Jezebel
A Novel
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Jezebel. You’ve heard the name. But you’ve never heard her story.
"Historical fiction at its finest," (Louisa Morgan) this propulsive novel is a stunning reimagining of the story of a fierce princess from Tyre and her infamous legacy
Jezebel was born into the world howling. She intends to leave it the same way.
When Jezebel learns she can't be a king like her father simply because she’s a girl, she vows never to become someone’s decorative wife, nameless and lost to history. At fifteen she’s married off, despite her protests, to Prince Ahab of Israel. There, she does what she must to gain power and remake the dry and distant kingdom in the image of her beloved, prosperous seaside homeland of Tyre, beginning by building temples to the gods she grew up worshipping. As her initiatives usher in an era of prosperity for Israel, her new subjects love her, and her name rings through the land.
Then Elijah, the prophet of Yahweh and her former lover, begins to speak out against her. Bitter at having been abandoned by Jezebel, he lashes out, calling her a slut. Harlot. Witch. And the people, revering their prophet’s message, turn on her.
As ancient powers and faiths are pitted against each other, bloodshed descends on Israel and Jezebel faces the fall of her legacy. Determined despite the odds to make Israel a great nation, she must decide how far she's willing to go to protect her family, her throne—her name. A stunning revision of a notorious queen’s story, Jezebel is a thrilling lyrical debut about a fierce woman who refuses to be forgotten.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Barnard reimagines the biblical story of Queen Jezebel in her ambitious but muddled debut. Jezebel, daughter of Ithobaal, the king of Tyre, decides at six years old that she wants her name to be remembered for the ages. At 12, she has a priestess divine her future and learns she will be married to a foreign king, a prediction validated when Ithobaal promises her to Ahab, son of the king of Israel, to strengthen Tyre's geopolitical standing. The marriage, which exiles Jezebel from her homeland, is an unhappy one, but she finds solace in the arms of Ahab's friend and scribe, Elijah. When Elijah calls down the Israelite God's wrath on the kingdom, ostensibly because of its monarch's wickedness, a multiyear drought ensues. The details here are a bit fuzzy—it's not clear how the Israelites, including the king and queen, have enough drinkable water to survive, or why, with the royal court unable to afford fancy imported foods, merchants would travel to the country to sell them. The early sections depicting Jezebel's yearning are the strongest, though Barnard has less success with the biblical stuff. It's a provocative concept, but the author's revisionist choices don't always pan out.