of Hugo Grotius and his wife, Maria van Reigersberch, in the turbulent Dutch Republic of the early 1600s. When Grotius is sentenced to life imprisonment for defying the ruling elite, Maria convinces the authorities to let her share his cell—only to plan one of history’s boldest escapes: to smuggle him out of Loevestein Castle inside a book chest.

This novel captures the tightening grip of the Republic’s power brokers, the suffocating confines of the castle, and Maria’s growing peril as she attempts to outwit guards and neighbours who sense too much. At its heart is a marriage defined by intellect, and the courage to risk everything.

Grounded in documented history and written with the pace of a literary thriller, The Weight of the Chest is a taut, human story of defiance under pressure.

Coming soon... Book II — The Grotius Conspiracy.

Genre: Narrative Nonfiction
Series: Behind the Legend (Book 1)
ISBN-13: 979-8271205064
Pages: 106
Trim Size: 5 × 8 in (paperback)
Publication Year: Sep 2025
Formats: Paperback • Hardcover • eBook