Capitalizing on the tide of anti-Rhaenyra sentiment rising among the peasants of King's Landing, Ormund plots to sow further unrest by paying off a band of smallfolk to brutally torture and kill members of the City Watch.
—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
20 July 2026
The historian Eugen Weber wrote influentially of how peasants who spoke languages like Occitan, Breton, or Basque became—or, more honestly, were made—Frenchmen.
Soon there was an altercation at the front desk, when a Haitian upbraided the American peons about not getting her free stuff fast enough.
—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
8 Oct. 2025
Not only does the peon and con man Tom end up refashioning himself as the rich and carefree Dickie, but Highsmith’s novel itself was a retelling of Henry James’s The Ambassadors.
The original 67-member royal household shrank to 16, a contraction exacerbated by the requirement that female members must leave the imperial family after marrying a commoner.
—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
14 July 2026
He’s been called a thief, a benefactor, a commoner, a lord, a killer and a hero.
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