Peggielene Bartel's book, King Peggy chronicles her astonishing journey from an American secretary to a king to a town of 7,000 souls on Ghana's central coast. After receiving an early morning call from a cousin telling her that her uncle, the king of Otuam, has died and that she, through a series of sacred rituals performed by the council of elders, has revealed to be the next king.
Upon arriving for her crowning ceremony in Otuam, Bartel discovers the dire reality: there's no running water, no doctor, and no high school, and many of the village elders are stealing the town's funds. Peggy's first two years as king of Otuam unfold in a way that is stranger than fiction. In the end, a deeply traditional African town has been uplifted by the ambitions of its headstrong, decidedly modern female king.