Queenmaker - Softcover

Edghill, India

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0738807338 ISBN 13: 9780738807331

Publisher: Xlibris Corp, 2000

Synopsis

QUEENMAKER is the story of Michal, daughter of King Saul and wife of King David of Israel. The splendor of the king's court and the austerity of the prophets; deeds of valor and betrayal; love, hate, and the shadow of madness -- all come to vivid life under Michal's perceptive eye.

About this title

Review

Turning inside out the traditional view of David as a beloved king and gentle author of the Psalms, India Edghill's well-written debut novel Queenmaker paints a dark picture of the lauded biblical hero as seen through the eyes of his first wife, Michal. David's silver-tongued way with words captures Michal's heart, but her marriage to him is soon annulled by her half-mad father, King Saul. She's packed off to marry the widowed farmer Phaltiel, whom Michal soon learns to love. When David gains the throne of Israel and sends for Michal, she discovers that David has become a king who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Through courage and wit, Michal must carve out a new life as the queen and wife of a man she now despises. Edghill isn't afraid to change biblical narrative to suit her story, and paints David as a selfish, grasping leader whose feet of clay are all too evident in this tale. Those who like their biblical narrative served straight up and their heroes untarnished may be disturbed by this reassessment; those who like a good story and a new spin on biblical champions, however, will enjoy this unvarnished look at one of Judaism's and Christianity's most lauded personalities. --Cindy Crosby

About the Author

India Edghill's long-standing passion for history dates to the sixth grade, when she was told she couldn't do another book report about horses -- and so did one on the Trojan War instead (having heard there was a horse involved....). That sparked an interest in ancient history later fueled by the works of Mary Renault and Henry Treece. She worked her way through the centuries to the Tudor period via Margaret Irwin's classic trilogy about Queen Elizabeth I, the Napoleonic Wars with Bernard Cornwell's Richard Sharp, and into the Victorian era by careful study of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman Diaries.

India Edghill is the author of two previous novels: ONE WAY MIRROR and FILE M FOR MURDER. Her short fiction has appeared in SILVER BIRCH, BLOOD MOON, CATFANTASTIC IV and V, THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION, and MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY'S FANTASY MAGAZINE.

She lives in upstate New York.

About this edition

• Publisher: Xlibris Corp
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0738807338
• ISBN 13: 9780738807331
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 377