Publication date: April 8, 2025. A novella in epub format.

In the waning days of World War One, William Somerset Maugham—novelist, playwright, and spy—is sent to Romania to serve allied interests in the fight against Austro-Hungary while dying of tuberculosis. His handler sets him to recruit mysterious Carpathian nobleman Walter Roşu to the cause. But Roşu is more interested in William than the war, and William struggles to fulfill his duty in the face of death and desire.

Cover illustration by Juan Gómez Cabello. Cover design by dave ring.

PRAISE

“A page-turning thrill ride.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Gritty and decadent and brittle with gallows humor, No Such Thing as Duty has everything I want in a story: clever writing, characters sharp enough to cut yourself, and an ending that makes me double-take, then pick up the book and start reading from the beginning. Set aside an afternoon to devour this in one sitting, and thank me later.”
—Allison Epstein, author of Fagin the Thief

“A seductive journey through the melancholy hearts of two men who ought to know better, but who, like the reader, can only acquiesce to the possibility and longing that Donnelly crafts within this tale. I loved it.”
—E. Catherine Tobler, author of A Necessity of Stars

“At once tender and achingly sharp, like the first breath you take after coming in from the cold.“
—Kat Weaver, co-author of Uncommon Charm