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KING PEGGY is a real-life fairy tale of an American secretary who discovers she has been chosen king of an impoverished fishing village on the west coast of Africa. Here Peggielene Bartels chronicles her astonishing journey when she suddenly finds herself king to a town of 7,000 people on Ghana's central coast, half a world away. Upon arriving for her crowning ceremony in beautiful Otuam, she discovers the dire reality: there's no running water, no doctor, no high school, and many of the village elders are stealing the town's funds. To make matters worse, her uncle (the late king) sits in a morgue awaiting a proper funeral in the royal palace, which is in ruins. 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 is uplifted by the ambitions of its decidedly modern female king, and Peggy is herself transformed, from an ordinary secretary to the heart and hope of her community.

Peggielene Bartels • Discussing the process that led her from becoming a U.S. citizen with a modest secretary job at the Ghanan embassy to the first female king of the Ghanam fishing village of Otuam. When her uncle, the former king, died in 2008, she accepted the position after a 4 a.m. phone call. Bartels, who had lived in the U.S. since her early 20s, became a U.S. citizen in 1997, and while she continues to work her secretary job, she makes one monthlong trip per year to the city that calls her king — where she wears a crown and holds a scepter, but also works hard to improve the situation for people in the community. A movie about her life (starring Queen Latifah) is expected to be released next year, and it already sounds like a better premise than King Ralph.

King Peggy celebrates the Otuam village Harvest Festival with town elders. She makes an annual commute from her home in Washington, D.C. Photo via Getty Images.