Butterfly Games

For fans of Philippa Gregory, Allison Pataki, Bridgerton , and The Crown , Butterfly Games is Kelly Scarborough’s award-winning debut biographical historical novel about a young Swedish countess whose youthful love affair with Prince Oscar, heir to Sweden’s throne, has profound personal and political repercussions. Set in late-Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic Sweden from 1811 to 1817, the novel blends romance, royal intrigue, ambition, and the dangerous consequences of proximity to power. In some games, winning means losing everything that matters. In the opulent world of the Swedish royal court, Jacquette Gyldenstolpe walks a dangerous tightrope between romance and political intrigue. Neglected by her parents and ostracized by the people around her, the young countess falls in love with Prince Oscar, heir to the Swedish throne—but their passionate affair has far-reaching consequences for the new Bernadotte dynasty, which is already challenged by threats from inside Sweden and beyond. By the time Jacquette learns that the Butterfly Game is not for the faint-hearted, it is too late. For she has a secret—one as precious to her as it is potentially devastating to the crown—and she will stop at nothing to protect it. Based on a true story and set in stormy early-1800s Europe, Butterfly Games is a sweeping historical tale of forbidden love, fierce duty, and the cost of ambition. From the lavish ballrooms of Stockholm to the elegant manor houses of the Swedish countryside, Jacquette’s story will transport readers to a world where every whisper could lead to triumph or ruin. Awards for Butterfly Games • Winner of the Bronze Medal in Historical Fiction (Romance) in the 2026 Independent Publisher Book Awards • 2025 Goethe Book Awards Semi-Finalist for Late Historical Fiction